Symphony No. 2 (Bax)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 2 in E minor and C major by Arnold Bax
was completed in 1926, after he had worked on it for 2 years. The symphony was dedicated to Serge Koussevitsky, who conducted the first two performances of the work on the 13th and 14 December 1929.
It is scored for piccolo
, three flute
s, two oboe
s, English horn
, three clarinet
s, bass clarinet, two bassoon
s, double bassoon
, four horns, three trumpet
s, two tenor trombone
s, bass trombone, tenor tuba
, bass tuba, timpani
, bass drum
, tambourine
, cymbal
s, xylophone
, glockenspiel
, celesta
, piano
, two harp
s, organ
and strings
.
It is in three movements:
The opening movement is noted for its complex orchestration. The orchestra is unusually large for Arnold Bax, with the organ used just for pedals to add a dark effect. The entire thematic material for the whole symphony is laid out in the Molto moderato introduction of the first movement. The Allegro moderato section which follows is a further development of the introductory material, as is the more lyrical second subject. The movement ends with the sonorous theme which was first stated by the lower woodwinds at the beginning of the symphony. A typical performance of this movement lasts 16 minutes.
The second movement begins with an ostinato on harp and the flutes, which eventually develops into a beautiful melody that forms a basis for the development of the movement. A quotation of Arnold Bax's earlier tone poem In Memoriam is used, and motifs are quoted from the opening movement of the symphony. A typical performance of this movement lasts 12 minutes.
The final movement continues to use the main thematic material, with a short Poco largemente introduction followed by a fast, furious Allegro feroce section. A direct quotation from the first movement is used, the main climax of the piece is reached just before the epilogue in which the symphony fades into unresolved tranquility. A typical performance of this movement lasts 11 minutes.
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
was completed in 1926, after he had worked on it for 2 years. The symphony was dedicated to Serge Koussevitsky, who conducted the first two performances of the work on the 13th and 14 December 1929.
It is scored for piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, three flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, English horn
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, three clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bass clarinet, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, double bassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
, four horns, three trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, two tenor trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, bass trombone, tenor tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, bass tuba, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
, glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, two harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
.
It is in three movements:
- Molto moderato - Allegro moderato
- Andante
- Poco largamente - Allegro feroce - Molto largamente
The opening movement is noted for its complex orchestration. The orchestra is unusually large for Arnold Bax, with the organ used just for pedals to add a dark effect. The entire thematic material for the whole symphony is laid out in the Molto moderato introduction of the first movement. The Allegro moderato section which follows is a further development of the introductory material, as is the more lyrical second subject. The movement ends with the sonorous theme which was first stated by the lower woodwinds at the beginning of the symphony. A typical performance of this movement lasts 16 minutes.
The second movement begins with an ostinato on harp and the flutes, which eventually develops into a beautiful melody that forms a basis for the development of the movement. A quotation of Arnold Bax's earlier tone poem In Memoriam is used, and motifs are quoted from the opening movement of the symphony. A typical performance of this movement lasts 12 minutes.
The final movement continues to use the main thematic material, with a short Poco largemente introduction followed by a fast, furious Allegro feroce section. A direct quotation from the first movement is used, the main climax of the piece is reached just before the epilogue in which the symphony fades into unresolved tranquility. A typical performance of this movement lasts 11 minutes.