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Connection to the Story: The fisherman sings of the Nightingale and how her song makes him forget all of his worries.
Musical Elements and Significance: The “Song of the Fisherman” is written in a fairly conventional manner typical of the Russian impressionistic style of the time, represented best in the fairy tale operas of Stravinsky’s teacher, the great composer Rimsky-Korsakov. The melody has a nostalgic quality which in the hands of Stravinsky, seems to function as a sort of farewell to a style of musical composition which in his hands will be radically changed.
Connection to the Story: The Nightingale makes her entrance, singing of dew which falls from stars onto the palace gardens below.
Musical Elements and Significance: The Nightingale’s music continues in the Russian impressionistic style. The sounds she produces are ethereal and magical. The role is sung by a coloratura soprano (a female voice type that is light, pure, flute-like and capable of great agility when way up high) which seems totally fitting for a creature which can fly, and whose song can mesmerize a powerful Emperor.
Connection to the Story: At the palace, courtiers prepare for the arrival of the Nightingale who will sing for the Emperor.
Musical Elements and Significance: We immediately enter into a different sound world with the beginning of Act II. With a loud bang of the drum, the entire Imperial Palace is preparing to receive the bird in a delirium of decorations and bells as choruses cry out on every side. The lush, romantic harmonies of Act I give way to a more rhythmical and mechanistic soundscape which suits the artificial atmosphere of the Emperor’s palace.
Connection to the Story: The Japanese envoys bring the gift of a mechanical nightingale to the Emperor causing the real Nightingale to fly away. As a result, the Emperor banishes her from the kingdom.
Musical Elements and Significance: In this scene, Stravinsky creates a kind of faux Chinese atmosphere by using oriental pentatonic scales (that is, five note scales as opposed to the seven note scales of the Western musical tradition). The music of this scene is unrestrained and jarring and filled with weird noises appropriate to a mechanical bird!
Connection to the Story: The Emperor lies dying, attended by the figure of Death herself. The Nightingale returns and upon hearing her sing, Death agrees to give back the Emperor his life.
Musical Elements and Significance: The music of the final Act is once again in contrast to what came before. From the clattering noise of Act II, we’ve entered a more sombre world of scraping noises, dull colours and menacing choruses. It is the bright sound of the Nightingale which pulls us away from the darkness, seducing Death and ultimately reviving the dying Emperor.
Connection to the Story: The Russian fairytale follows the Fox who tries to trick and catch the Cock. The Cat and the Ram rescue the Cock after each time it is deceived by the Fox. At the end of the opera, the Cock, the Cat and the Ram trick and strangle the Fox. In celebration of outwitting the Fox, the three friends sing and dance.
Musical Elements and Significance: Stravinsky’s choice of which musical instruments are used (known as “orchestration”) is quite unique for this opera. The number of musicians is much less than what would be considered typical for an opera orchestra. Most often, orchestras have entire sections of each string instrument (violins, violas, cellos and basses), however Stravinsky uses only two violins, one viola, one cello and one bass. He also uses fewer instruments from the woodwind and brass families. The result of this reduction in musicians is a more transparent sound where each instrument is much more noticeable and exposed.
Another unique aspect of the instrumentation of The Fox is the use of a very uncommon instrument known as a cimbalom, which consists of strings stretched out over a soundboard, producing sound when the strings are plucked or struck with hammers. The sound has a very distinct quality. The cimbalom, in addition to the reduced scale of the remainder of the instrumental ensemble, creates an orchestral texture very suggestive of a peasant orchestra, the sound of which is perfectly suited to the folk-like nature of the opera’s story.
In The Fox Stravinsky draws on typical Russian folk music including the repetition of short melodic phrases, syncopation (accenting normally weak beats) and irregular meters (changing the number of beats in a bar).
Lothar Odinius as The Fisherman in the COC production of The Nightingale & Other Short Fables. Photo: Michael Cooper © 2009
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