tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post1951204731675907665..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, second movementBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-73760810097597113932018-09-18T09:24:12.171-05:002018-09-18T09:24:12.171-05:00Hi Unknown, you may well ask, but I am not sure wh...Hi Unknown, you may well ask, but I am not sure what you mean by your question. The term "compass" has many meanings, in music it refers to the range of a musical instrument. We can talk about the compass of, say, the violin or flute, but we usually don't refer to the compass of a particular piece for orchestra. The compass of an orchestra goes from the lowest note on the contrabasses to the highest note on the piccolo (at least in Beethoven's orchestra). If you look at the score of the 9th, you can easily see what the highest and lowest notes are. But I suspect that was not what you were really asking?Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-23882843401565863192018-09-15T21:59:28.587-05:002018-09-15T21:59:28.587-05:00Hello..May i ask please. What is the compass of be...Hello..May i ask please. What is the compass of beethovens symphony?thank uAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06545691203678973867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-9147508860455415482013-07-29T10:17:28.676-05:002013-07-29T10:17:28.676-05:00No, Rickard, you aren't missing a thing! The s...No, Rickard, you aren't missing a thing! The scherzo was traditionally written in 3/4 and as Beethoven sped up the tempo, this led to the "hypermeter" phenomenon. Yes, it is functionally equivalent to 12/4, but Beethoven preferred to keep it in 3/4 and just group the measures. Six of one half dozen of the other. I can't think of a single scherzo from the period that was notated in anything other than 3/4.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-61413986863537873612013-07-29T09:13:46.112-05:002013-07-29T09:13:46.112-05:00Possibly my favorite movement. Interesting thing a...Possibly my favorite movement. Interesting thing about hypermeter (first time I hear about I think). <br />"The above example is two hypermeasures, each with four measures. Beethoven is calling this a "rhythm of four beats" because, at this quick tempo, each measure is a beat." <br /><br />Since it's 3/4 time and one hypermeasure is four measures wouldn't it mean it's similar to 12/4 time? Or am I missing something?Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08084578675339015204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-58739974834111498112013-07-25T16:55:44.930-05:002013-07-25T16:55:44.930-05:00Thank you, Bryan. I hadn't thought of the sec...Thank you, Bryan. I hadn't thought of the section preceding the example being in a triple meter. That makes sense.Virgil T. Moranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12097568763565190893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-53216737429004250292013-07-25T15:09:01.887-05:002013-07-25T15:09:01.887-05:00Hi Virgil,
Welcome to the Music Salon. I very muc...Hi Virgil,<br /><br />Welcome to the Music Salon. I very much appreciate your comment. Hemiola, Greek for "one and a half", is usually the term used to describe the situation where two measures of 3/4 are turned into one measure of 3/2, or where a measure of 6/8 is turned into a measure of 3/4. This is done by rewriting the rhythms. So where the 3:2 comes from is that you now have three beats in the time of two beats (3/4 where there was 6/8 or two beats of a dotted quarter). Beethoven is doing something a bit different as he is creating what I called a rhythmic cadence as a transition from 3/4 to 2/2. He writes pairs of quarters--notice where the fortes are--which are equivalent to half notes. If he were still in 3/4, this would be a typical hemiola where two measures of 3/4 become one measure of 3/2. He gets an extra half note beat out of it because he has changed the meter. The effect, to the ear, is exactly like that of a hemiola.<br /><br />Make sense?<br />Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-8154317589217013172013-07-25T09:41:37.967-05:002013-07-25T09:41:37.967-05:00Hello. Fascinating blog, which I've taken to ...Hello. Fascinating blog, which I've taken to reading recently. Since I'm a dilettante I'll go ahead and ask the following.<br /><br />You surely have more musical knowledge than I do, and it's been a long time since I was a music student, but one of your last comments sounded odd to me. I don't think that last example is hemiola (and I don't think your parenthetical definition of it is correct). Doesn't hemiola require a rhythmical transformation with a 3:2 ratio?Virgil T. Moranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12097568763565190893noreply@blogger.com