Benjamin Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Written in 1945, the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is a 1945 musical composition by Benjamin Britten. Its subtitle is Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell. Henry Purcell was an English composer from the 1600 - 1750. .
Harmony, pitch and melody
The piece is in the A pattern of sharps or flats at the beginning of a piece of music indicating which are to be played. of D minor and consists of a set of variations based on the theme from Purcell’s Abdelazer Suite. The melody is based on the ascending A phrase referring to a chord built in thirds starting on the tonic. The third and fifth notes are added to complete the tonic triad. of D minor and includes a four-bar descending A common tool for enhancing melodies by repeating the passage at a higher or lower pitch. .
The opening theme to the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
Instrumentation
The piece was composed for a full orchestra and consists of piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, Chinese woodblock, castanets, whip, tambourine, triangle, tam-tam, xylophone, harp, and strings.
Structure
The A short musical phrase which is used and repeated - and sometimes developed - within a composition. It is sometimes referred to as the subject. is stated first by the full orchestra and then passed around the different orchestral families, before returning back to the full orchestra.
There are 13 additional variations in which the individual instruments are spotlighted. The sequence is performed as follows: flutes and piccolo, with harp accompaniment; oboes; clarinets; bassoons; violins; violas; cellos; double basses; harp; horns; trumpets; trombones and tuba; percussion.
The full orchestra is reunited for the final section of the piece. It starts with the piccolo before moving through the other instruments and ends with a triumphant version of Purcell’s original theme played by the brass. The woodwinds and strings play the A musical form in which parts enter one after the other with the main theme or subject. These build to create a complex contrapuntal texture. theme with percussion.