Firebird suite
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erOEatu5aH8 weird video, great song it's also just the finale the whole thing is amazing.
Stravinsky's Firebird Suite is possibly my favorite piece of classical music. My great aunt says if they don't play this at the Resurrection she's not waking up, I tend to agree with her. This is one of the songs I'll admit to putting on repeat for several days. The first time I really listened to the song was when my school orchestra was performing the piece, I'd heard it before in Disney's Fantasia 2000. We only played the last two movements but they resonated with me so deeply that it felt like my music heart was freed from stone. The music usually only has one theme playing at a time but each one is hauntingly beautiful or menacing.
Despite being a ballet, sort of the pre-television version of MTV, there's so much depth to the music. The Firebird is based off a Russian folktale about a prince and a Firebird, go figure. The prince is enchanted by the Firebird's beauty and captures her. He releases her when he realizes she isn't happy and she in turn promises to help him in his hour of need. The prince later finds a magic castle where a magician who can turn people to stone holds thirteen princesses captive. The Firebird saves him and the rest of the captives by making the wizard and his minions dance until they pass out from exhaustion. The Firebird then frees all those turned to stone and returns them to the flesh. Personally I prefer Disney's portrayal.
The word I associate with the song is haunting. Each melody is rich and complex with the brass and woodwinds playing the theme and the strings setting the tone. This is one of the three songs that made me realize that I actually love listening to music. It made me love the complexities of music.
Time: 65 minutes words:321
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I listened to the song and I also very much enjoyed it. I loved the description "hauntingly beautiful" because that is also the phrase that I wanted to use when listening to the song. One of my favorite parts of your blog was when you said that your grandma said if they don't play that song at the resurrection she isn't waking up. I also really enjoyed the fact that there is a story behind that song. Is there anything about the story that seems to impress you or is it just the music? I loved the music and it is enough to make an impression alone. However, I think the story does have a great meaning that makes the song even more beautiful. Can you really capture something so beautiful and be selfish enough to keep it for yourself? Or should you find something beautiful and share it with the world because it will bring you even greater happiness.
ReplyDeleteThis was a beautiful piece, just like the song. I really loved how you captured the feeling of the song in this essay. I can tell how passionate you are abou this music and the way it moves you. You allowed this music to move you, even though you didn't love the story being told. My favorite line was "they resonated with me so deeply that it felt like my music heart was freed from stone." Beautiful. Great job!
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