'ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA' BY RICHARD STRAUSS

Today, The Grandma is relaxing at home. The weather is cold, and she has preferred to listen to some classical music. She has chosen Richard Strauss and his masterpiece Also sprach Zarathustra, that was first performed on a day like today in 1896.

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, Thus Spoke Zarathustra or Thus Spake Zarathustra, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883-1885 novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

The composer conducted its first performance on 27 November 1896 in Frankfurt. A typical performance lasts half an hour.

The initial fanfare  -titled Sunrise in the composer's programme notes- became well known after its use in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The work is orchestrated for piccolo, 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 3 oboes, English horn, clarinet in E-flat, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet in B-flat, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns in F and E, 4 trumpets in C and E, 3 trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, glockenspiel, bell on low E, organ, and strings: 2 harps, violins I, II (16 each), violas (12), cellos (12), and double basses (8) (with low B string).

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The piece is divided into nine sections, played with only three definite pauses. Strauss named the sections after selected chapters of Friedrich Nietzsche's novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra:

1. "Einleitung, oder Sonnenaufgang" (Introduction, or Sunrise)

2. "Von den Hinterweltlern" (Of the Backworldsmen)

3. "Von der großen Sehnsucht" (Of the Great Longing)

4. "Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften" (Of Joys and Passions)

5. "Das Grablied" (The Song of the Grave)

6. "Von der Wissenschaft" (Of Science and Learning)

7. "Der Genesende" (The Convalescent)

8. "Das Tanzlied" (The Dance Song)

9. "Nachtwandlerlied" (Song of the Night Wanderer)

These selected chapters from Nietzsche's novel highlight major moments of the character Zarathustra's philosophical journey in the novel. The general storylines and ideas in these chapters were the inspiration used to build the tone poem's structure.

The piece starts with a sustained double low C on the double basses, contrabassoon and Church organ. This transforms into the brass fanfare of the Introduction and introduces the dawn motif, from Zarathustra's Prologue, the text of which is included in the printed score, that is common throughout the work: the motif includes three notes, in intervals of a fifth and octave, as C–G–C (known also as the Nature-motif).

On its first appearance, the motif is a part of the first five notes of the natural overtone series: octave, octave and fifth, two octaves, two octaves and major third, played as part of a C major chord with the third doubled. The major third is immediately changed to a minor third, which is the first note played in the work (E flat) that is not part of the overtone series.

Of the Backworldsmen begins with cellos, double-basses and organ pedal before changing into a lyrical passage for the entire section. The next two sections, Of the Great Longing and Of Joys and Passions, both introduce motifs that are more chromatic in nature.

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The strings prevail in The Song of the Grave, which acts like a transition section to the next section.

Of Science features an unusual fugue beginning at measure 201 in the double-basses and cellos, which consists of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale. Measure 223 contains one of the very few sections in the orchestral literature where the basses must play a contra B (the lowest B on a piano), which is only possible on a 5-string bass or (less frequently) on a 4-string bass with a low-B extension.

The Convalescent acts as a reprise of the original motif, and ends with the entire orchestra climaxing on a massive chord.

The Dance Song features a very prominent violin solo throughout the section.

The end of the Song of the Night Wanderer leaves the piece half resolved, with high flutes, piccolos and violins playing a B major chord, while the lower strings pluck a C.

One of the major compositional themes of the piece is the contrast between the keys of B major, representing humanity, and C major, representing the universe. Because B and C are adjacent notes, these keys are tonally dissimilar: B major uses five sharps, while C major has none.

More information: U Discover Music

Bear in mind that you are not making
music for your own pleasure,
but for the pleasure of your audience.

Richard Strauss