# Favourite music moments for aesthetics and word painting/mickey mousing



## TomDickson (Sep 2, 2014)

I’m looking for moments in program music like the bird song in Vivaldi’s four seasons (spring allegro) or the col legno cauldron bubbling in Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique where the instruments take on characteristics of the real world.

As well as this I’m looking for moments where instruments function purely for aesthetics like the accompaniment in the beginning of Mahler - Symphony I or the first marking in Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro.

Film music examples are also welcome (like the shimmering horns & brass in the Matrix).

Thanks,


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Second variation of Strauss Don Quixote with the sheep!


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Bach's cantata Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV18, begins with an imitation of rainfall.


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## TomDickson (Sep 2, 2014)

@Nereffid I wonder why he didn't use pizzicato instead of bowing the passage?


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Cuckoos in the final moments of the slow movement of Beethoven's Pastoral symphony. And then of course the utterly awesome storm sequence from the same work. 

Bartok's "night music" technique involved evoking the soft sounds of scurrying insects and whispering leaves at night.

Hovhaness used recordings of real whale song in a symphony.

Debussy's "Reflections on the water" is magnificently evocative, albeit not literal sound painting.

Brahms sometimes used the horn to play itself, as it were, by evoking the sound of hunting horns. 

In Borodin's "In the steppes of Central Asia," he evokes the swaying gait of camels. Once again not quite literal sound painting, but very evocative. 

A fun topic, about which I'll think some more. Plus, it gave me an idea for a stupid thread title.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I wish I understood better what is meant by "moments where instruments function purely for aesthetics." You mean as opposed to more programmatic moments?

As for imitative use, isn't there a Don Quixote suite either by Telemann or Rameau wherein the strings imitate the sound of Sancho Panza's donkey? I can't remember now who wrote the suite. I'd bet Telemann.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If you like tone painting and also like opera, trip out with Wagner's _Ring_. Start at the bottom of the Rhine, ascend through the rushing waters into the golden light, swim with three mermaids, float up through mists to the mountaintops, descend into the earth, walk over a rainbow bridge, flee through a raging storm, ride a winged steed, sleep on a crag surrounded by flickering fire, forge a sword, slay a dragon, journey on horseback along the Rhine, and watch the world end in flood and fire. Fifteen hours of brilliant tone painting that also manages to be never-dreamed-of and powerfully moving music.


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Saint-Saens' 'March of the Lions' from _Carnival of Animals_:






I bet if you asked someone what animal is being depicted here, they would be able to guess.


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## TomDickson (Sep 2, 2014)

Wow, thank you for all the great responses. It looks like I’ve got a lot of exciting listening to do. 

Regarding aesthetics, in a more technical definition what I am looking for is the use of background instrumentation having a strong focus in timbre (aka treated as colour) over harmony. This differs from the imitative use of instrumentation I am also seeking, as it’s a splash of sound to create an aesthetic and not programmatic sound.


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2014)

For something a little modern, Brett Dean's Water Music has some really neat sounds.

And of course there's always Messiaen's birdsong works...


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## TomDickson (Sep 2, 2014)

I heard this today, a perfect example of what I was looking for regarding musical aesthetic. http://www.tubechop.com/watch/4412008


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## Kibbles Croquettes (Dec 2, 2014)

How about another Mahler-moment: I was just listening to his 7th symphony and realized that I had forgotten how hilariously wonderful the shrieks and screams in the 3rd movement are!


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

There's lots of these moments in Saint-Saens' _Le Carnaval des Animaux_, like the cuckoo, the rattling bones, and the donkeys.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The second movement of Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony is full of birdcalls culminating in the wonderful cuckoos right near the end of the movement.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If you want pure magical atmosphere try Liadov's _Enchanted Lake_, Rachmaninoff's _Isle of the Dead_, or Sibelius's _Tapiola_. There's no imitation, just orchestral enchantment that takes you to another world.


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