# Most Blissful Openings and Endings of Pieces



## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

What, in your opinion, are the most blissful openings and endings of pieces?

(Thank you for the answers to the Beautiful Pieces thread, I am currently making my way through listening to all of these and I love a lot of them). 

Blissful- extremely happy; full of joy.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

The beginning of Debussy's L'isle joyeuse establishes the blissful mood of the island from the outset. The piece opens with a rapturous trill, as if the music is bubbling over with happiness.

Debussy also excelled at writing joyful conclusions. The sparkling arpeggio at the end of "Jardins sous la pluie" creates an uplifting mood, perhaps suggesting that the sun is shining down on the remaining droplets of rain.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

The ending of Schnittke's Faust Cantata. Many might not call that blissful but it is when you're depressed and terrible things have an end. Being extremely happy and full of joy is not an absolute emotion. It's relative to what went on before.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

One of the most "blissful" endings I can think of is that of _Le jardin féerique_ from _Ma mère l'oye_ by Ravel.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Somewhat predictably, I will nominate Sibelius again, for the opening and closing of his 6th symphony. The gently lyrical opening of the 1st movement sets the tone for the whole symphony, and the last movement ends with a prolonged, happy sigh. This is 'blissful' in the sense of calm and satisfied rather than full of joie de vivre, for which Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse is hard to beat.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Opening: Mendelssohn's 4th symphony.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The beginning of the great Bach bass aria from the St. Matthew Passion, "Mache, dich, mein herze, rein..."

So blissful, it could convert any atheist.


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## Polyphemus (Nov 2, 2011)

For me its got to be Der Abschied from Das Lied Von Der Erde, it seems to say 'peace at last'


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## beetzart (Dec 30, 2009)

The opening to Saint Saens Organ Symphony is utter bliss.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit (Oct 20, 2014)

most blissful ending.....Overture to the flying Dutchman by wagner.......the "do re *FA* mi" part played by the upper strings. You'd hear it.

I guess it's worth saying that I took blissful to mean more calm, rather than an ecstatic or energetic state.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Most blissful openings:


Alfven: Symphony no. III
Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. IV (finale)
Glazunov: String Quartet no. III (finale)
Atterberg: Symphony no. IV (sort of)
Antheil: Symphony no. III
Lehar: "The Merry Widow", "The Count of Luxembourg"
Verdi: opera "Falstaff"
Diamond: Symphony no. I (in a way, at least)
Nielsen: Symphony no. III
Nielsen: opera "Maskarade" (overture)
Gade: Symphony no. I (finale)
Berward: Sinfonie singulière (Symphony No. III in C-major)
Massenet: opera "Manon"
Roussel: ballet "Bacchus et Ariane"
Bax: Symphony no. IV & Festive Overture
Wagner: opera "Das Liebesverbot" (overture)
Janacek: Lachian Dances (no. I "Starodávný" or "the Ancient One")
Most blissful endings:


Rubinstein, Anton: Symphony no. II "The Ocean"
Creston: Symphony no. II (blissful, boisterous, a la dramatique)
Franck: Symphony in D
Tchaikovsky: opera "The Little Slippers"
Glazunov: Symphony no. IV
Berlioz: opera "Les Troyens"
Massenet: opera "El Cid"
Bruckner: Te Deum
Bruckner: Symphonies nos. II, VIII
Mahler: Symphony nos. I, II, even VII
Weinberg: Moldavian Rhapsody
Shostakovich: Symphony no. X (at least on the surface)
Gershwin: Cuban Overture
Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody no. I
Stanford: Symphony no. III "Irish" (finale)
Janacek: Lachian Dances (no. V "Pilky")


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## wolkaaa (Feb 12, 2017)

Ending: Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Beginning: Mendelssohn _Italian_ Symphony. Aural sunshine!

Ending: Berlioz _Symphonie Fantastique_, Mvt II "Un Bal" (especially in the version with the obbligato cornet)


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Oh man! One can't beat the opening of Respighi's' The Pines of Rome....an orgy of orchestral ecstasy!!!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

For an ecstatic orchestral closing, it's hard to beat the final coda of Schumann's Second Symphony-ESPECIALLY as engineered by Herbert von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic!


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

At this moment:

Beginning - Smetana's The Bartered Bride (Overture)
Ending - Dvorák's Symphony 8 (I and IV movements)

I'll write more soon.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

*Openings*

Beethoven - Symphony 8; String quartet 6; Piano concertos 2, 5
Tchaikovsky - Piano concerto 2
Tippett - Concerto for double string orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol
Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Schumann - Symphony 3
Holmboe - Symphony 3 _Sinfonia Rustica_
Walton - Crown Imperial
Schubert - Piano quintet, Piano trio 1
Rossini - The Barber of Seville, The Thieving Magpie
Malipiero - Symphony 3 _Delle campane_
Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March 1, 5
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto 2, Magnificat
Strauss - Don Juan

*Endings*

Händel - Israel in Egypt
Brahms - Symphony 2
Mahler - Symphony 8
Tchaikovsky - Symphonies 1, 3, 4, 5; The Nutcracker; Violin concerto; Piano concerto 1; Capriccio Italiano; 1812 Overture
Nielsen - Symphony 3, Aladdin Suite
Medtner - Piano quintet
Glazunov - Symphony 5
Bartók - Concerto for orchestra, Piano concerto 3
Martinu - Symphony 4
Freitas Branco - Suite Alentejana 1 & 2
Bruckner - Symphony 5, 7
Berlioz - Harold en Italie
Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol, Russian Easter Overture
Tubin - Sinfonietta


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

MusicSybarite said:


> Rimsky-Korsakov - Capriccio Espagnol


Good call, and the beginning is pretty wonderful too.


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

The pastoral babbling-brook opening of Franz Schmidt's 1913 _Symphony No. 2_!
(Semyon Bychkof/Vienna Philharmonic, 2017 recording on Sony)


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Bettina said:


> The beginning of Debussy's L'isle joyeuse establishes the blissful mood of the island from the outset. The piece opens with a rapturous trill, as if the music is bubbling over with happiness.
> 
> 
> > It seems that the _ictus_ (point of breaking silence) is sheer magic in many Debussy works. I remember how much I enjoyed playing _L'isle joyouse _ from the get-go. And his _Prelude No. 5, Book I, ... Les collines d'Anacapri _ also!


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

"Blissful" to me has peaceful rather than lively connotations. On that basis I can't think anything which begins more blissfully than Handel's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBrOanZ21sc


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Animal the Drummer said:


> "Blissful" to me has peaceful rather than lively connotations. On that basis I can't think anything which begins more blissfully than Handel's Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne:
> 
> www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBrOanZ21sc


very true. for me a song "Le Secret" by Faure is very blissful. It's short, just a couple of minutes


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

I was overwhelmed with bliss the very first time I heard the opening to Das Rheingold (Karajan). The way the theme of the babbling Rhine gradually builds to a racing crescendo in the orchestra at which point the Rhine maidens begin their joyous antics is pure genius. Unfortunately, too many interpreters take this at an all too slow pace. They're supposed to be frolicking playfully and happily, dancing in and out of the rocks and shoals, it's not a funeral dirge for god's sake! Karajan is the only one to have come close to this, and even he is a little too slow in my opinion.

I'm aware that Wagner marked the score "Ruhig heitere Bewegung" – but I think it should start out "Ruhig" (peaceful) then gradually build to a cheerful and brisk pace (though I would take pity on the strings if it was taken too fast!).


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## Harrowby Hall (Aug 8, 2017)

Blissful endings:

From a pair of mutually admiring composers:

Edward Elgar _The Dream of Gerontius_ The Angel's Farewell

Gabriel Faure _Requiem_ In Paradisum


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Opening to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring"... especially in contrast to what comes after


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The choir singing the opening lines of the _Magnificat_ at the end of Liszt's _Dante Symphony_ was the first one which came to mind. Also the tender conclusion to Schnittke's piano quintet.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

The first blissful opening that comes to mind is that of Sibelius 6.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Last 5 minutes or so of Act III of *Parsifal* is pure bliss.


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

Love the finale of Delius' "A Village Romeo and Juliet".


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