Listening Chart 1 Britten, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Britten, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

17 min., 13 sec.

0:00 THEME Full orchestra Note the prominent sequence in the middle of the Purcell tune. You will hear snatches of this in some of the variations.
0:23 Transition Diminuendo (getting softer). Further transitions occurring between thematic statements and variations will not be indicated on this chart.
0:42 Theme WOODWIND choir
1:11 Theme BRASS choir Ending is changed.
1:42 Theme STRING choir Theme is changed further.
2:07 PERCUSSION “Theme” only in principle; only some rhythms remain.
2:26 THEME Full orchestra Same as the first time
2:50 Variation 1 Flutes and piccolo (harp accompaniment)
3:04 Piccolo and flute play in harmony.
3:29 Variation 2 Oboes Beginning of the tune transformed into a slow, romantic melody in oboe 1; oboe 2 joins in two-part polyphony.
4:32 Variation 3 Clarinet family Two clarinets trade agile figures, swinging from high to low pitches.
5:14 Variation 4 Bassoon Typical qualities of the bassoon: staccato (comic effect) and legato (melodious)
6:11 Variation 5 Violins With chordal accompaniment — particularly clear homophonic texture
6:56 Variation 6 Violas Slower
7:45 Variation 7 Cellos Another slow, romantic melody: falls into a a′ form (clarinet in the background)
8:43 Variation 8 Double bass Solo — humorous
9:40 Variation 9 Harp In the background is a string tremolo, caused by bowing a single note extremely rapidly, so that it sounds like a single trembling note.
10:31 Variation 10 French horns
11:11 Variation 11 Trumpets With snare drum, suggesting a fast military march
11:47 Variation 12 Trombones, tuba Typical qualities of the trombone: humorously pompous, and mysterious chords
12:48 Variation 13 PERCUSSION Timpani and bass drum (heard throughout the variation), cymbals (0:18), tambourine (0:28), triangle (0:32), snare drum (0:40), Chinese block (0:44), xylophone (0:50), castanets (1:01), gong (1:07), whip (1:14), xylophone and triangle (1:41)
Percussion instruments are described on page 17.
14:43 FUGUE FULL ORCHESTRA Imitative polyphony starts with flutes, then oboe, clarinet (same order as above!).
16:30 THEME FULL ORCHESTRA Climax: slower than before. The tune combined with the fugue: non-imitative polyphony.