Preview

Beethoven Fifth Symphony Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
532 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Beethoven Fifth Symphony Analysis
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony an Emotional Analysis

So for the Paper I have decided that I would make my descriptive essay in chronological order because that is how I experience the song. To start off though I would like to say that I felt very contemplative when I hear this symphony and it almost feels like the life story of someone.
At the beginning of the the symphony it almost feels mysterious and new. It feels like everything is new and brings a sense of wonderment. You can almost feel the curiosity like a new born child seeing everything new and wonderful for the first time. Then as it progresses there comes a sense of tragedy or loss from the much more powerful and sad music. This reminds me of a loss of innocence the moment when the child grows up and loses that which made him pure.
However this is not the end for them it is only the beginning of the rest of their lives (no matter how cheesy that can sound). You can then almost feel yourself rising from
…show more content…
The trials come once more and are more powerful than ever before. As the music rises once more you can feel the power of this agonizing power that holds you down. Just as you feel that surely you must give up you can feel a rising just like the rising sun. You can feel a bright outlook once more. The joy has returned once more and you have found happiness. Then just like a last hurrah of a dying man you can see the trials that once held him down have refined him and become part of him. They make you feel almost like the trials have become one with yourself and at last all is done and your refined self can rest in eternal joy as a man or woman strengthened by your stormy life.
When I was listing to this piece I felt it is like the journey of our lives it feels like the fluxuating sadness and happiness that we all go through. It finally ends with a sense of hope to me that good or bad if we endure it we will come out better and receive

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Machaunt's Mass

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages

    If time is taken to listen to the piece repeatedly, it becomes clearer that the tone is not dull but soothing and nourishing to the soul. The piece was written not for the common individuals of the time but the musically elite. It is a complex piece with great depth.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Berlioz was known for his use of large orchestras, often made up of more than 1000 performers. The use of giant orchestras is a development of the romantic period. Leonard Bernstein describes the symphony as “”the first musical expedition into psychedelic because of its hallucinatory and dream-like nature”; this is very unique to a piece composed of this period. Berlioz composed music that represented his lively imagination. Freedom of form and design was also a key aspect of the romantic period and Berlioz’s symphony portrays this well. Lastly, during his five movements there is a large range of dramatic contrasts of dynamics and pitch, especially during his first movement. A dramatic contrast is also a characteristic well known during this…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 in C minor the first movement is called Allergro con brio and it is in sonata form. This movement is very intense and strong sounding and has a single rhythmic motive that is short-short-short-long. The first theme of this movement is in C minor. Throughout this theme he shifts the motive to different pitches and instruments. The second theme is in E flat major and starts with a varied basic motive of short-short-short-long-long-long. The horns starts a new melody that is calm sounding compared to the opening of this movement. In this movement you can hear horns, some woodwind instruments and some string instruments. This movement has a dramatic climax and the closing section starts in C major and moves into C minor.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first I thought that the music was not in tandem with these lyrics at all. The lyrics have such depression in them at first while the music itself is so peppy and upbeat. I could not understand how they worked together. That for me was the site of struggle. Hegemonic norms tell us that songs about death and sadness should be slow and heavy. This song has such energy to it and resists hegemonic norms so that it couldn’t possibly fall into the category of death. I listened to the song a few more times and I realized that the song was not just a sad retelling of a story, but it is a memorial of…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beethoven's 9th Music

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beethoven’s 9th symphony conducted by Leonard Bernstein is a truly sophisticated piece of art that takes you through a roller coaster ride of mixed emotions. Feelings of sorrow and fear throughout the piece are coated with affirmation, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and then Beethoven continues onto exploding your emotions using sounds that bring feelings of extreme proudness and accomplishment. This end of the journey is a magnificent chorale using a modified version of Schilling’s poem Ode to Joy.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ludvig van Beethoven no doubt is one of the greatest pianist and composers to date. His earlier works are usually compared to Mozart due to the similarity of the structure but one major different was Beethoven’s ability to incorporate his own imagination into each composition. Although most of his work had been recognized by the music industry, it was his first symphony of the starting point in his career. The Symphony number one, opus 21 was written in C major contain four movements, and although its structure contain some similarity to Mozart’s work, it was the one that put Beethoven onto the musical scene in Vienna.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Being blind and unaware of where he is at and of their intentions there’s a great amount of tension and anticipation in finding out thier purpose. Motifs are musical phrases who are constantly repeated, and the constant repetition as well as the connotation of them music being dramatic is representation of the conflict the narrator feels as he is contrained to whims of the doctors. Its constant pounding is seen to depict a person’s struggle. Though classical music shouldn’t be seen as expressive as the blues to a race’s voice, it leads new imagery of tension and the roots of music, with internal struggle, for example the Fifth being inspired by the pain of loosing hearing and trying to escape the devil’s bearing. The cadences of Beethoven’s Fifth is long encumbered, associated and charged with force and energy! There the history of the music is naturally represented in his head playing at moments where he is at fear for how and why…

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jasmine's Papers

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In music, I compare my troubles and tribulations with the lyrics. Towards the middle of the piece, it begins to build up. When I was around 9 years old, my mom passed away from failure to receive a liver transplant. This hit my family hard and to this day, we are still haunted by the day God took her away. Since this is the middle of the piece, it's starting to have emotion and deep feelings within it. Anger, hurt, and sorrow was what I was feeling when my mom passed away. I was confused and mad at the world. I didn't quite understand why people had to die since I was only 9 after all. There was always a question of why and to this day, there still is.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The composer wanted to create a memorable Leitmotifs. The music makes me think of a drama that I can picture many of the actions taking place just by listening to the music.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Karl Amadeus Hartmann

    • 1648 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hartmann’s Symphony No. 1 is very visual and musically dramatic. Movement one, Introduktion: Elend, begins with a dark feeling given by the loud fast percussion rolls in the beginning. Then following is the brass with fanfare type chords that are loud and precisely articulated. When the solo voice enters, the singer sings in a low octave in a recitative style on the same pitch. This adds to the dramatic effect and the listener can gain a strong sense of misery right away. The melodic line then moves to other notes to add feeling. The text is depicted in the countermelody. in the emphasized by an expressively contoured melody and rapid declamation of the text, disconnecting the vocal line from the slow orchestral ostinato underneath. The melody reaches its apex and the movement closes with a return to the opening monotone style.…

    • 1648 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sonny's Blues

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Like James Baldwin said “only an artist can tell and only an artist have told, since we have heard of man, what it is like for anyone that gets this planet, to survive it. What it is like to die, or to have somebody die, what it is like to fear death, what is it like to fear, what it is like to love, what it is like to be glad.” Music expresses the pain, suffering, love and all sorts of emotions that we cannot express but just normal verbal means. Artists talk about the depressing topics that we are afraid to talk about and express our inner emotions for us and give us a sense of relief that someone else can relate to us. In the revelation of the narrator at the end of the story he realized that of all the things he been through that there is still light at the end of the tunnel because he still have his brother, they are surviving and living.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During the time when Beethoven was making his 8th symphony in 1812, he had a very struggling life with sadness and some stress. He first started making this piece in 1811 then after one year he finished the symphony in Vienna. When he was finished he, composed it on February 27, 1814 in Vienna when this symphony was composed world premiere. This symphony takes about 27 minutes with enjoyment and calmness. A composer said “In South America, I heard the 8th Symphony of Beethoven. …. Beethoven must be heroic. But this is piece which shouldn't be heroic. …”…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Humans have a persevering quality. They can be pushed down multiple times, yet still they stagger to their feet and search for what they are looking for. Death, the narrator, notices many people at their worst, searching for the people they love and knowing they probably won't find them, and yet those people still keep looking. Humans have hope. In the most hopeless of times, humans still have hope. Death is a sad occurrence. Death is something that inspires people to treat others the way they should have treated the person they lost. Through one of the hardest things a person goes through,…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is much more cheerful and happy. The melody is completely changed from the first movement to the second. The notes are played very legato with some staccato notes. This reminds me of when he talks with the old man. “‘The old man paused and then continued, ‘If you will unreservedly confide to me the particulars of your tale, I perhaps may be of use in undeceiving them. I am blind and cannot judge of your countenance, but there is something in your words which persuades me that you are sincere. I am poor and an exile, but it will afford me true pleasure to be in any way serviceable to a human creature.’ ‘‘Excellent man! I thank you and accept your generous offer. You raise me from the dust by this kindness; and I trust that, by your aid, I shall not be driven from the society and sympathy of your fellow creatures.’ He starts to feel hopeful and happy that the old man see’s him for him just like how the music picks up and begins to feel more light and happy. He is so passionate towards the old man for what he said. This also ties in the romantic concept of passion between the book and…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlen Brook

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I also noted that he used a lot of words that began with the letter S. He used words like stream, slow, sliding, and skimming. This gave me the sense of tranquility and peacefulness. The last and second to last stanza seemed to end those feelings and jar me back to a reality. He used words like plunge, drown, dry and ache.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays