How Does Tchaikovsky Create Tension In Romeo And Juliet

Secondly, the strife theme is very powerful in this music as it shows the tension between the two families and its impact on Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky presents the theme of strife with ‘agitation’ and angry rhythms in woodwind along with racing scales in strings. His choice of dynamics such as crescendo reinforces the tension and solemn mood between the families and as a result, the audience can feel the feud escalating due to the growing force of chords and the sudden changes in dynamics. Moreover, the shifting from homophonic to polyphonic texture signifies the shifting of the intensity of the conflict and violence and we can hear that as the story becomes ‘darker’ due to the escalating conflict, the music becomes gradually louder to accentuate the conflict as a powerful and unstoppable affair. It is evident to me that the music remains unchanged to show the constant and stubbornness feuding of families until the end and Brown describes the final catastrophe as its most violent climax which“ issues a descending line that tumbles to the bass of the
Brown comments that Tchaikovsky built on the two themes stated earlier with love to “present a broader perspective on one of the deepest of human experiences than would be possible through a single theme…” The introduction to this theme is supported by a homophonic texture where an English horn is played quietly with a viola and then muted strings to depict a sweet, elegant and passionate love. When this theme revisits in the recapitulation section, Tchaikovsky alternates this theme with the strife theme to show the two great contrasting forces and its impact on each other. An example of this is near the end of the recapitulation section, the feud between the families interrupts the love theme, heard by distinct cymbal