Musical surprises #11: Listen long enough, and words become a melody
We often talk about a language being ‘musical’, or a speaker having ‘sing-song’ tones when they talk. But we mean this only in a vague sense: we don’t mean that…
Musical surprises #10: Le Corsaire doesn’t go like you think it does
Here’s a nice Christmas ‘spot the difference’ quiz: listen to the music of the two clips below and see how many differences (apart from tempo) you can identify. Corella’s is…
Musical surprises #9: Hornpipes are in 3…
Well, sometimes they are anyway. For many people, especially dance teachers, ‘hornpipe’ is synonymous with 2/4 time. But there are also triple meter hornpipes, often notated in 3/2, particularly common…
Musical surprises #8: Petrushka’s not all by Stravinsky
Well, not exactly, but the point is that one of the big tunes in the Wet Nurses’ dance in Stravinsky’s Petrushka is a Russian folk song (Я вечор млада во…
Musical surprises #7: Jingle Bells doesn’t go like you think it does
Jingle Bells is a song you’ve known ever since you were a child, and you hear every christmas. The chorus has a shape and a direction that is so simple…
Musical surprises #6: The ‘Theme slave’ in Coppélia is not by Delibes
Friends from Coppélia: a borrowing from Moniuszko Friends from Coppélia, the set of dances in Act 1, usually danced to the Thème Slave varié, is not by Delibes at all.…