What are some other songs like the Nutcracker's 'Pas De Deux'?
December 23, 2014 7:51 AM Subscribe
My wife and I love The Nutcracker's Pas De Deux (yt), particularly the section that features unison strings playing a descending scale on top of the brass playing slow chord progressions. Can you recommend some other symphonies or works that have this same swelling, somber, almost gut-wrenching feel?
Here are some other works that feel similar to me:
Here are some other works that feel similar to me:
- Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughn Williams
- Prayer of St. Gregory by Hovhannes
- The tail end of Appalachian Spring by Copland
- To a lesser extent, the slow part of the 4th movement of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov
Stravinsky: Firebird Ballet: Finale
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty: Apotheosis
posted by Coaticass at 1:30 PM on December 23, 2014
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty: Apotheosis
posted by Coaticass at 1:30 PM on December 23, 2014
Response by poster: Those are great suggestions -- thanks!
posted by JohnFredra at 4:02 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by JohnFredra at 4:02 PM on December 23, 2014
Wagner's Tannhauser Overture? but this part in particular.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:07 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:07 PM on December 23, 2014
Sibelius: Symphony No 2. Especially the last eight minutes or so perhaps? If you are pressed for time. Or just start with the fourth movement.
posted by Coaticass at 11:34 PM on December 23, 2014
posted by Coaticass at 11:34 PM on December 23, 2014
I'll second the suggestions of the finale of Sibelius 2 and the Firebird Suite, and I'll throw in the massive, slow, build at the end of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 ("Leningrad").
But really, if I'm understanding the type of orchestration you're asking about, then Anton Bruckner is your man. He did this sort of thing quite a bit.1 In particular, check out his Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic"); the second movement is chock-full of these moments, as are the first movement and the fourth movement. His Symphony No. 8 fits the bill too, particularly the fourth movement.
1 Bruckner's style is rather consistent among his nine (numbered) symphonies. In classical music circles, the joke goes that Bruckner didn't write nine symphonies; he wrote one symphony nine times.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:22 AM on December 24, 2014
But really, if I'm understanding the type of orchestration you're asking about, then Anton Bruckner is your man. He did this sort of thing quite a bit.1 In particular, check out his Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic"); the second movement is chock-full of these moments, as are the first movement and the fourth movement. His Symphony No. 8 fits the bill too, particularly the fourth movement.
1 Bruckner's style is rather consistent among his nine (numbered) symphonies. In classical music circles, the joke goes that Bruckner didn't write nine symphonies; he wrote one symphony nine times.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:22 AM on December 24, 2014
Response by poster: All of these answers hit the mark. Thanks again!
posted by JohnFredra at 7:22 AM on January 23, 2015
posted by JohnFredra at 7:22 AM on January 23, 2015
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posted by StrikeTheViol at 11:56 AM on December 23, 2014