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Music Links investigation!

What is Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy?!
- A movement from the ballet The Nutcracker, Op.71a!
- Based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann.!
- Premiered at Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892.!
- Performed by western classical orchestra !
- Introduced a recently invented instrument at that time: the celesta!

More about Russian Ballet!

- Belongs to the romantic era (aprox. 1820-1900)!
- A form of dance performed for theatre audiences. !
- Introduced during the 17th century by the second Romanov ruler Tsar Alexis Mikhailovic!
- First used for wedding festivities!

Fact file: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky!

- 1840-1893 !
- The first Russian composer whose music appealed to Western tastes!
- Laid great weight on the national element in his works!
- Also composed other ballets: Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty!

Whats so special about a celesta?!

- Tuned metal plates struck together by hammers that are operated by a keyboard!
- Produces a tinkling, soft sound!

Meaning of Sakura, Sakura?!

- Sakura is a Japanese word for Cherry Blossoms!
- Name of Japanese traditional folk song!
- The song depicts spring!
- Sung by people since the Meiji period, lyrics were shown on the !
- Popularity surges during the Edo period(1603-1868), becomes an urban melody.!
- Can be played by koto!
- The composer is unknown!

What is a koto?!
- Koto is a string instrument from Japan. It consists of a long zither with movable bridges and
thirteen strings that are plucked with finger plectrums.1!
- Has been conventionally played by children and upper-class women as part of their cultural
education.!

Intro!
- Music produced from distinctive cultural backgrounds may sound nothing in common,!
- But reporters of (magazine name) have discovered few significant links between Russian ballet
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tchaikovsky and Japanese Folk Sakura Sakura.!
- The common links include variations in texture, use of scalic and arpeggiated passages and a
conjunct coutour of melodic lines.!

Link 1: Variations in texture!

Ex. 1: Gradual increase in instrumental texture!
- Themes may be developed in the variation process.!
- Themes in the two pieces both undergo changes in texture, where the interweave of melodic and
harmonic elements alters.!
- Tchaikovskys Dance of Sugar Plum Fairy is written in ABA form. It starts off with a brief 4measure introduction in the strings section. Upper and lower strings interaction by taking turns to

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play quaver. Cellos and bass plays the note on the first and third beat while violins and violas
plays on the second and forth beat. This presents a single line of four quavers per measure,
making the texture monophonic. Pianissimo and pizzicato in strings also helps create a light
texture.!
- Celesta joins at the strings m.5, playing the principal melody. Texture now becomes homophonic
as the main melody is accompanied by strings as harmony. !

Fig. 1

- In B section, arched lines in woodwinds and celesta is answered by strings.!

- Then, solo celesta leads back to main theme in A section, having call and answer with plucked
strings (fig.2). Different from section A, the quaver in the strings family is replaced by two
semiquavers when accompanying the celesta.!

Fig. 2

- Similar as above, Sakura, Sakura employs monophonic texture in its A section. The melodic line

Fig. 3
is doubled in octaves except the last note. After stating the main theme once, The melody
continues to wave homorhythmically. The phrase (shown in the red box) is repeated in an octave

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higher again. Then in A section, series of semiquavers appear to accompany harmony (fig.4),

Fig. 4

!-

changing texture from monophonic to homophonic.!

(Insert form of both pieces)!

- Both pieces begin their first section in monophony without accompaniment followed by a richer
homophonic texture. A gradual increase in instrumental texture can therefore be found.!
Ex. 2: Rhythmic pattern in harmony!
- Steady rhythmic patterns are prominent in the harmony of Sugar Plum Fairy, as well as featuring
in Sakura, Sakura.!
- The patterns serve as a support to the principal theme and enriches the texture.!
- In Tchaikovskys B section, clarinets, bassoons and english horn briefly take up the main melody.
In figure below, the ascending then descending melodic lines of clarinets and bassoons are
backed up with series of semiquavers by celesta and a long sustained pedal in strings. Few
measures later, the main melody is passed on to English horns, accompanied by a rhythmic
pattern of seven triplets in semiquavers by violas. Together, these two rhythmic figures gives
different combinations of melody and harmony throughout the piece.!

Fig. 5

!-

As for Sakura, Sakura, quavers and semiquavers are particularly visible when supporting the
main melody. In the A section, the melodic line in higher register is set against sixteen
semiquavers per measure, adding rhythmic drive (fig.4). In section A, the lower register
accompaniment is now in quavers (fig.6). Although there are no tempo changes in this piece,

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changing rhythm of harmony from semiquavers to quavers allow the theme to switch from fast

Fig. 6

paced and laid back respectively. !

- It is clear that composers of Sugar Plum Fairy and Sakura, Sakura all chooses to develop

!
!

themes through exploring various rhythms in the harmony section, creating distinctive textures.!

Link 2: Use of scalic and arpeggiated passages to develop the themes !

- Sugar Plum Fairy and Sakura, Sakura adopts diatonic scale and pentatonic scale respectively. A
diatonic scale is built from the seven notes of a major or minor scale, encompassing seven
whole tones and semitones. Meaning if Sugar Plum Fairy is in e minor, seven pitches can be
formed from the e natural minor scale: E F# G A B C D E !
- On the other hand, pentatonic scale is generally named as the Japanese mode. It is a scale of
five notes without semitones. As Sakura, Sakura sets in G minor, its the scale has the notes G A - B - D - E, its mode dictated by the final note. It exists, therefore, in five possible modes. It is
used extensively in the folk or traditional music of Eastern cultures.!
Ex.1: Scalic sequences!
- Tchaikovskys work consists of rapid, short descending diatonic scales. For instance, the scalic
idea is imitated and exchanged between first and second clarinets (fig.7). First clarinets starts
with a six note scale in b minor staring on G. Second clarinets then transposed a semitone lower
to become B major scale starting on F#, the dominant. Next, first clarinets transposing the scale
down a tone, playing A major descending scale starting E, the dominant of A. Lastly, second
clarinets answers by playing in G, starting on the dominant D. Descending sequences are
formed.!

Fig.

- Correspondingly, Sakura,Sakura has a pentatonic scale consisting sixteen quavers. When

transiting from A section to A section, the first eight quavers playing D-B-AG-E-D-B-A, are
descending whereas the last eight quavers gives an ascending coutour: G-A-B-D-E-G-AB.!

- Despite two works adopting different scale systems, scalic sequences are present to decorate
the melody in both pieces.!
Ex.2: Arpeggiated figures and broken chords!
- From the last beat of m.32 to m.36 of The Sugar Plum Fairy is a transitional passage, transiting
from section B back to main theme A. There is celesta solo in these few measures, playing a
succession of flourishing broken chords in ascending. Each chord are in demisemiquavers and
are played at a higher register, highlighting celestas Bell-like timbre. For example, a dominant
7th chord in the key of G (relative major of home key) is heard from the last beat of m.32. This is
followed by a diminished 7th chord starting in D# at m.33. The dominant and diminished chords
alternates until a F major 7th broken chord appears in the last beat of m.33. The chords keep

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progressing, modulating to other keys, and stopped at the end of m.36 in a D# diminished 7th
chord. (fig.8)!

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Fig. 8

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- Furthermore, arpeggios are evident in the passage. There are two arpeggios in B major (red
squares). Unlike the eight-note dominant and diminished chords above, these arpeggios only six
notes, so triplets are used to match the fast-moving effect of celesta.!
- Sakura, Sakura closes the piece using a broken chord. The chord is a G minor chord in second
inversion, tonic of home key, meaning this piece ends on perfect cadence. The chord includes
notes of a g minor scale, notably the note D, G and B. Despite the presence of an A note as
well, the G minor chord is still outstanding. The A note can be treated as a passing tone rather
than a member of the broken chord.!
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Fig. 9

It is exciting to know that, in both pieces, scalic figures and arpeggiated passages are found
especially scalic sequences and broken chords. These musical elements are crucial for building
up a pleasant melody. !

Link 3: Conjunct coutour of melodic lines!

- A smooth, connected contour of main melody is apparent in Sugar Plum Fairy and Sakura,
Sakura. In Tchaikovskys The Sugar Plum Fairy, the melodic line progresses from D to B, each
time descends a half step so that a chromatic scale is formed apart from diatonic scale. !

Fig. 10

- The main melodic line of Sakura, Sakura is conjunct too. It only moves by one or a half step
when more notes are played (fig.3). Yet, this only occurs at first four measures of the melody
except the last note of the 4th measure.!
- It seems two melodies create a well connected melodic lines, where wide leaps between notes
rarely appear.!

A Final Round-Up!
Dance of The Sugar Plum Fairy!

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- This is a ballet from which an orchestral suite was made. It is set in ternary form (ABA). Its
instrumental texture gradually increases by beginning in monophonic texture where only strings
section participates to a full house, homophonic texture. A stable rhythmic pattern including
triplets, semiquavers and long pedal notes are used accompany the main melody when texture
is homophonic. Scalic sequences alternates between clarinets, adding melodic interest. In spite
of the evidence of diatonic arpeggios, some chromaticism is found in the main melodic line.!
Sakura, Sakura!
- The work is written in modified strophic form, with the A section repeated three times. The
texture begins as monophonic and later switched to homophonic in the repeated sections.
Rhythm like eighth and sixteenth notes are used to support the melody in the three modified
strophes. As a piece from east Asia, pentatonic scales sequences and arpeggios known as
Japanese mode often appears as broken chords to provide harmonic support. The melodic line
is simple and easy to learn, since this is an urban piece sung by ordinary folks in Japan. !

What are our discoveries?!

- After a deep examination of the musical elements presented in two pieces, it can be concluded
that in essence, although two pieces are remarkably different melodically, rhythmically and
structurally. They still share some characteristics in common such as changes in instrumental
texture, rhythmic patterns, use of scalic sequences and broken chords. Overall, two pieces tend
to retain their melodic basis, this explains why the two links focus more on variations in harmony
and scalic harmonic support. If to compare, Tchaikovsky make use of a greater variety of chords
and harmonies such as dominant, diminished sevenths and chromaticism, while Sakura stays on
the five pitched pentatonic scale system. !

What will be discussed next week:!

- Our reporters who recently visited the Beijing Opera in China are happy to share with us the
musical links between Western classical piano pieces and Chinese Opera, so stay tuned!