Overture Magazine - 2018-19 Season FINAL_BSO_Overture_May_June | Page 21

music of the first movement return
—now in the woodwinds.
A snarling drum announces the
arrival of the Tsar’s troops. A fierce
fugato breaks out in the strings and
builds to a frenzied climax. Then with a
brutal expansion of the timpani motive,
Shostakovich describes the soldiers’
attack on the crowd. The tumult ceases
suddenly, and in a beautiful arrangement
for harps, celeste and trilling strings, the
opening string music returns again in
shocked response to the tragedy.
The third movement, “In
Memoriam,” is a threnody for the
victims of Bloody Sunday—and
implicitly for all victims of oppression.
Over plucked cellos and basses, the
warm voices of violas sing the funeral
march “You fell as a sacrifice.” Horns
then lead rich-toned music of mourning
reminiscent of Gustav Mahler, one of
Shostakovich’s favorite composers. This
grows to a gigantic, passionate climax
with “Bare your heads” hurled out by
the brass over thundering timpani.
The finale, “The Tocsin,” bursts over
us with the brass shouting in unison
the melody “Rage, Tyrants.” From its
jagged rhythms, the strings build an
abrasive accompaniment that powers
this aggressive march. At its climax,
the violins shrilly implore “Oh Tsar.”
The crash of the tam-tam clears
the way for a return of the opening
string music. Over it, the English horn
sorrowfully sings an extended statement
of “Bare your heads.” The movement
gradually regains its fury as various
brass instruments and even a xylophone
sing this song. With bells clanging the
tocsin, the music proclaims a militant
resolve to overthrow the oppressors,
but its clinging to the key of G minor
suggests this will not be an easy task.
Instrumentation: Three flutes including
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piccolo, three oboes including English horn,
three clarinets including bass clarinet, three
bassoons including contrabassoon, four horns,
CREATIVE STUDIO
three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,
percussion, two harps, celesta and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 2019
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