F Major is the key of complaisance and calm. It is the most characteristic key for pastoral music. It has a certain innocent quality and can also be nostalgic. Finally, it is also associated with piousness and church music. To me its color is the lush green of fresh vegetation, but it also can have shades of purple.
F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B♭, C, D, and E. Its key
signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel
minor is F minor.
The theme of the pastoral as an object of artistic expression has a long tradition dating back to antiquity and can be traced in painting, as well as in literature and music. In all art forms an idealized representation of nature idyll and pastoral life is subsumed. The reference to the habitat and traditions of the shepherds also plays a central role in the musical pastoral, which is particularly evident in the shepherd music and its typical instruments such as flutes, shawms and bagpipe instruments.
Important stylistic features include:
- Recourse to a limited type and number of instruments, as well as conspicuous use of "rustic" instruments (mostly woodwinds for the purpose of imitating shepherd music, and strings as a basis).
- drones consisting of pure fifths in the bass (to suggest the sound of bagpipes) as well as lying basses (organ dots) in several measures
- imitation of natural sounds (e.g. birdsong) and other musical onomatopoeia
- Motif repetitions instead of elaborations
- frequent use of third and sixth parallels in the melodic line (especially in the upper voices)
- harmonic simplicity with preferential use of tonic, subdominant and dominant as well as simple (major) keys
- steady, swaying rhythms with repetitive patterns in rather moderate tempos.
F major has been established as the characteristic key for the pastorale since the 17th century. This phenomenon can be traced back to Martin Luther, who described the Lydian church key, whose fundamental is F, as "friendly." The fact that numerous pastoral compositions are actually in F major can certainly be understood as an after-effect of this tradition.
F major is the key of Vivaldi's "Autumn" in "The Four Seasons" and of his flute concerto "La Tempesta di mare" - also storms are something pastoral!
Bach uses it in his Italian Concerto BWV 971 and in the first two of the Brandenburg Concertos. There is also a beautiful (reconstructed) oboe concerto in F by Bach. Mozart used it in his Piano Concerto No. 19 K. 459, the Piano Sonata No. 12, the String Quartet No. 23 and the violin sonatas No. 24 and No. 36 - as well as in his Oboe quartet K370. Haydn wrote six symphonies in F.
Mendelssohn's first and third violin sonata are both in F. Not surprisingly again is that Liszt wrote his transcendental etude No. 3 "Paysage" in this key.
Johannes Brahms used this key for such works as Ein Deutsches Requiem, the String Quintet No. 1, Op. 88, the Third Symphony and the second cello sonata. Bruckner wrote his string quintet in F.
Ravel and Shostakovich wrote string quartets in F, as did Dvorak with his so-called "American Quartet", which indeed has a pastoral quality.
Characteristic Music in F Major
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 in F major Op. 68 ("Pastoral")
What sets the Pastoral apart from Beethoven's other symphonies are the descriptions that each movement has. The symphony consists of five movements, the last three of which flow into each other. The descriptions create the image of a a peasant party that is interrupted by a thunderstorm:
Allegro ma non troppo: Awakening of joyful feelings on arrival in the country
Andante molto mosso: Scene by the stream
Allegro: Merry gathering of the land people
Allegro: Storm and tempest
Allegretto: Shepherd's song - joy and grateful feelings after the storm
The most programmatic part, however, is the extra part: Gewitter und Sturm. Beethoven, of course, had heard similar passages in Haydn's Die Jahreszeiten.
1st movement: Allegro ma non troppo. F major, 2/4 time
The opening movement, entitled "Pleasant, cheerful feelings which awaken in man on his arrival in the countryside," contains numerous traditional pastoral features, which will first be exemplified here:
- drones
- repeated individual motives in several measures
- characteristic woodwind passages
- melodic third or sixth parallels
- echoes of birdsong
- Imitations arise mainly through the alternation of short melodic phrases between instruments rather than through contrapuntal techniques, as is otherwise common.
Moreover, the movement is almost entirely in major; only in measures 257-260 is there a brief shift to minor. Similar to the 5th Symphony, which despite its completely opposite character is considered a sister work to the Pastoral, a kind of motto is introduced at the beginning of the opening movement, delineated by a fermata.
2nd movement: Andante molto moto. B flat major, 12/8 time.
The second movement (Szene am Bach) is in the subdominant key of B-flat major and also uses parallel thirds and sixths, soothing sighing motives, and twittering sounds in combination with a gentle rippling accompaniment that suggests the murmuring flow of the brook through sixteenth notes in the violins, violas, and cellos. Like the first movement, the second largely follows sonata form; unusual, however, is a cadenza-like passage in two parts as part of the coda, in which three bird calls are imitated: Nightingale (flute), Quail (oboe) and Cuckoo (clarinets).
3rd movement: F major, 3/4 or 2/4 time.
The third movement (Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute), a lively scherzo in F major, shows a subtle modification of the traditional minuet-with-trio form in its structure. Furthermore, it imitates, among other things, a lay village band. The actual scherzo section has a dualistic structure, is in 3/4 time, and is headed Allegro by Beethoven.
4th movement: Allegro. F minor, 4/4 time.
The fourth movement (thunder, storm) is the shortest of the symphony with a total of 155 measures and a duration of just under four minutes, but at the same time, with its description of the thunderstorm, it is the most violent and hardly to be surpassed in drama. Furthermore, it is the only one in the variant key of F minor and does not follow a traditional formal scheme, but rather has a free form, which is to a certain extent defined by the programmatic content. Here, Beethoven dispenses with concrete themes, and contests the dramatic events with motivic particles, sighs, tonal scales, triads, chromaticism, disharmonies, and sound effects such as tremolos, timpani rolls, and shrill piccolo entries. Unlike all the other movements of the Pastoral, Beethoven now actually writes descriptive music in the fourth movement, virtually onomatopoeically imitating various natural phenomena such as raindrops, rumbling thunder, lightning strikes, or the whistling of the wind.
The chorale-like ending of this movement in purest C major and headed dolce resembles a redemption and is generally considered a key passage within the symphony. This is followed without interruption by the introduction to the last movement.
5th movement: Allegretto. F major, 6/8 time.
The fifth movement (Shepherd's Song. Charitable feelings after the storm, associated with thanksgiving to the deity) is again in the key of F major, and is arranged as a sonata rondo and, among other motives, refers back to the motto of the first movement. In contrast to the preceding fourth movement, Beethoven does without the piccolo and timpani here, but again integrates the trombones in addition to the trumpets. These are otherwise usually used in threes (alto, tenor and bass), but in the Pastorale they are used only in twos. The shepherd's song begins with a five-measure phrase in the clarinet in C major that, because of its melodic texture, resembles an alphorn call. In measure 5, the horn takes over before the simple triadic melody ingeniously transforms into the eight-measure songlike main theme of this friendly movement.
hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Ariane Matiakh
Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 5, Op. 24 (Frühling)
The Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major was first published in 1801. The work is commonly known as the Spring Sonata (Frühlingssonate), although the name "Spring" was apparently given to it after Beethoven's death - but it aptly describes the pastoral character of the work.
1st movement: Allegro. F major, 4/4 time, sonata form.
The first theme is sung by the violin with piano accompaniment. The theme consists of 10 bars, and after descending in a sequential progression, a note pattern including leaps is repeated three times and ends with a climax. After the melody is repeated on the piano, the second theme is derived as a transition, which, in contrast to the first theme, is based on a series of chords. The codetta is composed of an imitation of the motive by the repeated tones and a scale. The development section uses the second theme, and the recapitulation section is the reverse of the presentation section, with the first theme played by the piano and then the violin in that order.
2nd movement: Adagio molto espressivo. B-flat major, 3/4 time, three-part form (or variation form).
Accompanied by dispersed chords, a beautiful melody is sung by the piano and the violin, in that order. After the transition, when the theme recurs, it is colored with decorative variations and modulations.
3rd movement: Scherzo, Allegro molto. F major, 3/4 time.
A short movement consisting of a main part with ascending and descending scales and a rapid trio.
4th movement: Rondo, Allegro ma non troppo. F major, 2/2 time, rondo form.
The structure is "A - B - A - C - A - B - A - Coda. The light A theme is impressed by three consecutive same notes; after two parts, B with various elements such as shading to C minor, and C in D minor with triplets and syncopated rhythms, the A theme is reproduced in D major, then further beautifully transformed, and the piece ends with joy.
Leonidas Kavakos /Enrico Pace
Johann Sebastian Bach, Pastorale in F Major BWV590
The term "pastoral" (a genre whose origins go back to Gregorian chant, more particularly to the antiphons of the Christmas office, the feast to which it is principally attached) corresponds to a double form. The earliest published examples of pastoral music, characterized by drone-like basses and lilting tripletime melodies, date from the mid-17th century. It can be a small dramatic work, vocal music with instruments of idyllic and rural spirit, often featuring shepherds and shepherdesses: there are many examples in European music of the baroque and classical era, especially in France, from Charpentier to Rameau and Mondonville. It can also be an instrumental piece, possibly solo, also related to the life of the shepherds and the time of the Nativity, under a very clear Italian influence.
The prelude of Bach's Pastorale in F is squarely in this style. Transmitted by early copies under the title "Pastorella pro organo" and seemingly dating from the end of the Weimar period, Bach's Pastorale is in four movements, of which only the first, Präludium, follows the traditional Italian form, holding mainly to a 12/8 time signature (hence a certain kinship with the Sicilian, minus the dotted rhythm), the gentle swaying of the song and accompaniment relying on long and soft pedal holds). Strictly manualiter (without pedal parts), the following movements break away from the spirit of this initial page, the Pastorale proper. One finds successively an Allemande in 4/4 on a lively and syncopated rhythm, in two sections with repeats; an Aria in 3/8, whose lyrical and ornamented song is supported by regular chords in the left hand - it is one of those long-breathed tunes reminiscent of the instrumental obbligato from a cantata aria; finally a Gigue in 6/8 in the form of a three-voice fugato on a long and delightfully artless subject, a two-part page with repeats, the second of which, is presented as an augmented reversal of the first.
Played by Karol Mossakowski, organ.
Johann Sebastian Bach, Oboe Concerto in F major BWV 1053r
This Concerto for Oboe in F major is a reconstruction of an oboe concerto, based on the keyboard concerto in E major, BWV 1053. Oboists did fairly well out of Bach, as his oeuvre contains more than two hundred oboe solos. They often concern one or two oboes in opening choruses and arias in the cantatas. But the true solo repertoire is sparse. For example, no solo concertos for oboe have survived. There are however indications that Bach did indeed compose oboe concertos, whose manuscripts and parts have been lost over the years - so for a complete oboe concerto we have to rely on reconstructions, such as this Oboe Concerto in F major BWV 1053r.The material in the first movement is used in the opening Sinfonia of Cantata 169, Gott soll allein (God alone shall have my heart), with the top line of the solo organ becoming the oboe line in the reconstructed concerto. The middle movement’s Siciliano draws on this same cantata and is idiomatic of the oboe’s lyrical nature that so closely resembles the human voice. For the final movement, we refer to Cantata 49, Ich geh’ und suche mit Verlangen (I go forth and seek with longing). The text of the Cantata’s finale sings of the happiness and joy of love, and it is no surprise that Bach revisited this material for his much-loved oboe. The soloist glides over the boisterous strings in an interplay of energy and joy.
Emma Black | Netherlands Bach Society
Antonio Vivaldi, La tempesta di mare in F Major RV 433
La
tempesta di mare ("The Storm at Sea") is the first of Six Flute Concertos, Op. 10 by Antonio
Vivaldi, published around 1728.
Vivaldi made the concerto into a
mainstream form, not only by expanding the ritornello form, but also
by emphasizing the slow movements of concertos,
which were in a two part binary form. Solo instruments that Vivaldi
wrote concertos for include the violin, bassoon, cello, oboe, viola
d'amore,
flute and mandolin. He also wrote ensemble concertos (concerto
grosso and/or chamber concerto), where three or more soloists
participate. Vivaldi had an extensive
influence on the concerto genre, helping to pioneer the structure,
expanding the boundaries of the genre, and showing that any instrument
could play a concerto.
Vivaldi's contemporaries
and predecessors such as Purcell, Bach and Handel featured the flute
(traverso and/or recorder) significantly in their works. RV 433 was
conceived as a concerto for transverse flute, but is also often played
on the recorder (as here). Giving a musical impression of a storm
was a popular theme in baroque music. Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" also
contains a few musical
depictions of stormy weather.
The movements of the concerto are: Allegro - Largo - Presto,
Sebastian Marq, recorder, with Jean-Christophe Spinosi and the Ensemble Matheus.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Oboe Quartet, K. 370/368b
Mozart wrote the Oboe Quartet in F major in early 1781. In 1780, Mozart was invited to Munich to visit Elector Karl Theodor, who had commissioned the opera Idomeneo for a carnival celebration. While in Munich, Mozart renewed an acquaintance with Friedrich Ramm, a virtuoso oboist in the Munich orchestra. It was for Ramm that Mozart composed the quartet in order to show off his virtuosity and the improvements that had been made to the oboe at that time.There are three movements. The 1st movement, Allegro, in F major, 4/4 time, is in sonata form with a bright theme. The Second movement Adagio in D minor is a mournful slow movement rich in fine expression. It is only 37 bars long. The third movement Rondo: Allegro, again in F major, 6/8 time, is a lively concerto rondo, in which the oboe's technique is gorgeously deployed.
Alexei Ogrintchouk, Oboe | Baiba Skride, Violine | Veronika Hagen, Viola | Sol Gabetta, Cello
Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 3, Op. 90
The work was written in the summer of 1883 at Wiesbaden, nearly six years after Brahms completed his Symphony No. 2. In the interim Brahms had
written some of his greatest works, including the Violin Concerto, two
overtures (Tragic Overture and Academic Festival Overture), and the Piano
Concerto No. 2.
The symphony consists of four movements:
Allegro con brio (F major)
Andante (C major)
Poco allegretto (C minor)
Allegro (F minor-F major)
The three chords with which the first movement opens form the basis for the entire work. The tonality varies continuously between major and minor. For Brahms, the concept of the Leitmotif plays an important role here. After the grandeur and majesty of the first movement, the gentle simplicity of the second follows, which is evident right from the start. The third movement is a rather melancholy interlude, accentuated by the changes between major and minor keys. The finale excels with its melodic abundance of themes. The quiet introduction soon turns into a stormy middle section and we are carried away by a wave of lyrical inspiration, which finally leads to a peaceful ending.
Brahms: 3. Sinfonie ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Antonín Dvořák, String Quartet No. 12 in F (American Quartet), Op. 96
String Quartet in F major, Op. 96, nicknamed "American Quartet," is the 12th string quartet composed by Antonín Dvořák. It was written in 1893, during Dvořák's time in the United States. The quartet is one of the most popular in the chamber music repertoire.
From 1892 to 1895 Dvořák lived in New York, where he served as director of the National Conservatory of Music. During the summer vacation of 1893, spent in the town of Spillville, which had a sizeable Czech immigrant community, he composed this twelfth string quartet. The sketch took him three and its elaboration thirteen days. He noted on the score, "Thank God. I am satisfied. It went fast." The atmosphere of the work is, in accordance with his wishes, artless.
Opinions differed and continue to differ as to how musically American this quartet, written in America, is. Some want to hear influences of American music in it. The use of pentatonics and rhythmic ostinati would point to Native American influences, according to them. They even associated the ostinati with Indian drumming. However, if use of pentatonics and rhythmic ostinati were typically American-Indian, one would have to label very much music "American," including a number of works by Debussy and a large number of works by Baroque composers.
I Allegro ma non troppo
Sonata form in F major. Although Dvořák had favored an irregular sonata form before coming to the U.S., this work is in the conventional sonata form. The first theme is a nostalgic melody in a pentatonic scale, sung by the viola. The second theme is in A major and is presented by the first violin.
II Lento ("Indian" melodic accent on the third and seventh notes of the minor scale)
This is a moving slow movement in D minor, three-part form. The violin sings a song in the style of a Negro spiritual, and the cello succeeds it. The middle part is in the style of Bohemian folk songs and evokes a sense of nostalgia.
III Molto vivace (first violin tone paints bird song in upper position)
Scherzo movement in F major. The middle section is in F minor and consists of a theme derived from the main section. This theme is said to be a note of birdsong heard in Spillville.
IV Finale: Vivace ma non troppo
Rondo in F major. The rondo theme is of a lively character, but the second secondary theme is chorale-like in contrast to it, providing a beautiful contrast.
The New York Philharmonic String Quartet performs Dvořák’s American Quartet