Sorcerer's

Question 1

Composer and year?

Answer 1

Paul Ducas
1897

Question 2

Where’s Ducas from?

Answer 2

France

Question 3

How many compositions of Ducas’ are we left with due to him being a perfectionist and often destroying his work?

Answer 3

15 compositions

Question 4

Why did this piece gain significant notoriety?

Answer 4

Disney’s Fantasia (1940)

Question 5

Who’s poem from 1797 is the piece based on?

Answer 5

Goethe

Question 6

What is the piece scored for?

Answer 6

An enormous orchestra, many of the parts are virtuosic

Question 7

What is the first theme and it’s attributes, appearing in Bar 2?

Answer 7

The Water theme which is exotic in it’s harmony

Question 8

What is the second theme and where do we first here it?

Answer 8

The theme of the broom
Bar 3

Question 9

The broom theme passes through what instruments in the introduction?

Answer 9

Oboe, then clarinet, then flute

Question 10

What makes the listener accustomed to the broom theme in the introduction?

Answer 10

It appears slowly at first and is repeated on different instruments before appearing at full speed

Question 11

What is the third theme and when do we hear it?

Answer 11

The theme of the apprentice
Bar 14

Question 12

When we first hear the theme of the apprentice, in the introduction, how is it marked?

Answer 12

Vivo = Lively
to reflect the youth and bouncy nature of the apprentice

Question 13

What is the fourth theme and where does it appear?

Answer 13

The theme of the sorcerer
Bar 24

Question 14

How would you describe the theme of the sorcerer in general terms?

Answer 14

A fanfare or horn call

Question 15

What is the introduction for?

Answer 15

To make the listener familiar with the themes before they appear in the piece itself

Question 16

How and when does the introduction end?

Answer 16

An abrupt timpani note, at bar 40, followed by silence to build suspense

Question 17

What is the first subject?

Answer 17

The theme of the Broom

Question 18

What is the theme of the Broom played on?

Answer 18

Three bassoons in unison in F minor

Question 19

What is the second subject?

Answer 19

The theme of the Apprentice

Question 20

What is the theme of the Apprentice played on?

Answer 20

The woodwinds, with a virtuosic clock part

Question 21

What key is the second subject, the apprentice, in?

Answer 21

C (the Dominant as we would expect)

Question 22

How and where does the development begin?

Answer 22

The development of the broom theme
Figure 25

Question 23

What contradicts sonata form?

Answer 23

The Theme of the Sorcerer appearing in the development
Bar 533
A sonata should only have two subjects

Question 24

Describe the melody of water.
- - -

Answer 24

• Descending
• Chromatic
• Stepwise

Question 25

How does the broom theme sound complete melodically?

Answer 25

It goes: - up a 5th - down an octave - back up stepwise to the tonic

Question 26

Describe the melody of the apprentice. - -

Answer 26

- Ornamented - Ends with a chromatic

Question 27

What theme is fanfare-like and consists of two chords?

Answer 27

Sorcerer theme

Question 28

What is the texture of the piece?

Answer 28

Melody is always clear. Melody dominated homophony, however, the accompaniment is often very complex to add to chaotic atmosphere of the story

Question 29

What plays an important part in the music, texturally?

Answer 29

Silence. For example, Figure 6, the opening of the exposition

Question 30

There is huge variety in the dynamics, with specific markings, but what is generally quiet?

Answer 30

The introduction and the coda

Question 31

How is the ending dynamically interesting?

Answer 31

Four notes are played very loudly

Question 32

Describe the articulation of each theme.

Answer 32

Water is legato Broom is staccato Apprentice is staccato Sorcerer is heavily accented

Question 33

How it the harmony of the water theme exotic?

Answer 33

- uses chords that are not directly related to each other, making the music sound a little bit more other-worldly - violas and cellos are sustaining a high Ab (in harmonics to make it sound mysterious) and then the violins come in playing descending chords. - the first violins are playing music with flats and the seconds with sharps as these chords are highly chromatic and there is a lot of movement by semitone which helps to suggest the flowing of water.