I remember in 6th grade, in orchestra, we were playing this piece ( just the melody) and she was telling us how Dvorak`s 9th was one of her favorite pieces and played us a video of the 2nd movement. after she asked us if we know what instrument it was. first person said saxophone then I (who was already very familiar with this piece) answered cor anglais to which she said nope. then another person said oboe and the teacher said that it was she was correct. it makes me angry to this day.
@@pablodesarasate499 Well to be fair, every string instrument (except double bass which people are still debating whether it is a viol or a violin) are technically in the same family so....
Yes, indeed, is it sad, or hopeful what is about happen? The trtremendous genius, Dvorak, will present one most plaintive, enduring melody ever heard. So fortunate are we listeners!
@@stevehinnenkamp5625 This is from the New World Symphony and Dvorak is transcribing the mood and substance of what we would later come to know as soul music.
As a cor player id also like to add that the register this solo is written in is the absolute best for a cor, it is the most resonant and full-sounding register apart from final few higher notes, hence why the bassoon comes to help :)
Cor anglais solos ALWAYS steal the show. They're just so perfect. I just played Ein Heldenleben and the pastoral solo at the end melted my goddamn heart every time Edit: actually, an analysis of that section of heldenleben from you would be very cool!
I'm a violinist, but the Cor Anglais might be my favourite orchestral instrument. Granted, that's partly personal bias, but still, it makes a beautiful sound.
A fun fact from a clarinetist's point of view: The whole symphony is in A, meaning a fuller, deeper, wider sound. But this small part is in Bb, which means a bit brighter, more sensitive, maybe slightly thinner - younger? sound. Of course the key also suggests a Bb clarinet, as in A it would be E major, while in Bb it's Eb, a much more comfortable key for the clarinet. Still, this instrument change has a special place in my heart.
I gotta say, I had such a difficult time with music theory in college but the way you’ve broken it down and highlighted each chord and the way each voice supports the other really makes it easy to follow and so enjoyable!! Thank you!
I’m an English hornist and when playing this in orchestra sometimes i had to ask the bassoonist to play loudly when he/she joins on the highest part. Dvorak knew the EH would struggle a bit to make a really effective high note and provided some reenforcement from a fellow double reed instrument. Always great to hear that bassoon join in! Suggest an analysis of the EH solo in the Ravel Piano Concerto. Very long and tiring. for the EH.
Harmonies of Dvorak are beautiful, but the music sometimes lacks continuity with much stretching and chopping. But still he is brave to make simple melodies and structures without need for overdetailing
This 'song' or 'movement' or whatever has litterally made me cry and weep tears like a baby. I just love the New World Symphony and Dvorak's music so much.
I love the second melody as well. I feel like it's just as powerful and beautiful as the first yet I feel like might go under apreciated compared the the main melody of this movement/song.
The first time I heard this I had put my cd in the player as I was driving through Lake Powell, up above on I forget which highway, but I could easily see the beauty and majesty of the gorge and the water below. Truly moving.
Why do you consider the final cadence IV-I, instead of V7add9? The only note ''outside'' would be the D, which is used in the typical dominant chord by 4ths structure (Ab-D-G) in the left hand which happens very often in music with pentatonic sounds (because of the prevalence of the 4ths and 5ths intervals in pentatonic harmony). So in my opinion it would be a dominant chord constructed on the V degree (as usual) with its fundamental in the bass, following a 4ths structure in one hand while the other has a typical construction (the 3rd [which is the tonal leading tone], the 9th, and the 5th, all which voice-lead as their typical dominant chord resolutions). What do you think? I agree that the ''coda'' after the cadence are IV-I of course, as the composer is playing with the ambiguity between the dominant chord by 4ths and IV degree, but the actual cadential chord is V-I with a ''flavored'' V. The fact the Ab is tied is not because ''it's not a V chord'' but because the composer is trying to debilitate the rhythmic resolution created by the cadence, which gives way to the coda to repeat the gesture similarly but now with more rhythmic resolution! That's how great composers make codas needed, by leaving things unresolved that the codas DO resolve.
you have good points and i did indeed carefully consider both possibilities but i decided on IV since i felt the absence of C in that chord is pretty significant in creating the illusion of a plagal cadence over an Ab i personally don't hear it as a perfect cadence but it's an equally valid argument
Technically, the cadence at the end of the first page is actually an imperfect authentic cadence. It's imperfect because the soprano voice is not Db, but rather the third F. Even though both the V and I are in root positions, in order to be a perfect authentic cadence, the soprano who need to end on Do, in this case, Db.
After F#m, you've put D#half-dim7, but it can only be a D#halfdim 7 if the D# is the root which it is not. In actuality, it is going from F#m to F#m6. It is still an F#m just with an extra note but the root stays the same. Then from F#m6 to Db we have quite a clear minor plagal cadence. You can tell it's a minor plagal cadence by the sound of it. but it cant be a minor plagal cadence if there's a D#halfdim- that just doesnt work I'm afraid. You simply can't go straight from a D# chord to a Db chord. it's just a spelling error.
@@OctopusContrapunctus Oh, no worries at all! It's tricky communicating this way because you don't get all the cues of face-to-face talking. I know what you mean.
I remember in 6th grade, in orchestra, we were playing this piece ( just the melody) and she was telling us how Dvorak`s 9th was one of her favorite pieces and played us a video of the 2nd movement. after she asked us if we know what instrument it was. first person said saxophone then I (who was already very familiar with this piece) answered cor anglais to which she said nope. then another person said oboe and the teacher said that it was she was correct. it makes me angry to this day.
@@Dylonely42 And.....?
@@paulnewman851 I was just saying 😅
@@Dylonely42 it is the alto oboe but, then that's like saying a violin is a viola.
@@Dylonely42straying into dangerous grounds there 😊😊
@@pablodesarasate499 Well to be fair, every string instrument (except double bass which people are still debating whether it is a viol or a violin) are technically in the same family so....
Sadly the last few notes are missing on the end; has it become corrupted somehow?
those opening chords are epic, always give me chills
Yes, indeed, is it sad, or hopeful what is about happen? The trtremendous genius, Dvorak, will present one most plaintive, enduring melody ever heard. So fortunate are we listeners!
@@stevehinnenkamp5625 This is from the New World Symphony and Dvorak is transcribing the mood and substance of what we would later come to know as soul music.
@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648nope, "from the new world" is the symphony 9 mvt 4 of Dvorak but this melody appears in symphony 9 mvt 2.
As a cor player id also like to add that the register this solo is written in is the absolute best for a cor, it is the most resonant and full-sounding register apart from final few higher notes, hence why the bassoon comes to help :)
Cor anglais solos ALWAYS steal the show. They're just so perfect. I just played Ein Heldenleben and the pastoral solo at the end melted my goddamn heart every time
Edit: actually, an analysis of that section of heldenleben from you would be very cool!
do you happen to play in the singapore symphony orchestra?
I'm a violinist, but the Cor Anglais might be my favourite orchestral instrument. Granted, that's partly personal bias, but still, it makes a beautiful sound.
My father's favourite, I had it played at his funeral as the curtains closed over his coffin. Tear up every time I hear it 😢
A fun fact from a clarinetist's point of view:
The whole symphony is in A, meaning a fuller, deeper, wider sound. But this small part is in Bb, which means a bit brighter, more sensitive, maybe slightly thinner - younger? sound. Of course the key also suggests a Bb clarinet, as in A it would be E major, while in Bb it's Eb, a much more comfortable key for the clarinet. Still, this instrument change has a special place in my heart.
Now I want to listen to the whole symphony.
Dvorak really is a master or harmonies in a way I really enjoy. His Requiem is a great example of this
I'd like to think Dvorak used the bassoon as a support to an otherwise reedy and thin sound of the Cor Anglais in that range :)
you're absolutely right!
I gotta say, I had such a difficult time with music theory in college but the way you’ve broken it down and highlighted each chord and the way each voice supports the other really makes it easy to follow and so enjoyable!! Thank you!
that's so heartwarming, i'm really glad to hear that!
I’m an English hornist and when playing this in orchestra sometimes i had to ask the bassoonist to play loudly when he/she joins on the highest part. Dvorak knew the EH would struggle a bit to make a really effective high note and provided some reenforcement from a fellow double reed instrument. Always great to hear that bassoon join in! Suggest an analysis of the EH solo in the Ravel Piano Concerto. Very long and tiring. for the EH.
Cor anglais is so underutilized! One of my favorite orchestral instruments!
In case you didn't know, it has a lot of importance in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde 3rd Act. It makes such a beautiful and dreadful melody!
I love your content so much, it's so cool to see the concepts I learn in music theory applied🙏🙏🙏
Glad to hear it!
I just want to cry when I listen to this… thank you so much Dvorak.
A lovely and a very spiritual melody.
Es por cosas así, que siempre termino fascinado y enamorado de los segundos movimientos ❤ Dvořák fué un maestro haciendo armonías ❤️ ❤❤
Beautiful solo, you can almost imagine over a mesa a native-american mother singing this lullaby
Harmonies of Dvorak are beautiful, but the music sometimes lacks continuity with much stretching and chopping. But still he is brave to make simple melodies and structures without need for overdetailing
0:52 how dare you steal from lotr dvořak
Love your musical notes. Well analyzed 👌🏽
cell to singularity, anybody?
was looking for this comment
The Swan of Tuonela or the Pines of the Appian Way.
Maybe Adagio, from Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, has maybe one of more famous Cor Anglais solo ever.
This 'song' or 'movement' or whatever has litterally made me cry and weep tears like a baby.
I just love the New World Symphony and Dvorak's music so much.
I love the second melody as well. I feel like it's just as powerful and beautiful as the first yet I feel like might go under apreciated compared the the main melody of this movement/song.
The first time I heard this I had put my cd in the player as I was driving through Lake Powell, up above on I forget which highway, but I could easily see the beauty and majesty of the gorge and the water below. Truly moving.
Why do you consider the final cadence IV-I, instead of V7add9? The only note ''outside'' would be the D, which is used in the typical dominant chord by 4ths structure (Ab-D-G) in the left hand which happens very often in music with pentatonic sounds (because of the prevalence of the 4ths and 5ths intervals in pentatonic harmony). So in my opinion it would be a dominant chord constructed on the V degree (as usual) with its fundamental in the bass, following a 4ths structure in one hand while the other has a typical construction (the 3rd [which is the tonal leading tone], the 9th, and the 5th, all which voice-lead as their typical dominant chord resolutions). What do you think? I agree that the ''coda'' after the cadence are IV-I of course, as the composer is playing with the ambiguity between the dominant chord by 4ths and IV degree, but the actual cadential chord is V-I with a ''flavored'' V. The fact the Ab is tied is not because ''it's not a V chord'' but because the composer is trying to debilitate the rhythmic resolution created by the cadence, which gives way to the coda to repeat the gesture similarly but now with more rhythmic resolution! That's how great composers make codas needed, by leaving things unresolved that the codas DO resolve.
you have good points and i did indeed carefully consider both possibilities but i decided on IV since i felt the absence of C in that chord is pretty significant in creating the illusion of a plagal cadence over an Ab
i personally don't hear it as a perfect cadence but it's an equally valid argument
0:51
Technically, the cadence at the end of the first page is actually an imperfect authentic cadence. It's imperfect because the soprano voice is not Db, but rather the third F. Even though both the V and I are in root positions, in order to be a perfect authentic cadence, the soprano who need to end on Do, in this case, Db.
What about the english horn solo at the beginning of Act 3 of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde?
Thanks for the musical analysis of this piece.
two words. Orange Juice.
mmm... Aranjuez concert solo?
I've heard and enjoyed that beautiful melody countless times-- and I never knew it was a cor anglais solo. Wonderful to learn that.
Haha great analysis! I've always loved the English horn :)
Many thanks for the nice explanation!
no way you cut it off before it fully resolved man
After F#m, you've put D#half-dim7, but it can only be a D#halfdim 7 if the D# is the root which it is not. In actuality, it is going from F#m to F#m6. It is still an F#m just with an extra note but the root stays the same. Then from F#m6 to Db we have quite a clear minor plagal cadence. You can tell it's a minor plagal cadence by the sound of it. but it cant be a minor plagal cadence if there's a D#halfdim- that just doesnt work I'm afraid. You simply can't go straight from a D# chord to a Db chord. it's just a spelling error.
🤓
Great Analysis! Subscribed
your channel is amazing thank you
not to mention that pedal point Db on those V chords! :)
It should bè called American horn just because of this solo
Hmmm. He may have written it in the states, but as I understand it he was yearning for his homeland.
@@EmdrGreg yea i know but hè also took of inspiration by native American Music. And it was just a joke.
@@OctopusContrapunctus Oh, I know- I was just running with it. It IS a gorgeous melody.
@@EmdrGreg yea sorry i got immediately on the defensive cause some people in classical music comments get pretty nasty, sorry
@@OctopusContrapunctus Oh, no worries at all! It's tricky communicating this way because you don't get all the cues of face-to-face talking. I know what you mean.
0:45 beginning
Beautiful! Bravo!
I dunno, the English horn solo in Ravel’s Piano concerto in g major 2nd movement may be more famous
iconic for sure but this one is hard to beat
It's not, most people don't know that piece or Ravel at all.
yeah I don't think it's more famous but it is easily one of my favorite musical moments in any work.
0:35
This reminds me of Halo 3:ODSTs opening title music so much. Must be in the same key (or Ab major).
idk why this one gets me teary eyed. so beautiful
*promosm* 😠
It’s not that deep bro