D
Chaos (Le Cahos)
Les Élémens, Rebel's last composition, was his most ambitious and striking work... this work is a ten-movement choreographed tone poem depicting the formation of earth's elements (earth, water, fire and air) from cosmic chaos. Though they were originally composed and performed separately, the movement Le Cahos ("Chaos") later became the introduction to the dance suite Les Élémens and are now published and performed together. Because of its originality and harmonic daring, Chaos is considered a musical masterpiece of the time, and compared to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (1913)...
Chaos begins with an unheard of dissonance, sustaining all seven notes of the D minor scale in one harsh chord. After a short silence, one hears the formation of elements pulsating into existence. Each is introduced as melodic themes that are developed together in later movements. "Air" appears in a high register wind tone suspended above the chaos. Slow, flowing scales depict the appearance of "Water". "Fire and Earth" enter together at opposite ends of the register: "Fire," the shimmering violins dancing with "Air," float above the rumblings of "Earth's" bass section. As the four elements develop, interweaving throughout their seven appearances, the rhythmic "Chaos" diminishes.
Most of the succeeding movements are based on dance forms. Loure is for "Earth and Water"; Chaconne for "Fire"; and Ramage for "Air." As "life" appears in this work, Rebel inserts birdsongs into Ramage (Birdsongs) and Rossignol (Nightingale). The Tambourins, also labled "Water", contain shifting phrase lengths. The final three movements, Sicilienne, a languid canon, Rondeau (Air pour l'Amour, or "Song for Cupid"), and Caprice, are assigned no element associations.
[video=youtube;dnlaCenlNHk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnlaCenlNHk[/video]
Les Élémens, Rebel's last composition, was his most ambitious and striking work... this work is a ten-movement choreographed tone poem depicting the formation of earth's elements (earth, water, fire and air) from cosmic chaos. Though they were originally composed and performed separately, the movement Le Cahos ("Chaos") later became the introduction to the dance suite Les Élémens and are now published and performed together. Because of its originality and harmonic daring, Chaos is considered a musical masterpiece of the time, and compared to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (1913)...
Chaos begins with an unheard of dissonance, sustaining all seven notes of the D minor scale in one harsh chord. After a short silence, one hears the formation of elements pulsating into existence. Each is introduced as melodic themes that are developed together in later movements. "Air" appears in a high register wind tone suspended above the chaos. Slow, flowing scales depict the appearance of "Water". "Fire and Earth" enter together at opposite ends of the register: "Fire," the shimmering violins dancing with "Air," float above the rumblings of "Earth's" bass section. As the four elements develop, interweaving throughout their seven appearances, the rhythmic "Chaos" diminishes.
Most of the succeeding movements are based on dance forms. Loure is for "Earth and Water"; Chaconne for "Fire"; and Ramage for "Air." As "life" appears in this work, Rebel inserts birdsongs into Ramage (Birdsongs) and Rossignol (Nightingale). The Tambourins, also labled "Water", contain shifting phrase lengths. The final three movements, Sicilienne, a languid canon, Rondeau (Air pour l'Amour, or "Song for Cupid"), and Caprice, are assigned no element associations.
[video=youtube;dnlaCenlNHk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnlaCenlNHk[/video]
