TCHAIKOVSKY’S ROMEO
AND JULIET OVERTURE
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TCHAIKOVSKY AND THE ROMANTIC ERA
He was a Russian born composer (1840- 1893)
Studied piano until he was 10 but was sent to a school that had no
music
He studied law and worked for the Civil Service
At 22 he went to study music theory at St Petersburg Conservatory,
where he graduated and became a professor at the college
At 37 he gave up teaching and became a full time composer
He struggled financially and was given support from a wealthy
widow (who insisted the pair never meet-they exchanged over 1000
letters to each other)
He got married that year also but was divorced 1 year later
He was prone to bi-polar!! His moods went from elation to
depression and he often spent months in introspective gloom and
melancholy (he was human!!!)
he loved to deal with themes such as “fatal love” and this is evident in
this Romeo and Juliet Overture
he died in 1893 under dubious circumstances:
some say he committed suicide or was murdered. Others believe that
he drank un-boiled water and died from Cholera…….autopsies????
Tchaikovskys style:
1. He was very creative and loved to use different combinations of
instruments
2. He used lots of contrasting keys(and unexpected keys), tempi and
textures in his music
3. He like to write scale passages
4. He used sonata form
SOME OF HIS FAMOUS WORKS INCLUDE:
Swan Lake
Romeo and Juliet Overture
The Nutcracker Ballet
sleeping Beauty
Along with 10 operas, overtures and symphonies
A BLUFFERS GUIDE TO ROMANTIC ERA TERMINOLOGY!!!
AN OVERTURE: THIS IS A PIECE OF MUSIC-USUALLY IN ONE
MOVEMENT THAT CAN BE HEARD BEFORE AN OPERA. THE
NAME OF IT USUALLY GIVES A CLUE ABOUT ITS CONTENT. AN
EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE 1812 OVERTURE
PROGRAMME MUSIC: THIS IS MUSIC THAT IS
DESCRIPTIVE-IT TELLS A STORY OR DEPICTS AN IMAGE
VERY
SONATA FORM: THE MUSIC IS DIVIDED INTO 3 SECTIONS
(A) EXPOSITION: here the first subject (musical idea) is heard in the tonic
key. It is usually a lively and strong theme. A transition (bridge) usually
brings the music from the tonic to the dominant key for the second subject.
This is usually in the dominant key or the relative minor. This melody is
usually more melodious and smooth. Normally a codetta completes the
exposition.
B (DEVELOPMENT): here, musical possibilities or ideas from the
exposition may be developed and frequent modulation to new keys is often
a factor. Fragments of new musical ideas (episodes) may be combined or
set into opposition against one another. Strong feelings of tension, of
dramatic conflict may be built up, reaching a climax, when the music
purposefully makes for home-in the tonic key.
A (RECAPITUALTION): this is where the composer “recapitulates” or
rehashes, in a slightly different form, the material from the exposition. The
first subject is heard in the tonic key as before. The bridge passage is
altered so that the second subject also appears in the tonic key.
The composer then rounds off the movement with a coda or tailpiece.
ROMEO AND JULIET OVERTURE:
 Romeo and Juliet meet, fall in love and marry
 They keep it a secret from their feuding families
 Friar Lawrence is their only confidante
 He gives Julie a sleeping tablet to make her appear “dead”
 He sends a message to Romeo to take her away but Romeo does not
get the message
 He finds her “dead” and commits suicide by taking poison
 She wakes up and seeing what has happened, kills herself with his
dagger
 The families unite at the end and realise that their fighting has
caused this tragedy
There are three main themes:
Friar Lawrence theme- he is the peace keeper, the mediator. He
represents the voice of reason and his theme is calm, rising and
uplifting.
This theme becomes more insisting, agitated and demanding
throughout the overture. This is illustrated through different
instruments, pitch and accompaniment
The Strife theme: this represents the conflict between the 2 families.
It changes very little throughout the overture-it is almost like the
stubborness of the feuding families (immovable)
The Love Theme: this is a long expansive melody that is full of
emotion. It changes the most throughout the overture-changing
instruments/length etc.
It shows how the love between Romeo and Juliet grows and matures
against all odds, even after death.
Introduction:
Exposition:
Codetta
Development:
Recapitulation:
Altered
Final conflict
Coda:
funeral March
Introduction:
HERE WE MEET THE
j
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y
3 TIMES:
FOR 1ST TIME (track 27)
Heard in the Bassoons and Clarinets
Hymn-like
Homophonic
Low register
(Bar 1)
TRANSITION
TRANSITION WITH
 Theme in flutes and oboes
 Contrapuntal
 Higher register
 Pizzicato strings
 Scale passages
LINK PASSAGE WITH A VARIED
(bar 83)
 Theme is in the woodwinds
 Dynamics getting louder
 Tempo getting faster
 Tremolo strings
 Timpani roll
 Much more lively
EXPOSITION
In the exposition we will hear both the
1ST TIME WE HEAR THE
112-115)
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AND THE
: flutes and violins playing in octaves (bars
Homophonic texture (melody with accompaniment)
Loud volume
Bminor
Repetition
Syncopation
Dotted rhythms
Fast tempo
g
2ND TIME WE HEAR THE
 D minor – G minor – B minor
 Played as canon by cello and double bass and followed by piccolo/flute/oboe
 Imitation at the octave and double octave
 Distance of a minim
 Canon is repeated a 4th higher
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Because it is played as a canon…the texture is ?????
3rd TIME WE HEAR THE
: flute violin and trumpet
 B minor – D major
 Louder dynamics ff
 Brass join in
 Timpani more involved
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Let’s listen to part one of
(track 41)
It is in D flat major (im missing a G flat on
stave!.....sorry)
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: Cor anglais(English horn) and muted viola (con sordini) in unison
Key of D flat Major
Homophonic texture: melody on Cor anglais and viola with
Syncopated horns in background
Wide leaps
1st time
Pizz cello and double basses
Rising harp arpeggio
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Lets look at
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now
: 1st violins…………track 42
Continuous crotchets
Homophonic texture
Strings are divided into 4 parts(div) and muted (con sordini)
Wide leaps
2nd time
Repeated notes
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Gradually more instruments are added to thicken the texture
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semi quaver scale introduction passage
Love theme in higher register in flute + oboe
Rocking quavers in the string accompaniment
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: flutes and oboes in a higher register…………track 43
Love theme introduced by rising semiquavers in flute and oboe
Pizz cello and double bass
Rocking/Broken chords on violin and viola
No percussion
IS REPEATED exactly as the above but this time the
Clarinets join in with the flutes and oboes
Bass trombone joins in
A short Codetta brings the section to an end with the harp playing crotchet chords
DEVELOPMENT SECTION
In the development section, there are 2 themes: Friar Lawrence theme and The Strife Theme
They are representational of the feuding families and the calm voice of reason-the mediator
Friar Lawrence.
As the discussions heat up, the tension is continuously building up. By the final section of the
Recapitulation, with each repetition of these themes, frustration creeps in and this is evident
in the composers choice of heavier brassier instruments instead of lighter woodwinds. Each
of the themes are raised by a semi-tone which may be symbolic of tempers/voice pitch being
raised in an argument.
HERE WE HAVE BOTH
(MEDIATOR)
WITH
(FEUDING FAMILIES)
(track 45)
Bminor to F sharp minor
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Horn (later flute/clarinet)
7 BAR BUILD UP
2nd violin =strife rhythms
1. No key signature
2. Dialogue between strings/wood
3. Lots of semi-quavers
4. Pizzicato IN CELLO/D.BASS
5. Polyphonic texture
6. Sequences
7. Staccato violins
2ND TIME (track 46)
G minor
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Horns
strings
Exact repetition
1. 3 note Semi-quavers idea across orchestra
2. Sequences 326-330
3. Crescendo
h 3rd time (track 47)
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B Minor
Trumpets with orchestra accompanying
(rhythms)
Syncopation in strife theme
Descending line in cello/tuba and bassoon
Recapitulation section
(bars 353-462)
Here in the recapitulation, the story has moved on and there
is a lot of tension
SECTION
KEY
BAR
TRACK
STRIFE
B MINOR
353
48
LOVE THEME D MAJOR
PART 2
368
49
LOVE THEME D MAJOR
PART 1
389
50
ALTERED
D MAJOR
LOVE THEME
419
51
STRIFE +
FRIAR LAW.
441
52
462
53
THEME
TRANSITION
B MINOR
C MINOR
C# MINOR
C#MINOR
B MINOR
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Repeat of strife theme (from bar 151) but now only 12 bars
instead of 53 bars long
Played with full orchestra
Extra bar of strife rhythm in bar 361-363
Instead of link passage now its just 2 bars played by strings, in
octaves, downward scale passage
 it is now in D major
 it is not preceeded by love theme part 1 nor is it slowed
down
 it is initially soft but crescendos to a loud volume (in the
exposition it was quiet throughout)
 the melody is played by oboes with semi-quaver
accompaniment in the violins
 cellos enter with sustained pedal and woodwinds gradually
enter in
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D major and forte played by strings
Accompanied by triplet chords in wind section
Horns play a counter melody
Pedal note in bassoons, double bass and tuba
The bass drum accompanies the love theme
 Cello and bassoon play love theme in imitation with flutes
and oboe
 Violins and violas play sextuplet semi-quavers (6 semiquavers for the price of 4)
 This is repeated a tone higher
 Love theme is played in imitation between horns and
flutes/oboes/clarinets
 This is followed by final statement of the opening of the love
theme
 Motives from the strife theme played on piccolo, flute,
trumpet, violin.
 B minor
 Accompanied by everyone else without cymbals
 Friar Lawrence theme played in c minor by oboe, horn and
trumpet
 Repeated up semi-tone in c minor
 Repeated up semi-tone in c# minor
 C# minor to B minor
 Strife rhythm
 Loud drum roll brings recap to a close
BARS
485 - 510
 FUNERAL
MARCH
 LINK
PASSAGE
 LOVE
MOTIF
FUNERAL MARCH (485-494) t34
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THE CODA IS PLAYED AT A MODERATE TEMPO
BASED ON LOVE THEME
Double bass play repeated crotchets (pizzicato)
Timpani plays ostinato triplet rhythm
Love theme played on bassoon, violin and cello then on
bassoon, viola and cello
LINK PASSAGE (494-509) t35
 Mood of reconciliation and hope
LOVE MOTIF(509- END) t36
 Violins and violas play short motif from love theme in
octaves
 Overture concludes with a loud drum roll on the rimpani
with repeated B major chords played by full orchestra
 Ends on the single note “B”…….no chord