Day 23: Fantasia: Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony: Movement 1

 

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony: Movement 1

Scored by: Ludwig von Beethoven

Preformed by: Leopold Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra

The complete Fantasia version of The Pastoral Symphony can be found here.

This is the 5th segment in Disney's Fantasia. It was originally scored by Ludwig von Beethoven between 1802 and 1808 and typically runs about 40 minutes long. However, when it comes to Disney's Fantasia arrangement, about 20 minutes or so of the score is lost. Yet it is beautifully animated, albeit not without some controversy with the Centaur scene in Movement 2 which has been slightly censored due to the change in racial views and depictions. If you would like to view a side by side version of the movement please click here. When Beethoven wrote this score (officially called Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op 68), he wanted it to tell a story through music. Its 5 movements tell the story of a countryside that starts with a beautiful morning, animals and humans playing in the fields then has a storm roll in and finishes with those in the countryside being grateful the storm wasn't worse. The story told in Disney's Fantasia starts with a family of Pegasuses (Pegasai?) frolicking and learning how to fly on Mt. Olympus. It then flows to a group of Centaurs and Centaurettes looking for their mates with the cherubs playing matchmaker. Once they are all happily paired up they start to have a party for Bacchus the god of wine. That is until Zeus breaks up the party and Apollo ushers in the new night. 

What is your favorite segment or movement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony? My favorite segment of The Pastoral Symphony is The First Movement or Allegro ma non troppo. If I close my eyes and just listen to the music, I hear happy memories of times gone by when I grew up in the hills of Arkansas and visits to my family in Tennessee. When I watch it, I love how there's a story about a family of Pegasus and how it shows the youngest Pegasus, the black sheep of the family, learning how to fly last and stay upright while on their way to a grand gathering in the mountains. It's such a playful happy scene that you can't not smile at its tender sweetness. It also shows a playful satyr and his unicorn friend frolicking and having fun too. The animation is perfect even with the baby Pegasuses but one (the black sheep) changing color when they dove in. The Pegasuses's colors stand out against the soft pastels of the background, even though they are similar in color. The mother Pegasus is white as snow and the father Pegasus is dark as night, with their children being pastel but one who is as dark as his father, "the black sheep" if you will. I love the subtle message that everyone does things in their own time, when they are ready, and in their own way and can still be accepted by their family. 

So until next time, Keep Cooking with Character.