Thanks to George Fergus for contributing today’s post!
“The unprepared shift from C major to E flat major on the word ‘Kraft’ (‘Power’) at 17:38 signaled, to Beethoven, a fundamental shift in the relationship between text and music. The word is imbued with an extraordinary amount of power (pun intended) over the music itself, forcing an abrupt shift in tonality. This is a sort of prelude to Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk, or total unity of music, text, and action as a singular art (as opposed to three art forms combined).
Happens again at 18:23! This 1808 piece is also considered a ‘trial run’ for the Ninth Symphony! This same minor third motion (up a step, in D) is found in the larger, later work.”
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