Music Appreciation: Deconstructing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (1808)

This essay provides an analysis of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, also known as the Pastoral Symphony, composed in 1808. The symphony is notable for its explicit programmatic content, featuring five movements each depicting scenes from nature: a serene brook, a merry gathering of country folk, a thunderstorm, and feelings of thanksgiving. The analysis covers the instrumentation, musical texture (a combination of monophonic and polyphonic elements), dynamics, and tonality changes within the symphony. The essay also reflects on the emotional impact of the music, emphasizing the feelings of joy, wonder, and serenity it evokes, and how Beethoven’s deep love for nature is expressed through the composition. The essay further touches upon the composer's intent to express his feelings rather than merely paint a picture, highlighting the connection between the music and the environment.

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Music Appreciation
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Section A:
Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven) composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1808 contains
programming which is explicitly audible. In fact it is one of the very few composes where
Beethoven has used programmatic content.
Piccolo, flutes, horns, trumpets, violin, violas, timpani and bassoons were represented in the
musical selection.
Beethoven used five different movements in the symphony as opposed to four movements
generally in typical classical symphonies. With programmatic title at the beginning of each
movement the symphony adds different tonal colour to it.
It is a theme which continues to appear during the course of this work. The following movements
can be heard when the composition is played.
Allegro ma non troppo: It is the first movement of the symphony.
Scene by the brook is the second movement of the symphony.
Mary gathering of country folk: It is the third movement.
Thunderstorm is the fourth movement with happy and thankful feelings is the fifth and final
movement in the symphony.
The composer has used different instruments along with the serene music notes to compose a
music purely for listening purpose.
Musical texture of the symphony is combination of monophonic and polyphonic. The texture
changes during the performance.
In F major, Op 68 symphony No. 6 is also known as German Pastoral. As mentioned earlier it is
has five different movements as compared to four movements in classical symphony (Lowe,
2017).
No, there is no definite pulse. F major 68 is used and is rhythm free flowing.

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There are dynamics contrast in this musical selection as with each of the five movements in the
symphony have different dynamics.
The selection has tonality changes and it affects the overall form of selection with subtle and
expressive musical notes in different movements of the symphony.
Section B:
Out of all the nine symphonies of Beethoven, Symphony 6 is probably the most loved
and recognized in all across the globe. The feeling of enchantment from the beginning to the end
is an important characteristic of the symphony. It was the deep love for nature that inspired
Beethoven to come up with this master piece. The objective of Beethoven was never to invent
any new forms in music rather all he ever aspired was to surpass his contemporaries by making
compositions on the existing lines. Thus, the love of nature as well as the personal ambition of
Beethoven have certainly played their role on the creation of symphony 6 (Lowe, 2017).
Beethoven spent significant amount of his time exploring the nature and being a nature
lover he specifically said that the Sixth Symphony is an expression of his feeling and not
painting. The intent of the composer to express his love for the nature was expressed beautifully
in the composition. Impeccable use of flutes, timpani, violins, violas and piccolo apart from
many other instruments made the composition a treat to the ears (Weaver, Beethoven, Orchestra
& Koussevitzky, 2016).
Section C:
The feeling of joy and wonder are the two most important attributes which are being felt
while listening to the composition. The joy and wonder both are endless in this particular musical
selection. Emotional continuity is definitely one key aspect of the musical selection apart from
the feeling joy and piece. It is due to the emasculate use of violin, trumpet, violas, bass and other
musical instruments which create a beautiful rendition to experience. The effects of serenity on
one’s senses is felt while listening to the composition apart from the feeling of endless joy.
It is a very positive musical selection, one that makes the listener happy. The love of nature is
easily visible with the background pictures but one cannot help but notice the extraordinary
ability of the symphony to create an instant connection with the environment. The personal
expression of Beethoven to express love for nature is of particular interest at the time of listening

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to the musical selection. The close resemble of the composition with “Le musical de la nature” is
also something noticeable while listening to the composition. It was the love of nature that
Beethoven tried to capture with this composition and he was very successful in doing so
(Weaver, Beethoven, Orchestra & Koussevitzky, 2016).

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References:
Greenfield, E., Beethoven, Kempff, Philharmonic, B., Leitner, & Richter et al. (2016). Piano
Concerto No 1. The Musical Times, 128(1433), 483. doi: 10.2307/949092
Lowe, M. (2017). The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven
(review). Notes, 71(2), 440-442. doi: 10.1353/not.2003.0161
Weaver, P., Beethoven, Orchestra, B., & Koussevitzky, S. (2016). Symphony no. 6, in F
Major. Music Supervisors' Journal, 37(2), 70. doi: 10.2307/3383401