F minor is a minor scale based on F , consisting of the pitches F, G , A ♭ , B ♭ , C , D ♭ , and E ♭ . Its key signature consists of four flats . Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major . Its enharmonic equivalent , E-sharp minor , has six single sharps and the double sharp F , which makes it impractical to use.
17-525: The Symphony No. 6 in F major , Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony (German: Pastorale ), is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and completed in 1808. One of Beethoven's few works containing explicitly programmatic content , the symphony was first performed alongside his fifth symphony in the Theater an der Wien on 22 December 1808 in a four-hour concert . Beethoven
34-599: A long and under-rehearsed concert in the Theater at der Wien in Vienna on 22 December 1808. Frank A. D'Accone suggested that Beethoven borrowed the programmatic ideas (a shepherd's pipe, birds singing, streams flowing, and a thunderstorm) for his five-movement narrative layout from Le Portrait musical de la Nature ou Grande Symphonie , which was composed by Justin Heinrich Knecht (1752–1817) in 1784. The symphony
51-443: A riotous atmosphere with a faster tempo. The movement ends abruptly, leading without a pause into the fourth movement. The fourth movement, in F minor and 4 time, is the part where Beethoven calls for the largest instrumentation in the entire piece. It depicts a violent thunderstorm with painstaking realism, building from distant thunder (quiet tremolos on cellos and basses) and a few drops of rain (eighth-note passages on
68-428: A symmetrical eight-bar theme, in this case representing the shepherds' song of thanksgiving. The final A section starts quietly and gradually builds to an ecstatic culmination for the full orchestra (minus piccolo and timpani) with the first violins playing very rapid triplet tremolo on a high F. There follows a fervent coda suggestive of prayer, marked by Beethoven pianissimo , sotto voce ; most conductors slow
85-638: Is Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The F harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are The scale degree chords of F minor are: Famous pieces in the key of F minor include Beethoven 's Appassionata Sonata , Chopin 's Piano Concerto No. 2 , Ballade No. 4 , Haydn 's Symphony No. 49, La Passione and Tchaikovsky ’s Symphony No. 4 . Glenn Gould once said if he could be any key, he would be F minor, because "it's rather dour, halfway between complex and stable, between upright and lascivious, between gray and highly tinted... There
102-433: Is G-sharp major , which is usually replaced by A-flat major . Its parallel major, E-sharp major, is usually replaced by F major , as E-sharp major’s four double-sharps make it impractical to use. Because of that enharmonic relationship, it is usually noted as the enharmonic minor of F minor whose key signature has four flats. The E-sharp natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of
119-506: Is a certain obliqueness." Hermann von Helmholtz once described F minor as harrowing and melancholy. Christian Schubart described this key as "Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave". E-sharp minor is a theoretical key based on the musical note E ♯ , consisting of the pitches E♯, F [REDACTED] , G♯ , A♯ , B♯ , C♯ and D♯ . Its key signature has eight sharps, requiring one double sharp and six single sharps . Its relative major
136-425: Is another sonata-form movement, this time in 8 and in the key of B ♭ major, the subdominant of the main key of the work. It begins with the strings playing a motif that imitates flowing water. The cello section is divided, with just two players playing the flowing-water notes on muted instruments, and the remaining cellos playing mostly pizzicato notes together with the double basses. Towards
153-428: Is scored for the following instrumentation: Woodwinds Brass Percussion Strings The symphony has five, rather than the four movements typical of symphonies preceding Beethoven's time, although there are no pauses between the last three movements. Beethoven wrote a programmatic title at the beginning of each movement: The third movement ends on an unresolved cadence that leads straight into
170-480: Is the home key of the English horn , the basset horn , the horn in F, the trumpet in F and the bass Wagner tuba . Thus, music in F major for these transposing instruments is written in C major . These instruments sound a perfect fifth lower than written, with the exception of the trumpet in F which sounds a fourth higher. The scale degree chords of F major are: F minor The F natural minor scale
187-417: The end is a cadenza for woodwind instruments that imitates bird calls. Beethoven helpfully identified the bird species in the score: nightingale ( flute ), quail ( oboe ), and cuckoo (two clarinets ). The third movement is a scherzo in 4 time, which depicts country folk dancing and reveling. It is in F major, returning to the main key of the symphony. The movement is an altered version of
SECTION 10
#1732765258314204-679: The fourth. A performance of the work lasts about 35-46 minutes, depending on the choice of tempo and whether the repeats in the 1st and 3rd movements are omitted. The symphony begins with a placid and cheerful movement depicting the composer's feelings as he arrives in the country. The movement, in 4 meter, is in sonata form , and its motifs are extensively developed. At several points, Beethoven builds up orchestral texture by multiple repetitions of very short motifs. Yvonne Frindle commented that "the infinite repetition of pattern in nature [is] conveyed through rhythmic cells , its immensity through sustained pure harmonies." The second movement
221-473: The solo flute represents a rainbow. There is a seamless transition into the final movement. This movement parallels Mozart 's procedure in his String Quintet in G minor K. 516 of 1787, which likewise prefaces a serene final movement with a long, emotionally stormy introduction. The finale, which is in F major, is in 8 time. The movement is in sonata rondo form , in an Intro-[A-B-A]-C-[A-B-A]-Coda structure. Like many finales, this movement emphasizes
238-472: The tempo for this passage. After a brief period of afterglow, the work ends with two emphatic F-major chords. Hypothetical: No. 10 in E♭ major F major F major is a major scale based on F , with the pitches F, G , A , B ♭ , C , D , and E . Its key signature has one flat . Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor . The F major scale is: F major
255-409: The usual form for scherzi, in that the trio appears twice rather than just once, and the third appearance of the scherzo theme is truncated. Perhaps to accommodate this rather spacious arrangement, Beethoven did not mark the usual internal repeats of the scherzo and the trio. Theodor Adorno identifies this scherzo as the model for the scherzos by Anton Bruckner . The final return of the theme conveys
272-441: The violins) to a great climax with loud thunder (timpani), lightning (piccolo), high winds (swirling arpeggio-like passages on the strings), and heavy downpours of rain (16-note tremolo passages on the strings). With the addition of the trombones later in the movement, Beethoven makes an even more tremendous effect. The storm eventually passes, with an occasional peal of thunder still heard in the distance. An ascending scale passage on
289-592: Was a lover of nature who spent a great deal of his time on walks in the country. He frequently left Vienna to work in rural locations. The composer said that the Sixth Symphony is "more the expression of feeling than painting", a point underlined by the title of the first movement. The first sketches of the Pastoral Symphony appeared in 1802. It was composed simultaneously with Beethoven's more famous Fifth Symphony . Both symphonies were premiered in
#313686