Orchestral Movements, Symphonies, Suites
Dance of the Knights by Prokofiev (Russian)
A Movement is a section or part of a larger work.
A Symphony is a large scale work for orchestra.
A Suite is a collection of several contrasting dance movements.
Sergey Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights, also known as the Montagues and Capulets, is an extremely popular movement from his ballet, Romeo and Juliet. An emotionally charged piece of music, with strong horns and bass on the bottom and a powerful melodic line played by unison strings, Prokofiev's dark and brooding passages can send chills up your spine and set your heart racing.
Features
1. Dotted rhythm of the melody makes it dramatic.
2. Accented staccato of the melody helps make it powerful.
3. The minor tonality and the main melody based on a minor arpeggio make it dark.
A Symphony is a large scale work for orchestra.
A Suite is a collection of several contrasting dance movements.
Sergey Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights, also known as the Montagues and Capulets, is an extremely popular movement from his ballet, Romeo and Juliet. An emotionally charged piece of music, with strong horns and bass on the bottom and a powerful melodic line played by unison strings, Prokofiev's dark and brooding passages can send chills up your spine and set your heart racing.
Features
1. Dotted rhythm of the melody makes it dramatic.
2. Accented staccato of the melody helps make it powerful.
3. The minor tonality and the main melody based on a minor arpeggio make it dark.
'Peter and the Wolf' is an alternative piece for this category also composed by Prokofiev. This is an excellent piece of Programme music, i.e. it tells a story. It makes use of solo instruments to represent characters and is often used as a way of learning the instruments of the orchestra.