Richards
Strauss and wagner
Sex in Music
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Richards
Wait, are you sure you're mature? Everyone loves a good steamy story and the great classical composers were no different. This edition of Theory Corner is about sex scenes in music.
Programmatic music is music that attempts to paint a picture of a particular scene, i.e. musically evoke specific situations and settings. An excellent (and early) example is Beethoven's 6th symphony, which depicts scenes in the countryside, a violent thunderstorm followed by the clearing weather and merry making with peasants dancing after the storm. Written in 1802-1808, this is a particularly early and innovative example since programmatic music was uncommon in the early 19th century. Later in the century it became more common.
Here I will highlight two of the the most explicit examples I know of the sex act in music, both from the late 19th century.
Don Juan
The first is an excerpt from the tone poem, Don Juan by Richard Strauss. This music is about the Spanish legend of Don Juan, a man who devotes his life to chasing women. The piece depicts him moving from one to the next.
This passage near the beginning paints a vivid picture of love-making, beginning with lush romance as the horns and strings play with each other. A long crescendo, with swirling strings depicting blood flow and rising chromatic figures depicting arousal, builds to an intense climax with a shockingly explicit musical orgasm complete with the slight ritard followed by powerful pulsations in the brass and timpani. Then a relaxation and an aftershock with chromatic swirling strings representing swirling bodily fluids. Daring for a 19th century audience!
01 Don Juan, Op. 20.mp3Die Walkure
The second sexy scene is the end of the first act of the opera Die Walkure by Richard Wagner. The two characters involved, Siegmund and Sieglinde, had just moments ago discovered they were long-lost brother and sister so this is also an incestuous scene. Siegmund had just pulled a sword from a tree - one that was hidden there for him for use in his time of need.
The sword is a symbol of new-found power for Siegmund, and some commentators suggest it is also a phallic symbol both with its shape and the shape of its associated music, the powerful dotted-rhythm rising arpeggio ("The Sword Theme").
st 12 Wagner_ Die Walküre - Act 1_ Sc. 3 - Siegmund Heiss Ich.mp3These two lovebirds have fallen for each other and the fact that they are brother and sister does not deter them.
Sieglinde sings "I am Sieglinde who longs for you. Your own sister, and you have won the sword!
Siegmund replies, "Bride and sister, to be your brother. Let the Walsung blood flourish!"
(The Walsungs are the name of their race).
After Siegmund's LONG note on the word "Walsung" there are two strong statements of The Sword theme in the brass, then the music scampers along as the two joyously rip off their clothes. The scene concludes with a bang as the curtain falls.
12 Wagner_ Die Walküre - Act 1_ Sc. 3 - Siegmund Heiss Ich.mp3If there's any doubt, the horny horns in this little snippet make it pretty clear what they're up to...
12 Wagner_ Die Walküre - Act 1_ Sc. 3 - Siegmund Heiss Ich short.mp3Now go enjoy a cigarette.
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