The Blue Danube
Encyclopedia
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
), a waltz
Waltz (music)
A waltz, or valse from the French term, is a piece of music in triple meter, most often written in time signature but sometimes in 3/8 or 3/2...
by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, composed in 1866. Originally performed 13 February 1867 at a concert of the Wiener Männergesangsverein (Vienna Men's Choral Association), it has been one of the most consistently popular pieces of music in the classical repertoire. Its initial performance was only a mild success however and Strauss is reputed to have said "The devil take the waltz, my only regret is for the coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
—I wish that had been a success!"
After the original music was written, the words were added by the Choral Association's poet, Joseph Weyl. Strauss later added more music, and Weyl needed to change some of the words. Strauss adapted it into a purely orchestral version for the World's Fair in Paris
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
that same year, and it became a great success in this form. The instrumental version is by far the most commonly performed today. An alternate text by Franz von Gernerth, Donau so blau (Danube so blue), is also used on occasion.
The sentimental Viennese connotations of the piece have made it into a sort of unofficial Austrian national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
. It is a traditional encore piece at the annual Vienna New Year's Concert
Vienna New Year's Concert
The New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic is a concert of classical music that takes place each year in the morning of January 1 in Vienna, Austria...
. The first few bars are also the interval signal
Interval signal
An interval signal, or tuning signal, is a characteristic sound or musical phrase used in international broadcasting and by some domestic broadcasters...
of Österreichischer Rundfunk
ORF (broadcaster)
Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
's overseas programs. On New Year's Eve, the waltz is traditionally broadcast by all public-law television and radio stations exactly at midnight.
When Strauss's stepdaughter, Alice von Meyszner-Strauss, asked the composer Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
to sign
Signature
A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying...
her autograph-fan, he wrote down the first bars of The Blue Danube, but adding "Leider nicht von Johannes Brahms" ("Alas! not by Johannes Brahms").
The piece's popularity has been bolstered, as it became famous for its prominent use in the highly influential Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
film 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. In the movie, the piece is used to accompany a lengthy scene in which a Pan Am spaceplane is seen docking with a space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
, as well as its trip to the Moon. Its use is, perhaps, intended to create a parallel between the intricate docking procedure and the role of two dancers in a waltz. The piece is also used to accompany the film's closing credits. The movie's use of this piece has led to further use in pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
s of it.
Composition notes
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
with shimmering (tremolo) violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s and a horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
spelling out the familiar waltz theme, answered by staccato wind chords, in a subdued mood. It rises briefly into a loud passage but quickly dies down into the same restful nature of the opening bars. A contrasting and quick phrase in D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
anticipates the waltz before three quiet downward-moving bass notes "usher in" the first principal waltz melody.
The first waltz theme is familiar gently rising triad motif in cellos and horns in the tonic D major, accompanied by the harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
; the Viennese waltz beat is accentuated at the end of each 3-note phrase. The Waltz 1A triumphantly ends its rounds of the motif, and waltz 1B follows in the same key; the genial mood is still apparent.
Waltz 2A glides in quietly (still in D major) before a short contrasting middle section in B-flat major. The entire section is repeated.
A more dour waltz 3A is introduced in G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
before a fleeting eighth-note melodic phrase (waltz 3B). A loud Intrada (introduction) is then played. Waltz 4A starts off in a romantic mood (F major
F major
F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
) before a more joyous waltz 4B in the same key.
After another short Intrada in A, cadencing in F-sharp minor, sonorous clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s spell out the poignant melody of waltz 5A in A. Waltz 5B is the climax, punctuated by cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
crashes. Each of these may be repeated at the discretion of the performer.
The coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
recalls earlier sections (3A and 2A) before furious chords usher in a recap of the romantic Waltz 4A. The idyll is cut short as the waltz hurries back to the famous waltz theme 1A again. This statement is cut short, however, by the final codetta: a variation of 1A is presented, connecting to a rushing eighth-note passage in the final few bars: repeated tonic chords underlined by a snare
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
drum roll
Drum roll
A drum roll is a technique the percussionist employs to produce a sustained sound on a percussion instrument. Rolls are used by composers to sustain the sound and create other effects, the most common of which is using a roll to build anticipation.- Snare drum roll :The most common snare drum roll...
and a bright-sounding flourish
Ruffles and flourishes
Ruffles and flourishes are preceding fanfare for honors music .Ruffles are played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles...
.
A typical performance lasts around 10 minutes, with the seven-minute main piece, followed by a three-minute coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
.
Instrumentation
The Blue Danube is scored for the following orchestra:Woodwinds
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
- 2 FlutesWestern concert fluteThe Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
(Fl. 2 doubling PiccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
) - 2 OboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s - 2 ClarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in C - 2 BassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s
Brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
- 4 HornsHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
in F - 2 TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s in F - Bass Trombone
- TubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
Percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- TimpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
- Bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
- TriangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
- Snare drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
Strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
- HarpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
- ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s I, II - ViolaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s - VioloncellosCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Double BassesDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Choral version
The Beautiful Blue Danube was first written as a song for a carnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
choir (for bass and tenor), with rather satirical lyrics (Austria having just lost the war with Prussia
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
). The original title was also referring to a poem about the Danube in the poet Karl Isidor Beck
Karl Isidor Beck
Karl Isidor Beck was an Australian poet.-Biography:The son of a Jewish merchant, he studied in Pest, Vienna and Leipzig. He lived in Berlin from 1844 until the outbreak of the Revolutions of 1848, and subsequently in Vienna, where he was an editor of the Lloyd...
's hometown, Baja
Baja, Hungary
Baja is a city in , southern Hungary. It is the second largest city in the county, after the county seat at Kecskemét, and is home to around 37,000 people....
in Hungary, and not in Vienna. Later Franz von Gernerth wrote new, more "official-sounding" lyrics:
so schön und blau, durch Tal und Au wogst ruhig du hin, dich grüßt unser Wien, dein silbernes Band knüpft Land an Land, und fröhliche Herzen schlagen an deinem schönen Strand. Weit vom Schwarzwald her eilst du hin zum Meer, spendest Segen allerwegen, ostwärts geht dein Lauf, nimmst viel Brüder auf: Bild der Einigkeit für alle Zeit! Alte Burgen seh'n nieder von den Höh'n, grüssen gerne dich von ferne und der Berge Kranz, hell vom Morgenglanz, spiegelt sich in deiner Wellen Tanz. Die Nixen auf dem Grund, die geben's flüsternd kund, was Alles du erschaut, seit dem über dir der Himmel blaut. Drum schon in alter Zeit ward dir manch' Lied geweiht; und mit dem hellsten Klang preist immer auf's Neu' dich unser Sang. Halt' an deine Fluten bei Wien, es liebt dich ja so sehr! Du findest, wohin du magst zieh'n, ein zweites Wien nicht mehr! Hier quillt aus voller Brust der Zauber heit'rer Lust, und treuer, deutscher Sinn streut aus seine Saat von hier weithin. Du kennst wohl gut deinen Bruder, den Rhein, an seinen Ufern wächst herrlicher Wein, dort auch steht bei Tag und bei Nacht die feste treue Wacht. Doch neid' ihm nicht jene himmlische Gab', bei dir auch strämt reicher Segen herab, und es schützt die tapfere Hand auch unser Heimatland! D'rum laßt uns einig sein, schliesst Brüder, fest den Reih'n, froh auch in trüber Zeit, Muth, wenn Gefahr uns dräut, Heimat am Donaustrand, bist uns'rer Herzen Band, dir sei für alle Zeit Gut und Blut geweiht! Das Schifflein fährt auf den Wellen so sacht, still ist die Nacht, die Liebe nur wacht, der Schiffer flüstert der Liebsten ins Ohr, dass längst schon sein Herz sie erkor. O Himmel, sei gnädig dem liebenden Paar, schutz' vor Gefahr es immerdar! Nun fahren dahin sie in seliger Ruh', Schifflein, far' immer nur zu! Junges Blut, frischer Muth, o wie glücklich macht, dem vereint ihr lacht! Lieb und Lust schwellt die Brust, hat das Größte in der Welt vollbracht. Nun singt ein fröhliches seliges Lied, das wie jauchzend die Lüfte durchzieht, von den Herzen laut widerklingt und ein festes Band um uns schlingt. Frei und treu in Lied und Tat, bringt ein Hoch der Wienerstadt, die auf's Neu' erstand voller Pracht und die Herzen erobert mit Macht. Und zum Schluß bringt noch einen Gruß uns'rer lieben Donau dem herrlichen Fluß. Was der Tag uns auch bringen mag, Treu' und Einigkeit soll uns schützen zu jeglicher Zeit! |
so bright and blue, through vale and field you flow so calm, our Vienna greets you, your silver stream through all the lands you merry the heart with your beautiful shores. Far from the Black Forest you hurry to the sea giving your blessing to everything. Eastward you flow, welcoming your brothers, A picture of peace for all time! Old castles looking down from high, greet you smiling from their steep and craggy hilltops, and the mountains' vistas mirror in your dancing waves. The mermaids from the riverbed, whispering as you flow by, are heard by everything under the blue sky above. The noise of your passing is a song from old times and with the brightest sounds your song leads you ever on. Stop your tides at Vienna, it loves you so much! Whenever you might look you will find nowhere like Vienna! Here pours a full chest the charms of happy wishes, and heartfelt German wishes are flown away on your waters. You know very well your brother, the Rhine, on its banks grows a magnificent wine, there is also, day and night, the fixed and faithful watch. But envy him not those heavenly gifts by you, too, many blessings stream down and the brave hand protects our homeland! Therefore let us be united, joined brothers, in strong ranks, happy in troubled times; Brave, when danger threatens us, Home on the Danube beach, are the hearts of our band, To thee for all time Good and blood are consecrated! The boat travels on the waves so softly, still is the night, love watching only the sailor whispers in the lover's ear, that his heart long ago she owned. O Heaven, have mercy on the loving couple, protect them from danger there forever! Now they pass on in blissful repose, Boat, sail always on! Young blood fresh courage, O how happy, it unites laughter! Love and passion fills the breast -- it's the greatest in the world. Now sing a cheerful and blessed song, the jubilation as the air permeates echoed loudly by the heart and tie a band around us. Free and faithful in song and deed, Bring a height to Vienna city bought it on the new full glory and conquered with force. And in conclusion brings even a greeting to our love of the beautiful Danube River. Whatever the day may bring us, Loyalty and unity is to protect us all the time! |
External links
- Sheet music for "On the Beautiful Blue Danube" for 1 piano, John Church Company, 1868.