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[Footnote 289: For a detailed analysis the student is referred
to the account by the composer himself in hisCours de Com-
position Musicale, part II, pp. 484-486; to Gilman’sStudies in
Symphonic Musicand to Vol. 3 of Mason’sShort Studies of
Great Masterpieces.]
By following the poem the imaginative listener can readily ap-
preciate the picturesque suggestiveness of the composer. The
work opens with a mysterious intoning, by a muted horn, of
the motif d’appel, and then follows a triple presentation of the
march theme in F minor, scored for wood-wind and low strings—
the melody sung at first by the violas and clarinets and later by
the bass clarinet and ’cellos. This original scoring establishes
just the appropriate atmosphere for an entrance to the abode of
captivity.
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The first variation, in F major, employing all the tone-color of
the full orchestra, is a gorgeous picture of the Oriental splendor
of Istar. It is noteworthy that each variation contains a modula-
tion to a key a semitone higher, thus affording a factor of unity
amid the elaborate flowerings of the musical thought. The sec-
ond variation, in E major scored for strings and wood-wind, is
significant for the way in which the original theme is expanded
into a flowing melody. The logical derivation of the fabric from
the first intervals of the main theme is obvious,e.g.
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The fourth variation, in F-sharp major, scored for pizzicato
strings and staccato wood-wind, with light touches on horns,
trumpets, cymbals, triangle and harps, introduces the scherzo
mood into the work and with its persistent 5/4 rhythm is of
fascinating effect.
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The loveliest variation for warmth and emotional appeal is the
sixth, in A-flat major (at O in the orchestral score) for strings
with the gradual addition of the wood-wind and harps. Its
climax certainly does much to atone for any dryness found in
d’Indy’s other works.
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