Tone Poems - The First Truly Modern Orchestral Works
July 17th 2006 08:45
Around the middle of the nineteenth century, Franz Liszt is credited with the general creation of the ‘Symphonic Poem’ or ‘Tone Poem’. In actuality, this was little more than a new term for a genre that had been around for perhaps as much as half a century. But what actually are, and what is the significance of tone poems?
A tone poem is defined as a single movement work for orchestra, which aims to depict a particular piece of imagery or narrative. Some famous tone poems include Debussy’s ‘Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun’ and Sibelius’ ‘Finlandia’. Tone poems are an evolution from concert overtures. It is probably debatable that these are one and the same with different names at different times in history. Both tone poems and concert overtures are one movement works for orchestra, and almost always concert overtures attempted to depict a scene, idea or emotion. Some famous concert overtures include Beethoven’s ‘Leonore’ overture and Mendelssohn’s ‘Fingal’s Cave’ overture (The Hebrides).
So why is this form significant? By about 1850 the art of instrumentation in orchestras was a concept taken very seriously. Instruments were constantly used for their evocative and connotative powers. Beethoven often used horns and drums to indicate battle and heroic motives. Berlioz was a master of instrumentation, utilising extended members of the woodwind instrument’s families, for instance clarinets in Eb and alto flutes, to achieve a particular precise tone colour to evoke his desired emotion. When tone poems became a prominent form of composition, it was another piece of evidence of the maturity of some of the ideals of the romantic era. Tone poems were programmatic music, that is, music designed to depict a particular non musical concept, and many historians view the rise of programmatic music as synonymous with the rise of romanticism.
The reason I find this form most significant is that in terms of orchestral works, the tone poem is quite possibly the longest living and most adaptable genre*. The style of classical writing in symphonies came and went in a bit over 100 years. The challenge to try and create a world unto itself out of music is a calling that has been answered repeatedly by composers for almost 200 years now. While the means of approaching this goal may change with styles of composition, it is none the less a challenge to which composer’s answers have enriched orchestral writing forever.
*This obviously excludes definitions of the ‘symphony’ and ‘overture’ etc., but I exclude these because symphonies and overtures and similar forms have no set ideal in their construction. A Shostakovich symphony was not written in the same way as a Mozart symphony, but the ideals of a tone poem from the 19th and 21st century are still pretty much the same.
Fingal's Cave, inspiration for Mendelssohn's famous concert overture
So why is this form significant? By about 1850 the art of instrumentation in orchestras was a concept taken very seriously. Instruments were constantly used for their evocative and connotative powers. Beethoven often used horns and drums to indicate battle and heroic motives. Berlioz was a master of instrumentation, utilising extended members of the woodwind instrument’s families, for instance clarinets in Eb and alto flutes, to achieve a particular precise tone colour to evoke his desired emotion. When tone poems became a prominent form of composition, it was another piece of evidence of the maturity of some of the ideals of the romantic era. Tone poems were programmatic music, that is, music designed to depict a particular non musical concept, and many historians view the rise of programmatic music as synonymous with the rise of romanticism.
The reason I find this form most significant is that in terms of orchestral works, the tone poem is quite possibly the longest living and most adaptable genre*. The style of classical writing in symphonies came and went in a bit over 100 years. The challenge to try and create a world unto itself out of music is a calling that has been answered repeatedly by composers for almost 200 years now. While the means of approaching this goal may change with styles of composition, it is none the less a challenge to which composer’s answers have enriched orchestral writing forever.
*This obviously excludes definitions of the ‘symphony’ and ‘overture’ etc., but I exclude these because symphonies and overtures and similar forms have no set ideal in their construction. A Shostakovich symphony was not written in the same way as a Mozart symphony, but the ideals of a tone poem from the 19th and 21st century are still pretty much the same.
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