'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker

Artist: Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich

Born: May 7, 1840 , Votkinsk
Died: November 6, 1893 , St. Petersburg
The Artist: Popular Romantic composer of 6 symphones and some of the world' most
performed ballets including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
Info:
The Nutcracker is one of the most popular pieces ever created for ballet, containing
numerous famous dances, including Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, Dance of the Reed
Pipes and Waltz of the Flowers. This arrangement of the Sugar Plum Fairy is for clarinet and
piano
Score Key: D minor (Sounding Pitch) E minor (Clarinet in Bb)
Tempo Marking: Fairly slow and graceful
Clarinet
Instrument:

Style: Classical

Tags: romantic russian ballet

A two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a
score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (op. 71). The libretto is adapted from E. T. A.
Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", by way of Alexandre Dumas'
adapted story "The Nutcracker".
Although the original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that
Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. However, the complete Nutcracker has
enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless
ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America.
The Nutcracker is one of the composer's most popular compositions. The music
belongs to the Romantic Period and contains some of his most memorable melodies,
several of which are frequently used in television and film.

The instruments played in the "dance of the sugar plum fairy"

1. Flute
2. Oboe
3. Cor anglais
4. Clarinet
5. Bass clarinet
6. Bassoon
7. Horn
8. Celesta
9. The string family
 1. Why did the composer write this
piece of music in this way? Think about where
they were from (time and place) and the
motivation for writing?
During the romantic period, the music style was
composed differently in comparison to the music
from the classical era. While the Classical era had
strict laws of balance and restraint, the Romantic
era exhibits music that is more expressive,
meaning the composers allowed for artistic
freedom, experimentation and creativity. Many
romantic composers used elements of folk music
to express their cultural identity and nationalism.
The ballet was based on a story called "The
Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by a german
writer E. T. A. Hoffmann. Which was then
adapted by a french writer, Alexandre Dumas
later on. The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky is based
on the version of Dumas. Tchaikovsky probably
wouldn't have believed that his ballet would one
day become an international success, and sadly
he did not live long enough to find out.
Tchaikovsky probably composed this piece of
music in an expressive way while drawing
attention to the melody as it was the dominant
feature of the piece. He composed an expressive,
vivid piece with the new instrument called a
celesta, which gave the special magic in the
dance.
2. Where and when was the first
performance of this piece? Which families of
instruments were written for in the score?
List names and pictures of each.
The first performance of this piece was played on
the 18th of December 1892 when the Nutcracker
Suite was performed for the Russian Musical
Society in St. Petersburg at the Imperial Mriinsky
Theatre. The string, percussion, woodwind and
brass families of instruments were written for in
the score, which include, the flute, oboe, cor
anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, horns,
celesta, violin, viola, cello and double bass.
1. How did the instruments function within
the selected works - discuss melodic,
harmonic, textural and timbral features
The instruments in this piece work together to
create a pleasing sound. The work begins with an
accompaniment with the string orchestra, which
supports the celesta melody to create substance
in the piece. The melody line played by the
celesta from bar 5, is the main theme which is
carried out until bar 19. As the audience, we hear
the melody line stand out, as it is played with
expression and varied dynamics, with the use of
chromatic notes too.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is a combination
of a homophonic and polyphonic piece. The song
is constantly crescendo and decrescendo. The
main melody repeats as well throughout the
piece. The tone colour gives off a warm, gentle
feeling to it.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is very popular. In
the beginning of the piece, the music starts out
soft with the plucking of strings, and slowly gets
louder as the sound of a xylophone comes in with
the main melody. As the piece progresses, you
can hear strings-most likely violins and cellos-
come in and as well as a bassoon or clarinet or
bass clarinet.
2. What do you like about the piece? Refer
to at least 3 of the elements of music:
melody, harmony, rhythm, texture,
structure, timbre, expression and dynamics.
Tchaikovsky's famous Dance Of The Sugar Plum
Fairy features the sounds of an instrument called
a celesta. The celesta is similar in appearance to
a piano, but contains metal plates instead of
strings. The strings are hit by hammers,
producing a very soft, bell-like sound. I
particularly liked the use of a celesta and how the
rest of the instruments develope around the
central melody.
Tchaikovsky was one composer who you could
say was really good at painting with sound
creating all sorts colours, textures, moods, and
landscapes, especially how he structures the
music in this way. I really like the use of texture
in the music as it is a simplistic piece of music in
ternary (ABA) form, that is attempting to convey
the delicate and gen tle nature of a fairy. The
melody of the Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy is
composed with a very chromatic melody line,
meaning the piece features many
accidentals. This is very different, as many
compositions arent composed this way.
4. Have there been other versions of this
music written or recorded, or combined with
other media and how do they differ?
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is an extremely
popular piece of music. It has been used in
aspects of media specially cartoons and movies
for children.
It is often jazzed up for television commercials at
Christmas times.
In the first two examples the actual music hasn't
changed much just the tempo of it. The music in
Barbie is much faster and the music in Fantasia
much slower than the original orchestral music.
The third example on the other hand is
completely different seeing as it is only played
with one instrument: Glass Harp.
For example:
Barbie in the Nutcraker
Fantasia
5. Why is it so popular?
"The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," is famous
for three reasons. The first is that the ballet's
composer, Peter Tchaikovsky, used an instrument
that hadn't been heard in Russia prior to the
writing of "The Nutcracker": the celesta.
Tchaikovsky had discovered the instrument, on
his way through Paris when he was traveling to
New York for the opening concerts at Carnegie
Hall. The tinkling, crystalline sound of the
instrument captured the attention of composers
and others who appreciated music, propelling the
dance to nearly instant fame. The second reason
the music is so famous is because it is usually
used in one of the most technically challenging
dances in the entire ballet. Everyone looks
forward to this dance because they know that,
assuming all goes well, it will be an example of
amazing dancing. Lastly, for most ballet
companies in the United States, producing "The
Nutcracker" is an annual Christmas tradition,
typically bringing in anywhere from 20 to 40
percent of the year's revenue. The Sugar Plum
Fairy, therefore, is one of the most widely seen
ballet act and most widely heard piece of music.
"The Nutcracker" ballet, composed by Peter
Tchaikovsky and choreographed by dozens of
individuals since its 1892 premiere, is one of the
most famous dance works ever staged.
Although other characters in this tale spend
more time in front of the audience, no
character is better known than the Sugar Plum
Fairy. This role is one young ballerinas dream of
dancing, as it symbolizes the heart of ballet. It is
recognized for its pure artistry.
The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is the third
movement in The Nutcracker. This piece is from Act
2 of the 1892 ballet The Nutcracker. It was
choreographed by Lev Ivanov to music written by
Tchaikovsky. the choreographer wanted the Sugar
Plum Fairy's music to sound like "drops of water
shooting from a fountain".
Tchaikovsky found the ideal instrument to do this
job in Paris in 1891. It was then that he came across
the recently invented celesta. This instrument
looked like a piano. It sounded like bells. Tchaikovsky
wrote, "The celesta is midway between a tiny piano
and a Glockenspiel, with a divinely wonderful
sound." He wanted to use the celesta in The
Nutcracker. He asked his publisher to buy one. He
wanted to keep this instrument a secret, because he
did not want other Russian composers to "get wind
of it and ... use it for unusual effects before me."
Tchaikovsky introduced the celesta to Russian music
culture on 19 March 1892 when the Nutcracker Suite
was performed for the Russian Musical Society in St.
Peters burg. The instrument is forever linked with
the Sugar Plum Fairy.
There is little information about the Sugar Plum
Fairy's original choreography. The first Sugar Plum
Fairy was Antonietta Dell'Era. She was a good
technician. Although the Sugar Plum Fairy is the
prima ballerina of The Nutcracker, she has very little
dancing to do. This was a considered a major defect
among early critics.