Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 - Shostakovich

!!!!!!!!This excerpt prioritizes the singing qualities of the Bassoon and its expressive nature. While doing these kinds of excerpts, it’s important to know the context of the piece; not only for style but also for knowing your role in the piece. The VERY SIMPLIFIED version of this section of the opera is when Nemorino (the tenor) goes to buy a 'love elixir’ (unbeknownst wine) for Adina who is supposed to get married soon. He then tried to buy as much as possible since the wedding was the night of, but Nemorino is short money and has to join the army in order to pay. While he galivants around town drinking his elixir, Adina sees him and what he did to get the elixirs and she starts to fall in love with him, BUT now he has to go join the army the next day. So the next day on his way to the army he sings “Una furtiva lagrima” or “One Furtive Tear”.

Here, the Bassoon opens before the tenor voice sings. This is important to know prior since the tenor has the same melody as the Bassoon, which means that the rhythm has to be precise to help the tenor while also mimicking the tenors singing quality on the Bassoon. All this to say: this excerpt must be precise and it must be expressive.

Now when starting this, there’s a couple things to keep in mind before even playing: Dynamics, Motion, and Markings. While it is marked piano, it’s still a solo; the only other people playing are harp and pizzicato strings (mainly harp). So the key here is to project (not overpower) and stay around a piano dynamic. Next is motion: where do the notes lead and where are the tension/relief points to tell the story of a lonely soldier who yearns for love. The markings are the last piece of the puzzle for full context of the piece (what does Donizetti use and when does he use it).

Rather than thinking of the staccatos as a “break-point”, think of these as a launch point for the next note so that everything can feel like you’re singing. The grace notes at measure 6 and 7 should also follow how a singer would sing them, but not muddled; follow the eighth-notes and the natural tension. IMPORTANT: measure 6 has an accent on the Ab! This is the peak, nothing else has an accent on it, so this must have an impact in the grand scheme of things. Lastly, “calando” could mean a couple of things, but I like the idea of “slackening”. This leads the performer to have a sense of easing off rather than weakening; tempo slows and dynamics lower.!!!!!!!!!