The real name of the Moonlight Sonata is Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor. The composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote it in 1801 in honor of Countess Juliet Guicciardi, his student, with whom he was in love. The title "Lunar" was given to the work in 1832 with the light hand of the music critic Rellshtab.
It is necessary
- - piano or other keyboard instrument;
- - notes.
Instructions
Step 1
The first publication of the sonata is dated 1802. Musicologists traditionally see the musician's personal tragedy in the work: the countess clearly preferred another composer, whom she later married. The emotional coloring of the sonata is anger, suffering, pain. The mood of love is almost not reflected.
Step 2
The work, although it has a certain genre, goes beyond the traditional sonata form. The subtitle of the sonata: “quasi una fantasia” (from Italian “like fantasy, like fantasy”) - emphasizes that the work borders on other genres.
Step 3
The most famous part of the sonata is Adagio Sostenuto (sad, restrained). The accompaniment consists of a decomposed arpeggiato in triplets, the melody is presented in large lengths close to recitative. The music is slow, dull mood. The bass in this part is presented in octaves and semitone moves of choral chords and in places duplicates the melody.
Step 4
The second movement - Allegretto (moderately fast) - is written in the key of D flat major (the tonic is enharmonically equal to the main key). F. Liszt compared this part with “a flower between two abysses”; the traditional musicological school sees in this part the countess herself, graceful, light.
Step 5
The third movement - Presto agitato (fast, agitated) - ends with a sudden adagio (a much slower pace than presto) and piano. One gets the impression that the lyric hero of the sonata has resigned himself to the inevitable and accepted his fate, his defeat.
Step 6
As a rule, the "Moonlight" sonata means the first movement, the most famous theme. The rest of the topics, although also worthy of attention, remain in the shadows. You can download the sheet music of the "Moonlight Sonata" by following the link below.
Step 7
When practicing, do not try to play the sonata from the first to the last page at once. Disassemble it in parts, separately with each hand. Preview the notes to determine the boundaries of the inner parts. First learn each of them separately with the right and left hand, then connect.
Step 8
Although the sonata is written at a moderate tempo, play it even slower at first. The task of the first stage is to distribute attention so that all notes are pressed on time and have the appropriate duration.
Step 9
Keep a pencil handy as you practice a sonata. Mark your mistakes, prescribe fingering. The notes made during the printing of the scores are suitable for most musicians, but they are not universal: if you have a hand of a non-standard size (too large or too small), the details will have to be changed. But play constantly with the same fingers to remember faster.
