Babbling Brooks and Beethoven's Symphony No 6
I. Allegro ma non troppo
Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ("Pastoral")
I'm Ludwig van Beethoven, and I'm about to walk you through the first movement of my Symphony No 6, the Allegro ma non troppo. You'll hear a cheerful, easygoing tune arrive in F major, as if someone has just stepped off the road into open fields and feels the worry lift. Here on this site my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces when they play, so try it yourself and see how quickly this one becomes familiar.
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Sit Back, Nothing Is Chasing You
Let me tell you how I'd listen to this movement if I were sitting next to you. Don't wait for a plot, because there isn't one: I wanted the music to express the feelings nature stirs in me, not to paint scenes. Listen instead for a short, simple tune that sounds as if it wandered in from a village, with a faint hint of bagpipe drone humming underneath. Then notice how little phrases repeat and pass around the orchestra, because that repetition is the whole charm, like taking a favorite path twice just because it's pleasant.A Title Longer Than the Walk
I called this movement "Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the countryside", and yes, it's a mouthful. The important word in that title is feelings: I was after the moment when you leave the town behind and your shoulders finally come down. That's why there's no drama here, and the piccolo, trombones and timpani that arrive with the storm stay out of it completely. What I wanted was plain, warm contentment, and F major gave me exactly the open, sunny sound for it.Choosing the Shape of a Stroll
For this movement I chose sonata form, in F major and in a steady, walking 2/4. Think of it as three acts: you meet the musical ideas, then I take them apart and play with them, and finally they come home again. It's a sturdy, classical shape, and I liked using it to hold something so relaxed. I'll take the sections one at a time in the next paragraphs, so you'll always know where you are on the path.Section 1: Introductions at the Garden Gate
The exposition is where I introduce the main ideas, and I do it at the unhurried pace of Allegro ma non troppo. The first tune arrives right away, small and friendly, and I repeat its little pattern so you can hum it before you've even noticed. More melodies follow, but the mood never changes much: everything here is bright, open and content. If you only remember one thing from this section, make it that first little tune, because I'm going to keep playing with it.Section 2: The Same Tune, Wandering Off the Path
In the development I take those small fragments and let them travel. The music drifts through different keys, and the same short phrases keep turning up in new colors and in different corners of the orchestra. The mood shifts a little, from sunny to thoughtful, but it never turns stormy, since the real storm is still a few movements away. You'll hear the energy slowly build as the repetition piles up, like walking through a field in which every hill looks a little different.Section 3: Home Again, Boots Off
The recapitulation brings the opening tune back in F major, and it feels like walking through your own front door. You already know these melodies by now, so this is the time to enjoy them rather than to follow them. The tempo stays the same, and the mood settles into a happy, settled glow. Everything that wandered away in the development has found its way back, and that sense of return is what makes the movement feel so complete.Section 4: Straight On to the Brook
As the movement closes, the music relaxes and slows its energy, without any big gesture. I don't stop for applause or even a breath, because this movement goes straight into the second one. That's how the cheerful arrival turns into a quiet seat by the water, and you're there before you've noticed the change. It's a small detail, but it tells you that I meant the whole symphony as one long walk rather than a set of separate pieces.Your Turn: Press Play and Wander
Now it's your turn to hear it for yourself. Press play, settle in, and let the music carry you without trying to catch every detail. Keep an ear out for that first simple tune and for the way it returns, and remember that I'm after feelings, not pictures. I first shared this music in Vienna in December 1808, and I still hope it makes you feel as light as it made me when I wrote it.---
I hope you enjoyed finding your way through this listen guide to the first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, as much as I enjoyed walking you through it. Did this guide to the opening of Symphony No 6 leave you curious to hear it again? If it did, you might notice that the movement feels a little different on a second listen, because the quiet, simple tune has so much room to settle in. That was always the point of this movement for me: it isn't a story to follow, just a feeling to rest in. There is still a great deal more to explore in Symphony No 6, because this is only the first of five movements. Beside the brook, the birds are waiting in the second movement, and after them come the country gathering, the storm and the grateful song that closes the symphony. Each of them has its own character, and each rewards a patient listener. If you'd like to keep going, please click on the links provided and carry on exploring Symphony No 6. I'd be glad to have you along for the rest of the walk.