Clocking In with Ponchielli's Danza delle Ore
The Listen Guide
La Gioconda, opera in four acts (1876): Danza delle ore (Act III)
I'm Amilcare Ponchielli, and this is the listen guide to my Danza delle Ore. You'll follow the famous daytime tune as it moves from playful midday cheer to a quiet return at dusk, and finally to a boisterous can-can, so you always know where you are in the day. Here on this site, my fellow composers and I teach you to recognize our pieces the moment they begin, so come and practice with us .
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Where to Point Your Ears
Think of the orchestra as a group of people sharing one long day, and listen for who is speaking at each hour. The harps and the strings open the piece, so at first you'll hear rippling notes and soft, shimmering chords instead of a tune. The woodwinds are the talkers, and the cellos are the ones who sing quietly once the light has gone. Keep an ear out for the brass and the percussion too, because they save their biggest contribution for the very end.Why I Named It After the Hours
I called it Danza delle Ore because the dance follows a single day, in five parts: dawn, day, dusk, night and the return of the morning. In the opera, Alvise, the head of the Inquisition, gives an entertainment at his palace for the Venetian nobility, and he stages this ballet as the eternal struggle between good and evil. A day that darkens and then brightens again is an easy picture to follow, even if you've never set foot in an opera house. Afterwards Alvise reveals the body of his wife, whom he forced to take her own life, so you could say that not every evening in Venice ended as gracefully as the music.No Textbook Shape Required
Choosing the form for this piece was an adventure, because I could have squeezed it into a strict classical mold. In the end I let the day decide, so the dance simply moves through its five parts in order, with the daytime tune coming back now and then like a familiar face. The returning tune gives it something of a refrain, but I never worried much about labels. I'll only name the sections here, and then I'll take you through them one by one.Section 1: Dawn, Where Nobody Is in a Hurry
The first part is slow and quiet, and there's no tune yet for you to hum along to. I wanted the listener to feel the stillness of a city before anyone has stepped outside. The harp notes climb, the strings glow underneath them, and the mood is one of gentle waiting. If you only notice one thing here, notice how much space I left between the sounds.Section 2: The Day Gets Chatty
Now the pace picks up, and the woodwinds start chattering in short, bright bursts. All that chatter leads to the famous daytime melody, which is light, bouncy and very easy to remember. This is the tune to hold on to, because I bring it back later and you'll want to recognize it. The mood has changed completely from the hush of dawn, and the music now feels as busy as a market square.Section 3: The Sun Packs Up
In the third part the music shifts to a new key, and you can feel the color of the light change. The winds begin a new figure in short, detached notes, which tells you that the sun is going down. Then the daytime tune returns once more, but it sounds different now, as if it has been out all day and is heading home. The mood is still lively, with a touch of tiredness in it.Section 4: Night Lowers the Lights
Night is the calmest part of the dance, and the cellos take the lead with a long, smooth melody. That melody stays with us through the whole section, and it sounds nothing like the short, bouncy notes of the afternoon. Here I wanted the music to lean back, breathe slowly and let the dark settle in. It's a good moment to close your eyes, because nothing is in a hurry and nothing is trying to impress you.Section 5: Morning Comes Back in Dancing Shoes
The last part begins with a sunrise in the strings, bright and warm and in a major key. You might think we're heading for a quiet ending, but then the daytime tune returns as a boisterous can-can. The whole orchestra joins in, the speed climbs, and the music rushes toward the finish. I meant it as an energetic ending that sends the audience off happy, and it has done that for a very long time.Now It's Your Turn to Press Play
Now I'd like you to hear the Danza delle Ore for yourself, so press play and let the music carry you through its day. As you listen, remember the order of the hours, and listen for the harps, the woodwinds, the cellos and that returning tune. You may even find it familiar, since in 1940 Disney's film Fantasia gave it to dancing hippos, ostriches and alligators. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I enjoyed writing it.---
So, did you enjoy this walk through the listen guide for Danza delle Ore? I like to think of the piece as one long day that you can slip into whenever you want, from the first harp ripples at dawn to the last cheerful kick of the can-can. Once you know where the hours change, you'll start to hear them every time, and the music tends to feel a little warmer for it. There is still plenty more to discover about Danza delle Ore. You can look into how it sits inside La Gioconda, or into the strange and funny places it ended up long after 1876, from Disney's Fantasia in 1940 to a number two hit on the pop chart in 1963. If you'd like to keep exploring, please click on the links I've provided. Then put on a recording, listen once more from dawn to the following morning, and see which hour you like best.