Lauren Rule- Ballet Music (Outside Reading #5)

Ballet music.  It might sound all the same to some people... including myself.  I don't pretend to be an expert on ballets, just very interested in them.  There are five main types of ballet (or at least five the book names), Romantic, French, Classical, Diaghilev, and Modern.  Music is an important form of art.  Schopenhauer describes music as the most important because of it's ability to communicates its ideas rather than merely represent them.  Art is about emotion for me, so music, to me, fills the audience with emotions.  The first type of ballet the book mentions is Romantic Ballet.  An example of this type is Giselle.  The music of Giselle is mostly piano based.  It was one of the first ballets choreographed to music.  "The story breathes the very essence of Romanticism" (15).  The French Ballet includes Coppelia and Sylvia.  These particular dances have components of French national dances.  In the two dances, the composer "achieved something not far short of perfection" (22).  The music in the operas he later composed did not hold nearly as much deep emotion.  The next chapter is Classical Ballet.  I read this chapter closely for my paper.  The Classical Ballets include, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Nutcracker.  These ballets are not really considered classical due to their music, but because of their steps.  Classical Ballets are considered some of the best ballets ever written.  The Diaghilev Ballet includes The Firebird and Petrushka.  Theses ballets have some revolutionary ideas in them.  "It would be impossible to exaggerate the effect Diaghilev's company had on music and culture generally, quite apart from ballet" (58).  The last section is on Modern Ballets.  There are many modern ballets, but a few are Daphnis and Chloe, Job, and The Prince of the Pagodas.  These ballets have the influence of the west.  Music evolves with culture.  The choreography changes with the music.  I would like to see a ballet from each style to compare them.

Fiske, Roger. Ballet Music. London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1958.