Article in French.
Abstract:
Ludwig van Beethoven was a lover of nature. He liked taking long walks in the forest, discovering the fauna and flora surrounding him. His Sixth Symphony Op. 68, composed in 1808, is a true celebration of nature. It consists of five movements, all bearing an evocative name, which is rare for a Symphony. This topics gave the Symphony its nickname of Pastoral. We can mention programmatic music, where the title of a movement conveys a narration, even if the notion and the term appeared a few years later. Beethoven saw things in other ways: his intent was not to describe a painting or narrate the surrounding nature, but to express the feelings he experienced when he was wandering in the forest. However, a small detail might suggest the opposite: at the end of the second movement, entitled “Scene by the brook,” the composer names the birds that inspired his melody. He indicated in his score that the flute corresponds to the nightingale, the oboe to the quail, and the clarinet to the cuckoo.
Publication : Cyrano Musique
Link to the article on ResearchGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345771712_Explorons_la_nature_avec_Beethoven