In the ‘Four Sea Interludes’ by Benjamin Britten you’re standing on the cliffs of the English Channel and a storm is raging around you. Waves are crashing, wind is hurtling, and rain is drenching you from all angles! In this episode I share insights into the piece, I answer the question ‘What is rhythm?’, and we continue to explore the different types of pieces played by orchestras.

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Hi! My name’s Scott Wilson. I’m a conductor and I’m passionate about classical music. In this podcast we discover the music of one of our greatest artforms. We listen to a new piece in each episode, I share insights into the music, and over time, I’ll take you on a journey through classical music’s composers, musicians, and history. Everything’s discussed in an easily digestible way, and no prior knowledge is needed. This podcast is for you!

Today we’re listening to the ‘Four Sea Interludes’ from the opera ‘Peter Grimes’ by the composer Benjamin Britten. You’re standing on the cliffs of the English Channel and a storm is raging around you. Waves are crashing, wind’s hurtling, and rain’s drenching you from all angles! Here we go!

[music excerpt]

The composer, Benjamin Britten, knew how bleak and oppressive the English coast could be during a winter storm. He’d grown up in the county Suffolk, returning there - from the United States - to write this music in 1942. His nostalgia for England had become overwhelming when he read a poem by George Crabbe. Crabbe’s poem became the basis of the opera ‘Peter Grimes’, which would be set in a coastal town in Suffolk. Today we’re listening to a part of that opera which features the orchestra alone, without any singing. It’s the storm music and it begins like this:

[music excerpt]

The Storm begins powerfully. The timpani player drives the music, and is answered by the lower strings. The back-and-forth nature of the music - timpani, strings, timpani, strings - creates the sensation of being churned around. The waves are crashing into the cliff-face, the water battering the rocks, time and time again. 

Half-way through what we just heard the music intensified. No longer was it solely the timpani and the lower strings, but now the upper strings - a mass of thirty violins - combine with the trumpets to add even more punch to the sound. Let’s listen again!

[music excerpt]

It’s such fantastic music! So evocative of a raging storm. However, soon after the opening, the composer dials down the emphatic music. But it becomes more foreboding. Truly great composers, like Benjamin Britten, somehow find more, with less. Even when I look at the pages of my score, it goes from being covered in ink, to suddenly having relatively sparse music on the page. The storm has calmed, but the music is communicating something more sinister.

Listen to the trombones who are playing the melody. Also throughout you’ll hear the unpredictable pounding of the bass drum. You never know when the thunderous noise of this instrument will erupt next!

[music excerpt]

As part of our ongoing exploration of how music works, today we’re looking at rhythm. Closely related is our discussion about pulse from the previous episode. Pulse is what you tap your foot along to when you listen to music. The pulse provides the framework on which music is built because it measures time, and these measurements of time are equal and regular.

Rhythms are patterns of notes that are bound to a pulse. Each note within these patterns has its own duration. Our mind perceives these different notes as a pattern because they have a relationship to an underlying pulse. If we don’t perceive a pulse, the notes would exist separate from one another, appearing not to have any relationship to each other. Isolated notes cannot form a rhythm. In short, rhythms are notes of differing durations that our mind perceives as a pattern because they’re bound to an underlying pulse.

Importantly, rhythms are expressive. They communicate emotions to a listener. For example, let’s examine the trombone melody we just heard. Here it is played on the piano.

[music excerpt]

When we hear this, we hear an underlying pulse like this:

[music excerpt]

The rhythm itself is formed of groups of three notes.

[music excerpt]

But, if I was to re-compose the melody using rhythms formed of groups of two notes, it’d sound like this:

[music excerpt]

The melody now expresses something different. The change in the rhythm causes us to have a different emotional response to the music. Before it was: 123 1, 123123, 123 1. Now it’s: 1 12  1, 1 12 1 2, 1 12 - 1.

This rhythm, formed of groups of two notes, sounds stricter and more square. But, music with rhythms formed of groups of three notes sounds circular, like the music is flowing round and round. Here’s both versions on the piano, starting with the version in groups of two:

[music excerpt]

Let’s now hear this music in context. The rhythms - formed of groups of three notes - give the music a circular feeling: we’re rolling onwards.

[music excerpt]

So, if we continue on in the music now, the storm from the opening returns, but it’s even more menacing than when we heard it at the beginning. The trumpets and upper strings play the music that was originally on the timpani, and this time they’re answered by loud, energetic notes on the trombones.

[music excerpt]

Now perhaps you noticed that the rhythms in this section contrast with those of the previous section. The rhythms of the storm music are formed of groups of two notes. The music has a stricter, squarer character. It’s something like this : 12121, 121212, 1212121212121212.

[music excerpt]

So, we know that rhythms are notes of differing durations that our mind perceives as a pattern because they’re bound to an underlying pulse. Rhythms, in classical music, are nearly always formed of groups of two notes or groups of three notes. Meaning, the pulse can be divided into groups of twos or groups of threes to create rhythms. Groups of two notes have a stricter, squarer character. In contrast, groups of three notes have a rounded, more flowing or circular character.

And of course, rhythms become even more exciting - meaning, even more expressive - when groups of twos and groups of threes are used in combination, or even, simultaneously. But more on this in a later episode!

The music that comes next is the quietest and gentlest so far in the piece. Listen to the long, flowing lines in the string instruments; and also to the light-hearted bouncy-ness of the flutes and tambourine.

[music excerpt]

In opera, the orchestra can reveal the emotions of the characters on stage or even comment on those characters. Much like in film, the orchestra’s music can provide insights that are deeper than what’s revealed simply through the words and action. In the music we just heard, perhaps the rising strings represent a character’s optimism? And maybe a child-like atmosphere is created by the bouncy rhythms and the use of a tambourine? Perhaps these two qualities together suggest a kind of naive optimism within this character?

Let’s listen again. Do you agree? Does this music perhaps represent a character who’s naively optimistic? Or do you think the music means something else?

[music excerpt]

Given the orchestra’s ability to communicate in a vivid and evocative way, it’s no wonder that pieces like the ‘Four Sea Interludes’ have been taken from operas to be performed separately. The music is so impactful that it holds its own without the story and drama of the original opera. This is similar to what I discussed in the last episode: overtures are frequently performed separately from operas because in many instances they too can sustain themselves as pieces in their own right.

What we’re listening to today is an interlude from the opera ‘Peter Grimes’. It’s the music that’s played when the curtain comes down so that the set, background, and props can be changed in between scenes. The particular interlude we’re listening to is called ‘Storm’. So, to call this piece by its full title it’s: ‘Storm’ from the ‘Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes’. Unfortunately, music taken from operas often ends up with a long title just like this one! It becomes unwieldy because the opera is stated, the name of the piece is stated, and then the piece itself is divided into sections, each of which is given its own title.

Interludes aren’t the only music that’s taken from opera for separate performance by orchestras. Sometimes various pieces from an opera are put together and called a ‘Suite’. And, on occasion, operas even contain a ballet. When performed in a concert, these pieces come with the title ‘Ballet Music from Opera X’. Also, pieces taken from operas frequently have foreign names. There are operas in many languages, and they’re rarely translated from their original. For instance, you’ll see pieces called ‘Intermezzo’: this is nothing more than the Italian equivalent to ‘interlude’.

Finally, I must say that I found all of this intimidating for a very long time. But learning the intricate and often clunky titles that are associated with the different types of music taken from opera was worth it in order to experience this incredible music!

Okay, we’re getting close to the end of the piece. Let’s have a listen:

[music excerpt]

When conducting this music, it’s my responsibility to know that the beautiful, rich music at the beginning of that excerpt is actually taken from another part of the opera. At that moment, the main character - Peter Grimes - sings ‘What harbour shelters peace?’. Knowing that this music is actually a question helps me pace its performance in a way that leaves an audience, I hope, hanging for an answer.

Following that musical question, there was strange, squeaky music. Let’s listen to that again now.

[music excerpt]

This fast, agitated music’s a wonderful depiction of a mind that’s on edge. It turns out that this ‘Storm’ interlude isn’t only a literal depiction of a storm, but it also represents the emotional state of Peter Grimes: it’s the storm brewing in his mind. The composer, Britten, achieves this atmosphere, in part, by writing a rhythm that’s formed of notes in fast groups of two - 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2. Also creating the crazed sound in the music is the combination of instruments which have been chosen by the composer. That process of choosing the instruments is called orchestration, and we’re going to take a look at that in the next episode.

Well here’s the ending. It drives straight out of the nervously energetic music we’ve just heard. You’ll hear the storm coming at you. Surely this ending is a premonition of the main character -  Peter Grimes’ - ultimate fate. The storm inside his mind ultimately overwhelms him.

[music excerpt]

Thank you for being with me for another episode of A Thousand Pictures. If you have questions or would like to make a suggestion of a piece or topic for a future episode, please get in touch via social media or email feedback@athousandpictures.com. Further information, a link to the recording featured in today’s podcast, and suggestions about what to listen to next can be found at athousandpictures.com. Or subscribe to our email list and you’ll receive this information directly to your inbox.

Today we’ve been listening to the ‘Storm’ from the ‘Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes’ composed by Benjamin Britten. I recommend the recording by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

And finally, please subscribe, please rate and review, and please share this podcast with others. Your support is valuable and it’s appreciated: together we can create a community which celebrates classical music! Now go and listen to this wonderful piece, and get out there and hear a performance by your local orchestra!

[music excerpt]