When dealing with classical music, it seems as though there is a myth that no erotic or sensual cues are placed within the instrumental music.  In Tom Huizenga’s article for NPR.org, “Who Says Classical Music Can’t Be Sexy?,” he gives us some examples of classical compositions where one can find themes such as sex and how the music expresses it.

In different types of arts, there are many ways of creating such themes and articulating them.  In music, this is a bit harder to do, but many composers will use tone painting, or word painting, to show and convey different emotions and emphasize what the music means.  The piece I chose to focus on, “Salome, opera, Op. 54,” or more famously known as “Dance of the Seven Veils” which is from Richard Strauss’ opera Salome.  In the fourth scene, Huizenga describes it as “a strip tease wherein the sensual and powerful Salome peels off clothing until finally she’s left with none.”  While in the process of composing the music for this very controversial opera, Strauss needed to have a way of accentuating the motions of the actors for the performance (and since it is an opera, being consciously aware of how he wanted the actors/singers to perform or how they might interpret the music and script is just as important as writing the music itself). You can hear in this recording that through his use of tone painting, Strauss was able to create this one particular scene with lots of tonal color and the use of cadences to emphasize certain parts.

In his review, Huizenga writes “This tantalizing music undulates and slithers,” which you can clearly see is true from the video (the link is posted below) and the choreography of the scene. This song has an ABA structure. The build ups in the beginning of the piece (the A section) are what I feel are like a roller coaster or hills, and in the song they become symbolism for the character, dancing while striping her down to the nude. The use of cadences allow the build up of the “hills” to create many layers. This section, especially 0:35-0:58, can be expressing the tension and desire.

The B section of the song is the part of the song where it has a much lighter, happier, and less stressful feeling, but then goes right back to the theme and A section with the cadences and creating the same, almost extreme tension at the end. The tone painting and dramatic structure of this song allows the listener to really feel the passion of the music and what is meant to be conveyed in this scene.

Do you think the use of tone painting is essential for classical or instrumental music? Do you think the use of a visual aid (such as a dancer in a performance) helps convey the meaning behind a classical song?

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I was able to find a video of this scene performed by Maria Ewing in case anyone is interested in seeing it. There is nudity at the end, just a warning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3jF3g4KBbw