In general, this piece is somewhat difficult, as it is Liszt’s piece after all.
If we look at this etude as a whole, let us abandon other factors and analyze it purely from the structure. Its musical structure is: A｜A1｜B｜A1｜C｜A2. Although this is an irregular musical structure, which of course will not be seen in classical music with strong logic, it also reflects the classical music factors in romantic music. Romantic composers pursue freedom, emphasize individual liberation, and are not rigid in their formal artistic characteristics. This is not only evident in this piece, but also in Liszt's other works.
The A section in E major at the beginning of the music is the theme of the whole song. Although there is only a short score of less than three lines, the author uses the intervals of thirds, fifths and sixths of his left and right hands to alternately create the music. Written. In this theme, it mainly revolves around g1 and e2 of the main chord of E major, and the harmonic interval composed of these two notes is played with the left hand. At the beginning of the music, two sixteenth-note double-tone descending weak movements are used, which are played quickly by the right hand and proceed to the third interval formed by g1 and e2 played by the left hand, forming a musical ensemble. ; And the next music section starts from the third interval of g1 and e2. The right hand plays these two sixteenth notes and then goes to the sixth interval composed of g1 and e2. This sharp descending sound shape creates an active movement effect. Based on the sixth interval of g1 and e2 at the end of the previous sentence, proceed upwards. Still the right hand quickly advances to the double tone of the left hand, and finally goes all the way to b2 at the beginning of the music, and then immediately descends to the dominant chord of E major. above, forming the first half of the first phrase in the theme. The second half and the first half are written using the same beginning and ending method, and finally stay on the main chord of E major.
In the second sentence of the topic, the author uses the technique of changing the beginning with the same ending. At the beginning of this sentence, the ascending double tone is used to contrast with the descending tone at the beginning of the first sentence. Not only that, but it also creates a sharp contrast in strength and timbre. The first sentence starts with p (weak), and the timbre should be crisp, clean, and small; while the second sentence starts with f (strong), the timbre should of course be deep, rough, and strong. This contrast between one strong and one weak couldn't be more stark. Because the first line is imitating the sound of the flute in the band, and the second line is imitating the sound of the French horn. At the end of the second sentence, after the alternating appearance of flute and horn, it returns to the first sentence of the theme.
The theme and melody of this section are expressed in a progressive manner by the harmonic intervals of thirds and sixths. This two-tone combination of thirds and sixths is also an aspect of the development of Romantic piano music playing skills. This continuous progression of tone patterns was rare in the Classical period. The theme of section A appears as a single melody without accompaniment, and is completed by alternating left and right hands. It is really an innovation in romantic piano music. It feels clear and smooth, and the sharp contrast in register, volume, and timbre between the two sentences makes the listener feel refreshed from the beginning. Among them, the right hand is mainly composed of fast passing notes, while the notes played by the left hand are the main pillars; the right hand is composed of sixteenth notes, the left hand is mainly composed of eighth notes, and the two sixteenth notes of the right hand are mainly composed of It is to proceed to a long note in the left hand. This effect of slowness in fast and stillness in movement makes people feel that this piece of music is sharp, lively, varied, full of vitality and has a very touching theme.
The theme of the piano piece "The Hunt" is melodically consistent with the theme of Paganini's violin piece. The difference is the different effects due to the differences in instruments.
In this song "Hunting", after a continuation mark in section A, the music enters another stage, section A2. This paragraph is a continuation of paragraph A, a repetition and expansion of the theme. The right hand part is still a theme melody that progresses in thirds and sixths, but the difference is that the range is one octave higher than the theme, making it sound lighter and crisper.
At this time, the left hand adds a two-part accompaniment of broken chords in the lower part, making the music sound fuller. Even though the melody is the same as section A, it still forms a sharp contrast.
In this section, the key is still E major, but the first line of the theme is moved an octave higher and is played only with the right hand. The low part of the left hand adds accompaniment, which is composed of the decomposition of the tonic and dominant chords in the key of E major. In the accompaniment of the second part of the left hand, it revolves around e and b, that is, the two notes of I and V of E major, because whether it is the high or low voice, the sustaining note is either e or b . The other part is imitating the sound shape of the theme, which also progresses from two sixteenth notes to one eighth note. In this way, not only the melody part of the right hand, but also the accompaniment part of the left hand does not exist independently from the theme. At the same time, the sound of this part should be kept within the p (weak) range, and it should be played light and well-behaved.
The second half of the last measure of section A1 is an octave of the dominant of E major. At the same time, this is also the dominant of e minor in section B of the next section. The key of this B section is formed by alternating between E minor and G major.
This paragraph creates a completely different effect from the previous two paragraphs. First, there is the change of tonality. From the original key of E major to E minor, G major is interspersed. This penetration of major and minor keys is a contrast in itself. For example, measure 33 starts in E minor, moves to G major in measure 37, and switches back to E minor in measure 41.
In the first two paragraphs, the harmony is composed of the I and V degrees of E major; but in this paragraph the harmony is even richer. The first sentence is from bar 33 to bar 36, and its harmonic progression is I VII | I III | VI2 VII/V | K46 V | in the key of e minor; the second sentence is from bar 37 to bar 40, and its harmony The harmonic progression is I V | I IV | K46 V7 | I | in the key of G major; the third sentence returns to the key of e minor, from bar 41 to bar 44, and its harmonic progression is VII I | V | in the key of e minor. V56 I | V |; The fourth sentence is from measure 45 to measure 52, and its harmonic progression is in the key of e minor V56/IV IV | VII6 III | VI II | V46 I | III VII7/V | V VI | II K46 V7|I|. From the harmonic progression of this paragraph, we can see that the end of each two sentences proceeds from movement to stillness (V-I). It is not difficult to see that there is also a classical logical progression here.
The sound shape of this section has changed, from the original harmonic interval to a chord progression. The first eighth note of each beat is an emphasized chord tone, and there are two passing tones of sixteenth notes between every two chords. From another perspective, this rhythm pattern is the theme. The rhythm is the evolution of the theme melody. At the same time, the timbre of this section is broader, grander, and more spectacular than the previous two sections, making people feel a magnificent momentum. For players, not only should the overall timbre be compared with the previous one, but even the chords and their passing tones should have different timbres for comparison. This is still harmonically consistent with this section of Paganini's violin music.
From a performance perspective, the player is required to transmit power to the fingertips in an explosive manner, and the chords must be played full and thick. The passing sound of the sixteenth note in the middle should be clear.
After this, the second sentence in the theme that imitates the French horn appears. The requirements of this sentence are the same as the sentence in paragraph A. But at the end of the A1 section, it returns to the main melody of this section, and finally ends with p on the chord of E major.
The requirement for this piece of sound is to be more crystal clear, smaller and more exquisite, just like the echo of the theme, making people feel that it has a long aftertaste.
After section B, the music returns to section A1, consolidating the theme again.
After this, it enters another climax development stage of the music, namely section C.
In the C section of the music, there is a strong contrast in tonality first. The music suddenly shifts from the main key of E major to C major. The melody of this section is very distinctive. It starts with a big double-note jump in an octave, followed by a parallel scraping of six degrees with both hands.
This kind of scratching is one of the manifestations of Romantic music, which would not appear in the Classical period. It is also another innovation of Liszt’s piano playing skills.
This is followed by left-right alternation of thirty-second notes spanning three octaves in the right hand. This long-span progression forms a very large contrast with the theme melody, which will make the listener feel that the conflict in this section is more tense than the previous one. This effect of being high for a while and low for a while not only reflects the tense atmosphere of hunting, but also It makes people feel very interesting and prone to screams. This is performed using alternating left and right hand playing techniques. This technique had not been attempted by Liszt before, but Liszt applied it in his works, which also reflects Liszt's romantic temperament.
Finally, in the connecting part of a series of broken chords, it returns to the melody of the theme. However, this time the melody appeared with more appeal than before. And it produces a bell-like sound. As a final word, this solidifies the theme nicely. It shows that after a lot of hard work, the hunt was finally a complete success.
However, the music should have its own characteristics in playing, and you can only experience this by yourself