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MMD > Archives > August 2005 > 2005.08.14 > 07Prev  Next


"Entry of the Gladiators" & "Thunder and Blazes"
By Ian Alderman

"Entry of the Gladiators" is one of those well-known pieces of music
that seem to have been written expressly to defeat the mechanical music
arranger.

It starts with those rushing chromatic scales in the Bass, employing
all those notes we haven't got, and for which various ingenious
stratagems have been devized to overcome.  When you have got past that
it is relatively plain sailing until you get to the Trio.  Of that, it
was Johannes Brahms who said in admiration, "I wish I had thought of
that."

"That", in this case was the transition from F-major to D-flat --
a moment of magic that remains unknown to most mechanical instruments,
and it is the kind of problem that besets the conscientious arranger
who is unwilling to wreck someone else's inspiration.  Arrangers are
generally ruthless, but we try to modestly conceal our vandalism.

Ian Alderman
Dorset, England

 [ Ian describes the arrangement in which the key of the Trio is
 [ lowered from the preceding section by a major triad.  However,
 [ in the arrangement most often heard, the key of the Trio is
 [ raised a fourth, e.g., from F-major to B-flat major.  -- Robbie


(Message sent Sun 14 Aug 2005, 10:59:20 GMT, from time zone GMT+0100.)

Key Words in Subject:  Blazes, Entry, Gladiators, Thunder

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