Inner Piece

(Source: Beanfan's Archives)

Symphonies First Symphony Second Symphony Third Symphony Fifth Symphony Sixth Symphony Seventh Symphony Ninth Symphony		Sonatas Number 12: Moonlight Number 13: Pathetique Number 17: Tempest Number 23: Appassionata		Concertos Piano Concerto No. 2 Piano Concerto No. 3 Piano Concerto No. 5: The Emperor Violin Concerto		Other Pieces Bagatelle in A Minor: Fur Elise Egmont Overture Prometheus Overture Turkish March from "The Ruins of Athens" Wellington's Victory

The First Symphony and Alex Bailey come very early in the careers of Beethoven and Sean Bean, respectively. The first movement of this symphony contains many Classical elements that characterize the earlier era of Mozart. Likewise, Alex Bailey reveals a rather young and relatively untried Sean Bean. Alex and the Symphony represent the early part of Mr. Bean's and Beethoven's careers at a time when they showed great promise but before they had struck out and achieved their full potentential.

Sharpe was a tough one. The man simply refused to get in touch with his Inner Beethoven. We know from watching Sharpe's Mission that the gallant Major doesn't particularly take to the arts with his usual enthusiasm reserved for battle. We also know that Beethoven's audiences considered his music too radical and vulgar for civilized ears. Perhaps our difficulties with Sharpe arose out of his being Beethoven's contemporary, thereby causing Sharpe's obstinence to arise out of public opinion. At a complete loss for inspiration, the Society even considered putting the problem before Sean Bean himself. For the moment, however, Sharpe retains the entire Second Symphony, which bears an almost military theme. It starts out with a ponderous sense of having marched with the army many years and a maturity gained from such an all-consuming experience.

The dedication says it all. At first Beethoven meant the Eroica, meaning "Heroic," for Napoleon whom Beethoven felt represented all the best parts of humanity. When Napoleon usurped the Pope's perogative and crowned himself Emperor, however, Beethoven's hopes were dashed, and he bitterly struck off the Upstart's name from the Symphony. Instead he retitled the Symphony, "Sinfonia Eroica, Composed to Celebrate the Memory of a Great Man." This Symphony was written in the very midst of a Greek Revival sweeping all of European thought, hence Beethoven's idealism regarding music. As a result, the Society felt that Odysseus, a far greater man than the one Beethoven sought to idolize, should receive all the honors inherent to the Eroica.

Probably the four most famous notes Beethoven ever wrote, the opening of the Fifth Symphony stands as a testament to the intensity of a character like Boromir. In the quest to determine why the First Movement is so popular, sholars have associated it to the themes of Victory and Fate. Surely a strong and bombastic piece such as this befits a noble warrior like Boromir. The forcefulness of the dynamics speak almost like a battle record of Boromir's victories over the forces of Sauron. Despite being a heroic warrior, Boromir does turn to the evil of the One Ring to save Gondor, which proves his undoing in the end. Similarly, Beethoven purposely inserted a pessimisic undercurrent within the piece to symbolize the inevitability of Fate. Boromir realizes his error and that he must atone for it, and being the great man that he is, he rushes to meet his fate with all the nobility and the ferocity symbolized in the First Movement of the Fifth Symphony.

This movement strangely occurs in two disparate parts that for some reason could not stand alone as separate movements. The Society capitalized on this as an opportunity to identify Lord Fenton. Viewers see two sides to Lord Fenton: the slimey, sadisitic individual in private and the genial, disarming Earl in public. Most of the people with whom he rubs shoulders never realize the darkness underneath the surface. Likewise, the first part of this piece is dark and brooding before it abruptly moves into the bold fanfare that heralds the second part. Beethoven does not make even the smallest attempt at a transition. This blunt change is reminiscent of Lord Fenton's jarring duality in personality.

This Symphony is nicknamed "The Pastorale," since Beethoven arranged it to depict a bucolic scene in the countryside according to the prevalent Romantic thought of the 19th century. This first movement, entitled "Awakening of Joyful Feelings on Arriving in the Country" sets the idyllic mood. This music signals Beethoven's subscription to the Romantic Era's love affair with the Natural World. Mellors similarly projects a similar respect for the natural environment. He is clearly nervous whenever his duties force him inside buildings, yet he is in his element when he is outdoors. Being a creature of the outside world, Mellors would appreciate the same joyful feelings Beethoven expressed in the opening of the Sixth Symphony.

Tadgh's surly nature arose out of his disillusionment with life. Constantly harassed by his father's overbearing personality, Tadgh was not the merriest of people. This came to a culmination in the dance at the inn with the American. This movement of the Pastorale, entitled "Merry Gathering of the Country Folk," suggests the exact opposite of Tadgh's experience in that particular dance. He was far from merry, and the folk stopped gathering after Tadgh dropped his partner. Some scholars state that Beethoven actually meant this piece as a parody of the slightly crude form of country entertainment thereby bringing up the old argument of academic versus vernacular. In this case, the jocular assignment of this piece to Tadgh mirrors Beethoven's intent in making the piece a satire.

Like the thunderstorm from which this movement gets its name, Alec Trevelyan projects the same electric energy. When we first meet him, we see the cool, collected facade that is the calm before the storm. By the time Bond discovers his perfidy, Alec has unleashed the full fury of his revenge. This anger reflects the full strength of the storm. Even after his death, danger lurks until the Extremely Large Satellite Dish is destroyed, mirroring the final rumbles of thunder at the end of Beethoven's piece.

Starting out in a minor chord, the slow and stately progress of this movement resembles a funeral dirge. The entire piece is loaded with Beethoven's quest for ideals and the disappointment in human failings. It is a fitting lament for the tragedy of Ranuccio's death and what its method says about the jealousy and hate that defined his love and ultimately his life.

The infamous "Ode to Joy" from the "Chorale," Beethoven at his most idealistic. He used this movement, sometimes split into two, to express in music the essence of Schiller's poem, the profound spiritual joy to be found in freedom of thought and consequently existence. Is this not what Errol Partidge fought to stamp out for a living and paradoxically died to protect? "I pay it gladly," he said, at that moment embodying in one character the meaning of "Ode to Joy."

This sonata derives its name from the mysterious mood in its first movement that is associated with secrets of the night, a complete departure from the sonata form. The quiet yet powerful tone of the piece sets up a sense of anticipation like the one viewers experience while waiting for the enigmatic Cowboy to appear. The subdued quality also relfects the awe generated at the end of the movie as the humans prepare to leave with the aliens.

The movement is sweet, like Spence's earnest attempts to promote himself as a knowledgable weapons expert. It is also quickly over, like the amount of time Spence felt he could handle the pressure of the assignment.

This movement is loud, brash, and violent. Its restless energy reflects Jason’s wild and hedonistic lifestyle, and the loud overtone of anger mirrors his own powerful temper. The piece grinds to a halt much in the same way that Jason meets his own end.

Patrick is very committed to achieving his goal, The strong chords that open this piece are as hard as his iron resolve to recover the stolen ruby, even at the expense of two families. Patrick is not completely evil, however, as is evident in his cheerful companionship with this colleagues when he thought that the ruby was in his possession. In the same way, this movement actually contains many light moments despite being recognized for its more turbulent parts. The fierce anger takes over quickly enough in the main theme, just as Patrick Koster rapidly descends into a final swirl of revenge.

After the strength of the first movement, the gentleness of the second offers a peaceful respite. Beethoven himself names this piece, the only one of his sonatas that he titled before publication. Meaning “full of passion,” the highly Romantic style of this piece is most concentrated in the second movement. Vronsky is a very passionate man, allowing his emotions to rule his reactions to Anna. This part of the sonata reflects his kind and ardent nature.

Whether this sonata acquired its name through a Shakespearean connection or a resemblance to a storm is unknown to This Society, so we shall make an argument for both interpretations. First, The Tempest and Macbeth are both titles of Shakespearean plays. The piece also progresses in a manner similar to Macbeth’s life. It starts out slowly and tentatively as Macbeth reluctantly begins dabbling in witchcraft. Slowly the piece gains momentum as Macbeth slides further into evil with the successive murders of King Duncan and Banquo. By the end, the piece rages at full steam while Macbeth becomes caught in the vortex and pulled under by the consequences of his actions

In the second scenario, this sonata was named for a storm, and it certainly behaves like one. Dealing with Carver Doone is like interacting with a whirlwind. These three entities – Carver, a storm, and Beethoven’s piece – share a restless energy and turbulence punctuated by moments of brooding anticipation meant to catch the unwary off-guard.

The light, syncopated tone of this movement sounds like nothing more than a happy gallop through the countryside on the back of a horse. People who have seen Black Beauty may recall the moment where Farmer Grey gave Black Beauty his head, and they galloped off in joyful abandon against a backdrop of green hills. This movement thereby lends itself to the singular gait of a horse.

The entirety of this concerto offers as big a range of experiences as Neil Byrne. The grand tones of the first movement, which earned it the name “Emperor, speak of Neil’s nobility of character while more crystalline moments of subdued quality introduce the tragedy of his situation. The second movement truly brings home that sorrow in a personal way, emphasizing it in much the same manner as the “It’s Not Fair!” Scene does in the movie. This movement smoothly resolves itself into the triumph of the third movement, which marks Neil’s victory over his family’s murderers and the freedom brought about by the clearance of his name.

It has been the experience of the President and Founder of This Society that a certain breed of people promote themselves as pianists if the can belt out just barely recognizable renditions of Chopsticks, Hear and Soul, and Für Elise without even knowing how to read music, no less! This is highly unsatisfactory to those who have studied both music theory and piano technique in great depth and are familiar with the nuances these amateurs summarily butcher in the name of false self representation. The treatment of Sean Miller as a “bad guy” with respect to his antagonists as “good guys” serves the same purpose for the Irish nation at large. Both the piece and the character are irreparably damaged by the false associations imposed upon them by the ignorant.

In the aftermath of the “Eroica” drama where Beethoven struck off Napoleon’s name from the dedication, the composer got a little of his own back by turning around and writing a piece in honor of Wellington’s victory in the Continent. This Society felt it would be remiss not to dedicate this piece to the man for whom Beethoven meant it, so here’s to Hugh Fraser, a most excellent Wellington opposite Sean Bean’s Sharpe.