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Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
But note that there is again something crossed out, the part of the flute. So we know that Beethoven, for one second, was going to include the flute. Why did he cross it out? Simply because the high, piping notes of the flute don't seem to fit into the generally rude and brusque atmosphere of the opening bars. Beethoven clearly wanted these notes to be a strong, masculine utterance, and he therefore orchestrated entirely with instruments that play normally in the register of the male singing voice.
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The American Musical Comedy
Now just how does a plot get furthered by the use of music? There are a number of ways—ballet, underscoring, choral devices, and so on—but the most common technique for telling your story musically is the recitative, or recitativo, a word which you certainly know as somehow associated with opera, but perhaps are a bit foggy about. What is this recitative, anyway?
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What Makes Opera Grand?
Now we come to one of the greatest devices in all opera: simultaneous singing. Why is it that trios, quartets, quintets, sextets are always the high point of opera? Because they provide a thrill that no other art form can provide: the thrill of being able to hear several emotional statements at once. You could never do it in a play; people just don't talk at the same time—that is, if they want to be heard. It would only be a jumble, like this next moment in La Bohème.
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