8 horns; 5 trumpets; 3 trombones; 1 tenor-tuba; 1 bass-tuba.
Kettle-drums; bass-drum; side-drum; military drum; cymbals.
XII.
Since composing what might be called the Tetralogy of mighty productions that have been classified together as belonging to the 5th Period, Strauss has written two further important works: the opera "Feuersnoth" and the "Symphonia Domestica." The latter is still in manuscript,[71] and but recently had a hearing in this country under the composer's personal direction. It is as yet too early to suggest a sixth period in Strauss' style of writing.[72] What is more, the two recent offerings have too little in common to justify classifying them together. "Feuersnoth" has shared the fate of its predecessor, "Guntram," in that it has been granted no more than a respectful hearing, and is not to be compared as a work of art with Strauss' symphonic undertakings. As to the "Symphonia Domestica," the very topic chosen for exposition gives rise to some misgivings as to whether it justifies the expenditure of so much vital creative energy. The subject and the elaborate means employed to depict it would appear somewhat incongruous. The sub-title of this paradoxical essay reads: "Ein Tag aus meinem Familienleben," and the orchestra is required to expound upon the charmingly naïve topics of Papa, Mama, and Bébé. Incidentally, one passage introduces the worthy aunts as exclaiming in chorus, "Just like his father"; the uncles, "Just like his mother." The "Symphonia Domestica" is further paradoxical in that the score includes no definite programmatic commentary, and Strauss himself has been quoted as saying emphatically, "This time I wish my music to be listened to purely as music." The work is therefore intended to be accepted not as a symphonic poem but as a symphony "In einem Satz" like Mendelssohn's "Scotch" or Schumann's D minor symphony. In the face of all this we find a program, and a positive one at that, at the root of the matter! In reality, its only claim to the title of "symphony" rests upon the general outlines of its formal structure, which is comprised of three main divisions preceded by an elaborate introduction. But it is assuredly not "absolute" music. On the other hand, its thematic continuity is far more closely knit together than that of the above-mentioned symphonies of Mendelssohn and Schumann.
In the "Symphonia Domestica" we recognize the personal element that asserted itself, though in an unobtrusive manner, in "Ein Heldenleben." Humorous inclinations, characteristic of "Don Quixote," are also in evidence.
The Introduction is an exposition of the three principal themes. The theme for the father is comprised of three contrasted sections (No. 34, [a], [b], [c]). The mother is characterized by a lively and perhaps slightly undignified theme ([No. 35]). For the child's theme ([No. 36]) Strauss makes use of an oboe d'amore. The tone of this practically obsolete member of the wood-wind is veiled and tender, and the instrument found favor with Bach who assigned to it an important rôle in his mass in B minor,—in fact two oboi d'amore are employed for accompanying the bass solo "Et in Spiritum Sanctum."
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