Download musical influences

Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE’S THE
TEMPEST
MUSICAL INFUENCES
Out of Shakespeare’s plays, The Tempest is by far the piece that has more music pieces
addressed to it. Many creations of different genres have been composed either inspired
by it, or as incidental music for the play: at least forty-six operas or semi-operas,
orchestral works, ballet sequences (used in the play since Restoration time), choral
settings of excerpts, and many others. This influence is still present in today’s music.
Here are some examples:
- 1611: Robert Johnson composed and played in theatres for writers such as Ben
Johnson, John Fletcher or William Shakespeare. He was also an Elizabethan lutenist. He
composed two songs for the The Tempest: Full Fathom Five for Act I, scene ii, and
Where the Bee Sucks for ct V, scene i (both sung by Ariel).
Full Fathom Five: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhVBuzvf5pQ
Where the bee sucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m0qCJHoE7Q
- 1674: Thomas Shadwell (c. 1642 – 19 November 1692), the English poet and
playwright wrote an adaptation of The Tempest by John Dryden and William Davenant
as an opera, with a musical score some composers that as Matthew Locke and Pelham
Humfrey. This version was very popular because it was close to comedy.
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W10427_66667
- 1695: Henry Purcell , an English composer of Baroque music, composed The
Tempest (The Tempest z.631, 1695) it’s based on the The Tempest or The Enchanted
Island by John Dryden and William Davenant. It’s a semi-opera (or English Opera)
where the dramatic text is alternated with recitation, songs and dance. It’s divided in
Overture and five acts. It includes some aria da capo in Italian style, as Dear Pretty
Youth singed by Dorinda in the 3rd act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltbuarkN8Tg
- 1756: John Christopher Smith (1712 – 1795), the English composer and George
Frideric Handel's secretary and amanuensis when he became blind, wrote some operas
in Italian style including The Tempest, but the text was written by David Garrick. The
first performance was on 11th February 1756 in the Theatre Royal of London. It is
divided in three acts.
- 1802: Ludwig Van Beethoven (baptism 17th December 1770 – 26th March 1827),
the worldwide famous German pianist, composer and orchestra director, wrote The
Piano Sonata No. 17 Op. 31 n.2 (or The Tempest) in D minor, inspired by William
Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It’s a passionate and dramatic sonata with periods of
storms and calm, written in three movements: I. Largo-Allegro, II. Adagio, III.
Allegretto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiJjoFQtMvg
- 1873: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893), the Russian composer of the lateRomantic period wrote The Tempest (Op. 18), a Symphonic Fantasia based on
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
Shakespeare’s play. It is a symphonic poem written in F minor. Tchaikovsky focused
the composition in the evocation of the seascape, the love between Miranda and
Ferdinand and some portraits of characters as Ariel or Caliban, skipping other parts of
the original play. This composition is written in only one movement “andante con
moto—Allegro moderato” that lasts about 30 minutes in performance. The Tempest was
prefaced by a programme:
The Sea. The magician Prospero commands his spirit Ariel to create a storm, of which a
victim is the fortunate Ferdinand. The enchanted island. The first timid stirrings of love
between Ferdinand and Miranda. Ariel. Caliban. The lovers are overwhelmed by their
passion. Prospero renounces his magical powers and leaves the island. The Sea.
The Tempest structutre:

1. Andante con molto

2. Allegro moderato. Andante alla breve

3. Allegro vivace

4. Andante con moto. Andantino

5. Allegro animato. Allegro vivo

6. Andante non tanto. Andante

7. Allegro molto. Andante non tanto. Allegro risoluto

8. Andante con moto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA5hktfNsso
- 1923: Arthur Honegger's orchestral Prelude for the Tempest.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/basket.php
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
- 1926: Jean Sibelius’s incidental music was written for a production at the Royal
Theatre of Copenhagen. A year later, an epilogue was added for a performance in
Helsinki. He represented individual characters through instrumentation choices, using
harps and percussion to represent Prospero.
- 1934-1936: Egon Wellesz's Prosperos Beschwörungen for orchestra is consisted of
five works:
1. Prosperos Beschwörungen
2. Ariel und der Sturm
3. Ariels Gesang
4. Caliban
5. Ferdinand und Miranda - Epilog
Wellesz was an Austrian-born British composer, teacher and musicologist, particularly
notable in the field of the music of the Byzantine Empire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrhBd88op-I
- 1946-1947: Kurt Atterberg's Opera Stormen “The Storm” premiered. Kurt Atterberg
was Swedish composer and engineer, best known for his symphonies, operas and
ballets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2aJVmpUKkc
- 1955: Frank Martin's Der Sturm premiered at the Vienna State Opera. It is an
opera in German, divided in three acts, by the Swiss composer to a libretto based on
the Schlegel/Tieck German translation of The Tempest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDUHg3y3gBQ
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
- 15th April 1965: Marianne Faithfull recorded versions of “Full Fathom Five” in her
folk music album Come My Way. It was recorded in the IBC Studios, London. Marianne
Faithfull is an English singer, songwriter and actress, active since 1964.
"Full Fathom Five" is the second stanza of "Ariel's song". It addresses Ferdinand, who
has just gone through a shipwreck in which his father supposedly drowned.
Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them — Ding-dong, bell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xne9T_qPzU
- 1966: Pete Seeger recorded "Two From Shakespeare: Full Fathom Five/ Perchance
to Win" in his folk music album Dangerous Songs!? Peter "Pete" Seeger was an
American folk singer and activist who played the banjo, guitar, recorder, tin
whistle, mandolin, piano and the ukulele. He sadly died in 27th January, 2014.
https://youtu.be/grhjUGzA9jA?list=PLiJY_VLbNXIoadUcposvELPVYENoXU9VC
- 2nd December 1970: Michael Tippett's third opera, The Knot Garden, has its first
performance at the Royal Opera House. It contains various allusions to The Tempest. In
Act 3, a psychoanalyst, Mangus, pretends to be Prospero and declares that his
production of The Tempest has begun: "This garden is now an island," and the
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
characters play out the roles he assigns them in his therapy sessions. Mel and Dov act as
Caliban and Ariel, Faber becomes Ferdinand, and Flora becomes Miranda. Thea and
Denise remain themselves and critically comment on the action.
- 27th July 1985: John Eaton produces an opera with a fusion of live jazz with prerecorded electronic music, with a libretto by Andrew Porter after Shakespeare.
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/30/arts/opera-world-premiere-of-eaton-stempest.html
- 1990: Michael Nyman's Ariel Songs are taken from his score for the film Prospero's
Books, a 1991 British fantasy drama (adaptation of The Tempest), written and directed
by the successful Peter Greenaway. They are pieces for soprano and band. Michael
Laurence
Nyman, is
an
English
composer
of minimalist
music,
pianist, librettist and musicologist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o6Lzl24u7w (Music by Michael Nyman, vocal by
Sarah Leonard.)
- 1991: Michael Nyman's opera-ballet Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs was first
performed by Karine Saporta, a French choreographer, dancer, photographer, and short
film director. This opera is unique in that the three vocalists, a soprano, contralto,
and tenor.
- 1998: the German band Never Again (former in 1997) changes its name to Caliban,
after the character in The Tempest. They choose that name because they think that “he is
a cool character” in the history of literature, plus it “sounds great”. They are a metalcore
band and their lyrics are about love, relationships, inner struggles and society.
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
http://www.maelstromzine.com/ezine/interview_iss11_132.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TggArt3IIG4
- August 2001: Joseph Pehrson composed and arranged over 35 songs which were
presented by Pulse Ensemble Theatre in Manhattan. Some of these songs were created a
bit later, in 2002 and uploaded when they were done. Also, every song is composed in
meantone (1/4 comma), tuning used in poetry by Shakespeare and other authors of that
age. They tried to compose all of the songs as if they were composed by Shakespeare
himself. However, some include modern electronic effects and tunes. Some songs refer
to parts of the play like the “Ending of act I” and another songs refer to characters of the
play like Iris, Juno or Stephano.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=105420
- 2005: Luca Lombardi’s opera Prospero is premiered at Nuremberg Opera House.
Ariel is sung by 4 female voices (S,S,MS,A) and has an instrumental alter ego on stage
(flute). There is an instrumental alter ego (cello) also for Prospero.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4IUszbh6T4
- December 2006: The Tempest: A Musical debuts at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New
York City. It featured a book by Ryan Knowles and Daniel Neiden, based on a concept
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
by Thomas Meehanand. Neiden had previously been connected with another musical,
entitled Tempest Toss’d.
http://www.danielneiden.com/the-tempest.html
http://www.ovguide.com/the-tempest-a-musical-9202a8c04000641f8000000007377f85
- October 2006: The Decemberists' song "The Island: Come and See/The Landlord's
Daughter/You'll Not Feel The Drowning" is commonly thought to be based on the story
of Caliban and Miranda. The Decemberists are an American indie folk rock band from
Portland, Oregon, active since 2000.
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/09/the_decemberist_27.html
http://www.decemberists.com/albums/the-crane-wife/
- March 2011: the Boston symphony Orchestra performed a concert inspired by The
Tempest by William Shakespeare a little after they performed the play all in honor of
the author. There were interviews with the composer and conductor Thomas Adès and
the soprano Hila Plitmann
http://www.wgbh.org/articles/The-Tempest-Shakespeares-Most-Musical-Play-2388
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByAIs8Y1RAw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYLTvudRLWM
- 2011: William Ascenzo, a digital composer who lives in Madison, created a digital
Album based in the character Prospero in the autumn of 2011 as a final project for his
studies. He released the final disc in the summer of 2012 with two extra songs and a
short introductory piece.
https://wellmanicuredmusic.bandcamp.com/album/prospero-music-inspired-byshakespeares-the-tempest
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
- 30th October 2013: choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s one-act ballet of The
Tempest by was premiered by American Ballet Theatre set to the incidental music
of Jean Sibelius (Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and earlymodern periods) in New York City.
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_%28English_composer%29
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/robert-johnson.htm
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Johnson-English-musician
http://sfems.org/?p=7101
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest_%28Dryden%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest#CITEREFSanders2007
http://www.allmusic.com/composition/the-tempest-or-the-enchanted-island-semi-operaz-631-mc0002386952
http://www.musicaantigua.com/henry-purcell-y-el-teatro-de-la-restauracion-eninglaterra/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Christopher_Smith
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sullivan
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Sullivan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest_%28Sullivan%29
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Pyotr-Ilyich-Tchaikovsky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky
http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/chaikovski.htm
http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/The_Tempest
http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/28463.html#tvf=tracks&tv=about
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Caliban-I_am_Nemesis_cover.jpg
http://starsingers.net/wp-content/uploads/images/Caliban_2348.jpg
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius
http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/s/sibelius.htm
http://www.epdlp.com/compclasico.php?id=1137
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Faithfull
http://www.alohacriticon.com/musica/grupos-y-solistas/marianne-faithfull/
http://www.discogs.com/artist/62391-Marianne-Faithfull
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Decemberists
http://www.decemberists.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thedecemberists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Nyman
http://www.michaelnyman.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006219/
http://www.cndm.mcu.es/es/series-2021/michael-nyman-band
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Tippett
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eaton_(composer)
http://www.jazzconnect.com/johneaton/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ad%C3%A8s
http://thomasades.com/
http://www.fabermusic.com/composers/thomas-ad%C3%A8s
http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2012/oct/01/thomas-adescontemporary-music-guide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Ratmansky
Group E: Elena Espinosa Jiménez, Lucía Gómez García, Marcos Semele González
Teatro Renacentista Inglés, Grupo B
María Goicoechea de Jorge
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Curso 2015/2016
http://www.danzaballet.com/el-renovado-ballet-bolshoi-de-alexei-ratmansky/
http://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/alexei-ratmansky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel%27s_Song