Monologue
Shakespeare was a master of powerful, heartfelt monologue: from the rugged inspiration of Henry V to the dark musings of Hamlet. Similarly, a few classical composers have mastered the art of monologue in their works — concertos, for instance, highlight a single instrumental voice. What impresses me most, though, are the monologues embedded within larger works.
Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony is one such work. Take a listen to the clarinet solo in movement 3 (about 2 minutes long):
I think a few things stand out in this monologue that really personify it:
1.) Long, irregular phrases. Typically, phrases tend to last x measures where x is a power of 2 (i.e. 2 measures, 4, 8, etc…), but in this passage they do not follow any such pattern. The first phrase lasts 6 measures, and the second phrase goes for 17.
2.) Frequent breaths or pauses. Neither phrase is continuous; both feature slurs and pauses where the soloist breathes and continues or builds upon an idea.
3.) Irregular entrances. These pauses are not aligned with traditional pauses in melody, which tend to occur in the offbeats (beats 2 or 4 of a measure). Instead, they seem to occur at will, sometimes on a downbeat, sometimes on an offbeat, sometimes in-between beats.
These features give the passage an improvised, conversational feel rather than a planned, calculated one, thus creating the monologue effect quite nicely.
Feel free to comment with some of your favorite musical monologues!
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For more information about the piece, you can download or search:
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2 – Movement 3
