Les Chasseresses The Female Hunters: Critique

Les Chasseresses (The Female Hunters) Critique

Stephen Kim

Les Chasseresses is a musical piece by Léo Delibes written for the ballet Sylvia. It depicts the love story between a young shepherd boy and a huntress. In secret, the shepherd boy watches his love and her fellow huntresses dance in the forest. He becomes infatuated and eventually the two meet and fall in love. Although from different worlds and station, there is a sense of hope and certainty that their love is pure and will conquer all. A theme of joyful love and its triumphant power permeates throughout Les Chasseresses. Even when the two lovers face obstacles and trials, the audience feels confident in a brighter future. There is no stronger force than love and it has the power to make anything possible. The melodies and harmonies of the musical piece causes the audience to feel at first hesitantly hopeful, joyful, then determined and finally, jubilant and exultant. The audience feels as if it is almost fated that the two lovers are meant for one another and that their love will never diminish.

Important elements of this level are the melody, rhythm, harmony, and form. The melody is memorable and leaves a lasting impression on the audience. The four main melodies that are featured prominently are the triumphant fanfare, quiet reverie of the shepherd, lyrical and joyful steps of huntresses and the rising worry of the shepherd boy. The mood of the melody shifts from triumphant, apprehensive, excited, worried and finally triumphant again. It suggests to the audience that the melody has four different parts or shapes that it adopts throughout the musical piece. Overall, the melody is based on a major scale, with minor elements appearing during the rising worry of the shepherd boy and chromatic elements briefly appearing during the dancing of the huntresses. The melody serves to bind the story together and create