Romeo And Juliet Suite No. 2

IC2016 World Premiere Concert has given me a wonderful experience of magnificent pieces of music works. Among those amazing works in the concert, the masterpiece of Prokofiev’s, Romeo and Juliet Suite No.2, 64B was the one who caught my attention the most. This report will discuss how Prokofiev evokes the elements of romantic music in the movements of Romeo and Juliet Suite No.2, 64B by looking at each of the movements.

Romeo and Juliet Suite No.2, 64B is classified as one of the Post-Romanticism Music as it was written in 1935 after the Romantic period. The post romanticism music has longer duration in its orchestra and more expressive melodies comparing to the music in the romantic period. Meanwhile, the music of Romeo and Juliet Suite No.2,

The introduction part of the first movement started with a moderately slow tempo of Andante with accompaniment of violin sound. It then continued with a solemn music of brass chord which depicted the conflict between the two families. Then, there was one repetition of the sequence before it went to a heavy, angular march theme music accompanied by a dull trombone sound, which replaced the mood into a rapid tempo of Allegro with a shifting in the melody of around an octave higher, and a louder dynamic.

The second part of “The Young Girl Juliet” began with the skittering play of flutes and cheerful sound of light percussion that portrayed Juliet as a young teenager, with a gentle clarinet sound perfectly represented the innocence of Juliet. Again, the sudden mood contrast in the characteristic of romantic music was reflected in a sudden slow and tender coda that perhaps denoted her immediate future

It then followed by a phrase of brief horn before heading into the cadenza kind of chords. Later on, the melody generated a gloomy and sorrow mode played by the violins as if they were answering each other in a dialogue. A similar pattern of sudden change in mood happened when there was a quick Vivace (a movement that is in a lively mood) indicating Juliet refused to marry Paris. Compared to the other themes, the dynamic in the Vivace part was louder with a faster tempo that changed the overall mood of the part before it went back to the Andante tempo to close the part. Towards the end, Prokofiev presented the unbreakable melancholy mood of the pieces while presenting a series of brief themes in between.

Lastly, “Romeo at the Grave of Juliet” part opened up with a long and slow theme of the violins with a brief accompaniment by the horns. Another light variants then entered by the other brass instruments in developing the theme which overpowered the minor mode of the music part. The suite closed with a delicate sound of both violins and clarinets in a restrained manner in a simple C-major key which depicted the two lovers united in