The Palate Of Color In Shakespear's Music

This is the time where Shakespear was one of the most exciting topic to be discuss in the art filed, and other great composers such as Rossini, Wagner, Schubert, and Berlioz all compose music base on Shakespear's work. Therefore, in order to create his own language through his composition, Mendelssohn use his unique style of the palate of color in his music. Especially given the fact that this is one of his earlier work alone with the string octet. He combined musical elements both from the romantic and classical era. By applying clear articulation that only the string can do. Especially in movement such as scherzo, it gives the music a elf-like quality that makes the music be more lively and mischievous. From the beginning where the string start with the piece with fast-moving notes, it set the musical stage very clear with how the “story” is going.

By using techniques such as pizzicato, it makes the music be more comedic and fun to listen to. Mendelssohn was not afraid to challenge string player's ability and request and by purposely using gliss going up and down the string, it allows the musician to imitate the sound of a donkey. Mendelssohn was able to grasp these little details in his composition and make this particular piece become more lively. Finally, by using varieties of dissonance chord through the music gives the music a character of “supernatural” feeling and “chaos”. Purposely set the musical motif all over the orchestra with unexpected appears, Mendelssohn was able to create drama and collision that allows the music to be the actor of this particular play Afterall, “...the action of A Midsummer Night's Dream is not only the product of misaligned love interests within each of these four concentric spheres, but the disastrous consequences when these sphere loosen their orbits and collide...”1