Overture to the Marriage of

FigaroMozart

The Marriage of Figaro, K.492

• The overture, which was written last (just two days before the premiere), does not quote any material from the opera at all, but its brilliance and non-stop hustle set the emotional tempo for the "crazy day" to follow.

• http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/show_score.pl?scoreid=49073&storeid=-1&z=100&viewMode=fullwidth#scorchIsHere

Key ToneColors/

Musical Events

Form Texture Dynamics

D major strings & bassoon theme 1

(antecedent)

thin pp

viola, cello, bass, bassoon play pedal D’s with harmonies in horn, clarinet, oboe, flute

thinnest p

violins, horn, clarinet, oboe, flute have the main part while all others mostly play unison D’s

consequent thick ff

strings & bassoon with main theme while oboe, flute hold whole notes and others have one chord

theme 1 repeated (antecedent)

thin p

viola, cello, bass, bassoon play pedal D’s with harmonies in horn, clarinet, oboe, flute

thinnest

violins, horn, clarinet, oboe, flute have the main part while all others mostly play unison D’s

consequent thick ff

all instruments play chord tones and violins have some running eighth notes

transition thick chords with thin in-between

fp chords with p in-between

mostly chord tones in all instruments but sometimes eighth notes are in strings

thick f with p eighth-notes