• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 21:07
CEST 03:07
KST 10:07
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Team TLMC #5 - Finalists & Open Tournaments0[ASL20] Ro16 Preview Pt2: Turbulence5Classic Games #3: Rogue vs Serral at BlizzCon9[ASL20] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Ascent10Maestros of the Game: Week 1/Play-in Preview12
Community News
Weekly Cups (Sept 8-14): herO & MaxPax split cups3WardiTV TL Team Map Contest #5 Tournaments1SC4ALL $6,000 Open LAN in Philadelphia7Weekly Cups (Sept 1-7): MaxPax rebounds & Clem saga continues29LiuLi Cup - September 2025 Tournaments3
StarCraft 2
General
Team Liquid Map Contest #21 - Presented by Monster Energy #1: Maru - Greatest Players of All Time Weekly Cups (Sept 8-14): herO & MaxPax split cups SpeCial on The Tasteless Podcast Team TLMC #5 - Finalists & Open Tournaments
Tourneys
WardiTV TL Team Map Contest #5 Tournaments Maestros of The Game—$20k event w/ live finals in Paris RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament SC4ALL $6,000 Open LAN in Philadelphia
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 491 Night Drive Mutation # 490 Masters of Midnight Mutation # 489 Bannable Offense Mutation # 488 What Goes Around
Brood War
General
[ASL20] Ro16 Preview Pt2: Turbulence BW General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ ASL20 General Discussion Playing StarCraft as 2 people on the same network
Tourneys
[ASL20] Ro16 Group C [IPSL] ISPL Season 1 Winter Qualis and Info! Is there English video for group selection for ASL [ASL20] Ro16 Group B
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Muta micro map competition Fighting Spirit mining rates [G] Mineral Boosting
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile General RTS Discussion Thread Nintendo Switch Thread Borderlands 3
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion LiquidDota to reintegrate into TL.net
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Canadian Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread The Big Programming Thread
Fan Clubs
The Happy Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Linksys AE2500 USB WIFI keeps disconnecting Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread High temperatures on bridge(s)
TL Community
BarCraft in Tokyo Japan for ASL Season5 Final The Automated Ban List
Blogs
The Personality of a Spender…
TrAiDoS
A very expensive lesson on ma…
Garnet
hello world
radishsoup
Lemme tell you a thing o…
JoinTheRain
RTS Design in Hypercoven
a11
Evil Gacha Games and the…
ffswowsucks
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1486 users

Rachmaninov and the Dies Irae

Blogs > forelmashi
Post a Reply
forelmashi
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
421 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-08-30 21:48:22
August 30 2012 21:45 GMT
#1
The Dies Irae is an old Gregorian chant from the 13th century that is quoted in many classical music works. Almost without exception only the first seven notes from the chant are used, and more typically the first four notes are used as a motif.

[image loading]

The words are about the day of judgement or day of wrath, and the motif when used by composers symbolized death, fate, etc.

Rachmaninov used the dies irae motif probably more than any other composer, almost as a sort of leitmotif for fate and death, reoccurring throughout his works, if you will.

It is beyond the scope of this thread to go through too many of the numerous Rachmaninov quotations, and I don't deceive myself into believing anyone will be interested. In this post I'll mention two, and perhaps in the future, others. I'll start with the Isle of the Dead, an earlier work from 1908 and end with the Symphonic Dances, composed in 1940 and Rachmaninov's last composition before his death.

The Isle of the Dead
Score: http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/6/6e/IMSLP112800-SIBLEY1802.15851.b564-39087009472780score.pdf



This piece was inspired by a black-and-white version of the Arnold Böcklin painting the composer saw while in Paris. The Isle of the Dead was mass produced and loved in contemporary society at the time, in both black-and-white and color versions. Rachmaninov later saw a color version and did not quite like it as much, saying he could never have found the inspiration to compose his piece if he had seen a colored painting.

Immediately striking is the unusual 5/8 meter of the piece, evoking the sensation of rocking, as a boat in a river.

At 1:01 (page 5 in score) listen for the french horn, as it introduces the dies irae for the first time, as if a distant call through the fog (the 4th note is dropped a 5th-interval here instead of the third in the original melody).

The 4-note dies irae motif features heavily throughout the whole piece and you can listen for it. In this piece the 3rd note is mostly broken and played twice so listen for 5 notes.

Symphonic Dances
The score is not public domain yet for this piece.
First movement:



Rachmaninov composed this piece as a sort of swan song. It was intended to be danced to, as ballet.
The saxophone was originally invented for use in the classical orchestra and you can hear an alto saxophone in the beautiful melodic central section of this first movement.

At 7:20, the middle section ends with a variant and quotation of the dies irae.

[image loading]

Things start winding down at 10:16, signaling the impending end, and the transcendent coda begins at 10:37, with the strings sublimely and contentedly singing the dies irae again (10:41) before the movement dies in the same manner as it began. This symbolizes an acceptance and triumph over fate, a common theme in Rachmaninov.

In this particular recording the conductor took it quite slow so there's almost a feeling of reminiscence. I prefer a faster interpretation, where it's as if one is happily looking back at a full and long life. Compare

(10:29ish) or Mariss Jansons.

[image loading]

Rachmaninov, Walt Disney, Horowitz


*****
Deleted User 135096
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
3624 Posts
August 30 2012 22:27 GMT
#2
In the future I think you should pair down your pieces and focus in on when and how these quotations happen. How a composers manipulates these things is quite fascinating at times. For example I love how in Love-Death music Crumb quotes the dies irae, albeit in a more obscured fashion, but with the combination of elements creates a very evocative pastiche of homage and retrospection. Always nice to see some musical analysis on TL though.


begins at 1:43
Administrator
Carnivorous Sheep
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
Baa?21243 Posts
August 30 2012 23:14 GMT
#3
It's always fun to hear Dies Irae in like everything Rach ever wrote ^_^

My favorite quotation occurs in the Paganini Rhapsody ^^

Fun blog.
TranslatorBaa!
writer22816
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States5775 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-08-31 00:51:02
August 31 2012 00:50 GMT
#4
I like it in the Mahler 2 as well
8/4/12 never forget, never forgive.
forelmashi
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
421 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-09-01 00:45:36
September 01 2012 00:44 GMT
#5
Isle of the Dead is not the only Rachmaninov piece inspired by an Arnold Bocklin painting, the Prelude in B minor was as well.

Op. 32, No. 10, Prelude in B Minor, 1910
This piece was inspired by a painting of the Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin titled "The Return".

If anyone can find the painting I'd be delighted, but I couldn't 3 years ago and probably can't now

Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
00:00
Mid Season Playoffs #2
CranKy Ducklings93
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SpeCial 93
Nina 81
CosmosSc2 33
Vindicta 20
StarCraft: Brood War
Artosis 811
ggaemo 117
sSak 17
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm170
Counter-Strike
fl0m1653
Stewie2K477
Other Games
summit1g5411
shahzam947
JimRising 512
C9.Mang0321
SortOf144
Maynarde122
Day[9].tv105
Trikslyr74
Nathanias30
RuFF_SC212
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1095
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• davetesta29
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• blackmanpl 17
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• Ler44
Other Games
• Scarra961
• Day9tv105
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
8h 53m
Afreeca Starleague
8h 53m
Light vs Speed
Larva vs Soma
2v2
9h 53m
PiGosaur Monday
22h 53m
LiuLi Cup
1d 9h
RSL Revival
2 days
Maru vs Reynor
Cure vs TriGGeR
The PondCast
2 days
RSL Revival
3 days
Zoun vs Classic
Korean StarCraft League
4 days
BSL Open LAN 2025 - War…
4 days
[ Show More ]
RSL Revival
4 days
BSL Open LAN 2025 - War…
5 days
RSL Revival
5 days
Online Event
5 days
Wardi Open
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2025-09-10
Chzzk MurlocKing SC1 vs SC2 Cup #2
HCC Europe

Ongoing

BSL 20 Team Wars
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 3
BSL 21 Points
ASL Season 20
CSL 2025 AUTUMN (S18)
LASL Season 20
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1

Upcoming

2025 Chongqing Offline CUP
BSL World Championship of Poland 2025
IPSL Winter 2025-26
BSL Season 21
SC4ALL: Brood War
BSL 21 Team A
Stellar Fest
SC4ALL: StarCraft II
EC S1
ESL Impact League Season 8
SL Budapest Major 2025
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025
IEM Chengdu 2025
PGL Masters Bucharest 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters Fall
Thunderpick World Champ.
CS Asia Championships 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.