Tune of the Day: Merry Gathering of Country Folk
Today we present a melodic transcription of the third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony.
Beethoven was a lover of nature who spent a great deal of his time on walks in the country. He also frequently left Vienna to work in rural locations. Each of the Symphony's five movements (yes, five, not the four typical of Classical symphonies) was annotated with a title evocative of the countryside. The third movement, a scherzo, carries the title “Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute”, which means “Merry gathering of country folk”, and aptly depicts country folk dancing and revelling. It ends abruptly on an imperfect cadence, leading without a pause into the fourth movement, titled “Thunder, Storm”.
Thanks to Kaitlyn for suggesting this piece!