There’s a classical music piece I hear quite often but do not know what it is. I believe this piece is for a whole orchestra, but the part I’m thinking of is for the violin. It features what sounds like a rapid succession of 16th or 32nd notes followed by four quarter notes. I know it’s not technically a trill, but forgive me for not knowing violin terms (if one exists for this). The music goes something like this:
D# (trill) - G# - D# - G# - D#
C# (trill) - F#- C# - F# - C#
B (trill) - E - B - E - B
G# is the highest note in this sequence, and B is the lowest.
Yeah, sort of. The piece I have in mind doesn’t actually have trills, though - - it’s the same note being repeated, not alternating with the one above it.
Here’s a recording of Vivaldi’s “Winter,” first movement. Don’t know if this is the music you were thinking of, Ponch8, but the part that starts at 1:13 in the video seems to sort of come close to matching your description.
The Four Seasons must be in the running for the most widely used piece of classical music in pop culture. Perhaps in closest contention with The Planets.
*Winter *isn’t it, although it’s another one I hear quite often but have never identified before…thanks! For some reason I’m thinking the one I have in mind is by JS Bach, but I could be way off. I don’t think it’s from one of his Brandenburg Concertos.
Yeah, the way I described it fits *Winter *almost perfectly, but somehow that isn’t it. What’s the “Rio” joke I’m missing? I’ve seen that joke before on SDMB.
Another vote for Winter – specifically, the voice-leading fortspinnung. I hope the OP is waiting until that section before deciding this isn’t it.
If it really, truly isn’t this, I’m pretty sure we can at least narrow it down to some other voice-leading fortspinnung sequence from some Baroque concerto, quite likely Italian. If not Vivaldi, perhaps Corelli.
Darn, it’s too bad the sequence is going lower rather than higher, because it reminds me a little of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade (although that’s pretty tough to confuse for either Vivaldi or Bach). In particular, this section
I’m trying to guess where the melody goes next. I *want *it to head to A#, because in my ears this theme sounds as if it belongs in G# minor (assuming the notes were correct). Do you know enough about the piece to tell whether that first D# is the tonic (I) or dominant (V)? Or am I off entirely and is the piece in B major, with D# as III? Heck it could be E major, for that matter.
This is the kind of stuff that ties my head in knots. Argh!
Sorry, too late for the edit… for the folks guessing Winter, are you talking about this section in the first movement? Because while the OP’s transliteration (if that’s the right word…) would’ve gotten the G# (really A-flat) correct, much of the rest would be wrong, including the intervals and number of times that two-note phrase is repeated in the measure–plus, no trills. It would look more like (I’m just gonna use dots to indicate the staggered 1/16 notes at the beginning of each phrase):
(G…) Ab - Db - Ab - Db - Ab - Db -Ab - Db
(F…) G - C - G - C - G - C - G - C
(E-flat…) F - C - F - C - F - C - F - C
(D-flat…) E - C - E - C - E - C - E - C
(I’m only picking out the notes that seem most prominent to me… the 1st and 2nd violins are splitting on the 2nd note of each of those 1/8th-note phrases for a hint of dissonance and I’m not sure which is playing what note.)
Oh sorry… that’s odd–it’s set up to start at 1:49. But let me move this a little earlier, because that’s really when the theme begins (albeit not with the trill) and try again: http://youtu.be/17lEx0ytE_0?t=1m40s
…But if it’s really the repeated note as you say, rather than a trill, this is moot anyway. Dang, it’s really not Winter, huh? Does Winter sound anything like your piece?
Yup, that’s it. Voice-leading fortspinnung section* – most Baroque concertos have one (faster movements, anyway).
You’re right that the OP’s “transcription” wasn’t entirely accurate, but among well-known “classical” pieces, this sure seemed to fit the bill nicely. But surely there are other possibilities.
(*Fast harmonic movement – often one chord per measure – often downward, crabwise – leading us back to a repeat (ritornello) of the main theme.)
Dang, it’s really not Winter, huh? Does Winter sound anything like your piece?