poised at the top of the texture. However, the ‘peace’ soon subsides, and minor modes carry the piece through the coda to its conclusion. The piece ends with eerie chromatic scales on the celesta and empty, distant solos from the piccolo and the violin. The major harmonies were false (the Potemkin village of the symphony), and the dry ending reminds the listeners of their dire and inescapable reality. It is also important to note Shostakovich’s use of rhythm in portraying the struggles of a common Russian. Perhaps the most important rhythmic feature is the crotchet, quaver, quaver ostinato (or vice versa). It permeates throughout the whole 1st movement and serves not only as a rhythmic motif/ostinato, but a ‘dead end’. We first hear this idea in bar 4, as the violins utter three A’s before resigning to the dotted ostinato in the lower strings. The bar 4 motif is heard again in Figure 9, where it becomes the ostinato for the second subject, providing pulsating simple homophony. The constant, unrelenting rhythm serves to ilustrate the endless struggle felt by the Russian working class. We also hear this ostinato in the development section with an imitative texture between the double bass, cellos, and piano – the notes are attacked with pizzicato and with the una corda on the piano, stripping away the emotion. The empty tone and lack of vibrato makes the music feel like a monotonous march. This becomes particularly evident in Figure 27, with the timpani playing a diminished version of the ostinato. The militaristic entry of the percussion marks a strong change of mood, depicting a march or parade of the regime: a grotesque parody of Stalin’s reign. The ostinato is
23
then finally revisited in the recapitulation and coda, with the piece ending fatefully on three repeated notes. Shostakovich’s 5th symphony is truly a masterpiece: it thoughtfully details the conflict, fear and sorrow people felt during Stalin’s oppressive regime. The melodies are deeply intimate, the harmony appropriately evasive, and the rhythms assured and unfailingly constant, all of which strikingly encapsulate the common attitudes felt towards the Soviet Union. This piece, although his ‘apology’, can be interpreted as Shostakovich’s silent cry against a remorseless, brutal dictator. Bibliography Vulliamy, E., 2015. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and the muddle surrounding Shostakovich's opera. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep /25/lady-macbeth-of-mtsensk-dmitrishostakovich-opera-english-national [Accessed 7 April 2021]. Willimek, D. & Willimek, B., 2011. [Online] Available at: https://www.willimekmusic.de/music-andemotions.pdf [Accessed 9 April 2021]. Thomas, M., 2009. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. [Online] Available at: https://www.pbs.org/keepingscore/shostakovic h-symphony-5.html [Accessed 9 April 2021].
