LXXXVI. NIELSEN, Carl (1865-1931)
The "proto-psychological" idea of The Four Temperaments dates back to Hippocrates (c. 460-370 B.C.E.), who believed that either an excess or lack of body fluids (called "humours") -- which he classified as blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm -- influenced human behavior.
Nice subject for a symphony (actually Nielsen was inspired while he was looking at a painting of the subject, while having a beer) ...
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The symphony explodes with a B Minor chord. A delightful melody then skips into the air with a series of scale motifs.
In the second movement (G Major), Nielsen describes himself as thinking of a young teenager who is loved by all, swinging to nature's rhythms in a waltz-like dream.
The third movement (E-Flat Minor -- a rich, dark key center) has a beautiful sustained intensity.
The fourth movement (D Major, ending in A Major) is all one could hope for as a finale to this interesting work.
Nielsen:
"I have tried to sketch a man who storms thoughtlessly forward in the belief that the whole world belongs to him, that fried pigeons will fly into his mouth without work or bother. There is, though, a moment in which something scares him, and he gasps all at once for breath in rough syncopations: but this is soon forgotten, and even if the music turns minor, his cheery, rather superficial nature still asserts itself."
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