"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album "A Night at the Opera". It is a six-minute suite, consisting of several sections without a chorus: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda. The song is a more accessible take on the 1970s progressive rock genre. "Bohemian Rhapsody" topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and had sold more than a million copies by the end of January 1976. In 1991, after Mercury's death, it topped the charts for another five weeks, eventually becoming the UK's third best-selling single of all time.
Introduction
Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody | Introduction
A song by the British rock band Queen. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It  is a song by the British rock band Queen It is a song.
of the four galilean moons which is the closest to jupiter
user
Io
assistant
who discovered it?
user
Galileo Galilei
assistant
who was he?
user
An Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer.
assistant
has he invented anything?
user
Thermoscope
assistant
what is it used for?
user
It is a device that shows changes in temperature.
assistant
is there any references of him in any art form?
user
Yes, in the "opera" section of the Queen song, "Bohemian Rhapsody".
assistant
what is this rhapsody?
user
Commenting on bohemianism, Judith Peraino said, "Mercury intended ... [this song] to be a 'mock opera', something outside the norm of rock songs, and it does follow a certain operatic logic: choruses of multi-tracked voices alternate with aria-like solos, the emotions are excessive, the plot confusing." "Bohemian Rhapsody" begins with an introduction, then goes into a piano ballad, before a guitar solo leads to an operatic interlude. A hard rock part follows this and it concludes with a coda. The song is in the keys of B major, E major, A major and F major, and is predominantly in meter.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Composition and analysis
The band used the bell effect for lyrics "Magnifico" and "Let me go". Also, on "Let him go", Taylor singing the top section carries his note on further after the rest of the "choir" have stopped singing. Lyrical references in this passage include Scaramouche, the fandango, Galileo Galilei, Figaro, Beelzebub and Bismillah, as rival factions fight over the narrator's soul, some wishing to "let [him] go" and "spare him his life from this monstrosity", while others sending him "thunderbolts and lightning,/very, very fright'ning [him]". According to "Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography" by Lesley-Ann Jones' theory: It is also a figurative representation of the four members, Mercury, May, Taylor and Deacon respectively.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Opera (3:05–4:07)
A blast of pyrotechnics after Roger Taylor's high note on the final "for me" would announce the band's return for the hard rock section and closing ballad. Queen played the song in this form all through the Magic Tour of 1986. This style was also used for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with Elton John singing the opening ballad and then after the taped operatic section, Axl Rose singing the hard rock section. John and Rose sang the closing ballad part together in a duet.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Live performances
The work is notable for its extensive use of descriptive instructions: only two staves have no such markings.
Rhapsody (Osborne) | Introduction
Queen had embraced progressive rock as one of their many diverse influences. "Bohemian Rhapsody" parodies many different elements of opera by using bombastic choruses, sarcastic recitative and distorted Italian operatic phraseology. An embryonic version of this style had already been used in Mercury's earlier compositions for the band "My Fairy King" (1973) and "The March of the Black Queen" (1974).
Bohemian Rhapsody | Composition and analysis
The end of this section is marked by the bass entrance and the cross-handed piano vamp in B.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Intro (0:00–0:49)
The section concludes with a full choral treatment of the lyric "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me!", on a block B major chord. Roger Taylor tops the final chord with a falsetto B in the fifth octave (B5). Using the 24-track technology available at the time, the "opera" section took about three weeks to finish. Producer Roy Thomas Baker said, "Every time Freddie came up with another 'Galileo', I would add another piece of tape to the reel." Baker recalls that they kept wearing out the tape, which meant having to do transfers.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Opera (3:05–4:07)
The interlude is full of "obscure classical characters: Scaramouche, a clown from the "Commedia dell'arte"; astronomer Galileo; Figaro, the principal character in Beaumarchais' "The Barber of Seville" and "The Marriage of Figaro"; and Beelzebub, identified in the Christian New Testament as Satan, Prince of Demons, but in Arabic as "Lord of the Flies". Also in Arabic the word "Bismillah'," which is a noun from a phrase in the Qur'an; ""Bismi-llahi r-rahmani r-rahiim"," meaning "In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful". Despite being twice as long as the average single in 1975 and garnering mixed critical reviews initially, the song became immensely popular, topping charts worldwide (where it remained for an unprecedented nine weeks in the UK) and is widely regarded as one of the most significant rock songs in history.
A Night at the Opera (Queen album) | "Bohemian Rhapsody"
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album "A Night at the Opera". It is a six-minute suite, consisting of several sections without a chorus: an intro, a ballad segment, an operatic passage, a hard rock part and a reflective coda. The song is a more accessible take on the 1970s progressive rock genre. "Bohemian Rhapsody" topped the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks and had sold more than a million copies by the end of January 1976. In 1991, after Mercury's death, it topped the charts for another five weeks, eventually becoming the UK's third best-selling single of all time.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Introduction
The narrator bids the world goodbye announcing he has "got to go" and prepares to "face the truth" admitting "I don't want to die / I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all." This is where the guitar solo enters.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Ballad (0:49–2:37)
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody may also refer to:
Bohemian Rhapsody (disambiguation) | Introduction
The gypsy Laci Pócsi and his band are said to have been a source of inspiration for this piece.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 | Introduction
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Mercury with the first guitar solo composed by May. All piano, bass and drum parts, as well as the vocal arrangements, were thought up by Mercury on a daily basis and written down "in blocks" (using note names instead of sheets) on a phonebook. During the recording, the song became affectionately known as "Fred's Thing" to the band, and the title only emerged during the final sessions. The other members recorded their respective instruments with no concept of how their tracks would be utilised in the final mix. The famous operatic section was originally intended to be only a short interlude of "Galileos" that connected the ballad and hard rock portions of the song.
A Night at the Opera (Queen album) | "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Biographer Mary E. Davis saw this early instance of musical borrowing as a "surprising glimpse of Satie's future compositional style" and added, "The musical reference, clear enough to be audible by any listener familiar with the tune, creates an allusion to both song and place, thus deepening the experience beyond the purely sonic realm into the arena of memory and nostalgia." In his book "Satie the Bohemian" (1999), Steven Moore Whiting asserted that this bit of juvenilia revealed "no precocity whatever...an isolated case of allusion to popular repertoire, and an utter lack of awareness how to proceed beyond a promising start." Pianist-musicologist Olof Höjer, on the other hand, found it more technically interesting, noting how Satie deliberately compressed an already minuscule piece through the use of a short bridge passage.
Allegro (Satie) | Description
Some familiar examples may give an idea of the character of a rhapsody:
Rhapsody (music) | Introduction
After the line "nothing really matters" is repeated multiple times, the song finally concludes in the key of E major, but then changes again to F major just before it ends. The final line, "Any way the wind blows", is followed by the quiet sound of a large tam-tam that finally expels the tension built up throughout the song.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Outro (4:54–5:55)
The second, shorter ending does not recall material from the "lassú", but instead is based on the E major first theme of the second movement, now transposed to A major. When the second movement is played on its own, this shorter ending is obligatory .
Rhapsody No. 1 (Bartók) | Analysis
The four Bohemians find in this an excuse for a party and arrange for wine and an orchestra. Musetta gives Mimì a beautiful gown to wear and introduces her to a Viscount. The pair dances a quadrille in the courtyard, which moves Rodolfo to jealousy. This explains his act 3 reference to the "moscardino di Viscontino" (young fop of a Viscount). As dawn approaches, furniture dealers gradually remove pieces for the morning auction.
La bohème | The missing act
Towards the end of the ballad section, the band builds in intensity, incorporating a guitar solo (in E major) played and composed by Brian May. The intensity continues to build, but once the bass line completes its descent establishing modulation to the new key (A major), the entire band cuts out abruptly at 3:03 except for quiet, staccato A major quaver (eighth-note) chords on the piano, marking the start of the "Opera" section.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Guitar solo (2:37–3:05)
Baker recalled in 1999:
Bohemian Rhapsody | History and recording
The "a cappella" opening was too complex to perform live, so Mercury tried various ways of introducing the song. When the song "Mustapha" became a live favourite, Mercury would often sub in that song's "a cappella" opening, which was easier to reproduce live as it was only one voice. During the Hot Space Tour, and occasionally at other times, Mercury would do a piano improvisation (generally the introduction to "Death on Two Legs") that ended with the first notes of the song. Often, the preceding song would end, and Mercury would sit at the piano, say a quick word, and start playing the ballad section.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Live performances
The narrator makes the second of several invocations to his "mama" in the new key, continuing the original theme. The narrator explains his regret over "mak[ing] you cry" and urging "mama" to "carry on as if nothing really matters". A brief, descending variation of the piano phrase connects to the second verse. Then the piano intro plays, marking the start of the second verse. As the ballad proceeds into its second verse, the speaker confesses how ashamed he is by his act of murder (as May enters on guitar and mimics the upper range of the piano at 1:50). May imitates a bell tree during the line "sends shivers down my spine", by playing the strings of his guitar on the other side of the bridge.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Ballad (0:49–2:37)
In an article in "The Atlantic Monthly" in 1955, Leonard Bernstein, who nevertheless admitted that he loved the piece, wrote:
Rhapsody in Blue | Responses
This Hungarian Rhapsody is based entirely on Liszt's original ideas.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 17 | Sources of the melodies
2), Adele's "Someone like You" (No. 3), Oasis' "Don't Look Back in Anger" (No. 4) and The Beatles' "Hey Jude" (No. 5). The song was also ranked No. 5 in RadioMafia's list of "Top 500 Songs".
Bohemian Rhapsody | Polls
He is numbered among its members mainly because of his "American Indian Rhapsody", his most popular work. Originally written for piano, but later scored for full orchestra, it contains reference to the music of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Sioux, Chippewa, Pueblo, and Cree tribes, and is based on themes recorded and suggested by Thurlow Lieurance. The "Rhapsody" has been described as very much a period piece, stylistically conventional and eclectic, post-Romantic and neo-Lisztian in its mannerisms and pretentiousness, its plethora of trills, arpeggios, broken chords, and repeated octaves (often thunderous), and its bravura display of virtuosity, with indications ranging from "molto maestoso" to "allegretto scherzando", from "andante affetuoso" to "allegro con brio", from "amabile" to "feroce" (the savage!).
Preston Ware Orem | Introduction
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by American composer George Gershwin. It may also refer to:
Rhapsody in Blue (disambiguation) | Introduction
James Joyce's "Ulysses" contains a number of references to "The Rose of Castille" (many more than to "The Bohemian Girl" or "The Maid of Artois"). The most notable is in the Aeolus section, where Lenehan answers his own riddle, "What opera is like a railway line?", with ""The Rose of Castille". See the wheeze? Rows of cast steel." In addition, Manuel's aria, "'Twas rank and fame that tempted thee" is quoted in the same section.
The Rose of Castille | Allusions to the opera
"Rhapsody", Op. 1, Sz. 26, BB 36, is a composition for piano by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. It was finished in 1904. A year later, he wrote a version for piano and orchestra. The catalogue number of this composition is Op. 1, Sz. 26. The initial full-length composition for piano eventually received a catalogue number BB 36a, whereas the second version, with piano and orchestra, received a catalogue number BB 36b.
Rhapsody, Op. 1 (Bartók) | Introduction
The piano begins in B major along with the entrance of John Deacon's bass guitar, marking the onset of this section. After it plays twice, Mercury's vocals enter. Throughout the section, the vocals evolve from a softly sung harmony to an impassioned solo performance by Mercury. The narrator explains to his mother that he has "just killed a man," with "a gun against his head" and in doing so, has thrown his life away. This "confessional" section, Whiteley comments, is "affirmative of the nurturant and life-giving force of the feminine and the need for absolution". In the middle of the verse (1:19), Taylor's drums enter, and a descending chromatic run leads to a temporary modulation to E major (up one fourth).
Bohemian Rhapsody | Ballad (0:49–2:37)
This Hungarian Rhapsody is based entirely on Liszt's original ideas.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 18 | Sources of the melodies
This Hungarian Rhapsody is based entirely on Liszt's original ideas.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 16 | Sources of the melodies
Rhapsody is a 1915 piece for piano solo by the English composer John Ireland. A performance takes about 8 minutes. "BBC Music Magazine" (September 2010) called it "one of Ireland’s most important piano works". In the "Gramophone Awards Issue" 2010, Andrew Achenbach described it as a "magnificently stormy essay". According to "Muso Magazine" (August 2010), it "contains the sort of wacky virtuosity found in Debussy's "L'isle joyeuse"" (1904).
Rhapsody (John Ireland) | Introduction
It was written in rhymed hexameter. All the lines are made up of fifteen (7+8) syllables according to the pattern ' x ' x x ' x || ' x x ' x x ' x. The rhapsody opens with a Latin citation of Hannibal Barca: "iusiurandum patri datum usque ad hanc diem ita servavi"
A Funeral Rhapsody in Memory of General Bem | Introduction
The final rhapsody is based on themes from Ábrányi's "Csárdás nobles"; the other three are based on original material.
Late works of Franz Liszt | Nationalistic and celebratory work
This was acknowledged in the scores of the early editions, which bore the subtitle "Folk Dances" . Bartók's objective was to transplant the entire style of Eastern-European fiddle playing into the Western concert context. In order to further this project, he insisted that Szigeti listen to the original field recordings from which the melodies were transcribed . The Rhapsody uses the same slow–fast ("lassú"—"friss") paired movements of the popular Hungarian "verbunkos" (recruiting dance) found in the earlier Rhapsody for Piano of 1904, and to which he would later return in the first movement of "Contrasts" in 1938 . Bartók specified that each of the movements can be performed separately—not only the fast second movement but also the more serious slow opening movement of each rhapsody .
Rhapsody No. 1 (Bartók) | Introduction
The Hungarian Rhapsodies are set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt. Hungarian Rhapsody may also refer to:
Hungarian Rhapsody (disambiguation) | Introduction
A rapid series of rhythmic and harmonic changes introduces a pseudo-operatic midsection, which contains the bulk of the elaborate vocal multi-tracking, depicting the narrator's descent into hell. While the underlying pulse of the song is maintained, the dynamics vary greatly from bar to bar, from only Mercury's voice accompanied by a piano to a multi-voice choir supported by drums, bass, piano, and timpani. The choir effect was created by having May, Mercury, and Taylor repeatedly sing their vocal parts, resulting in 180 separate overdubs. These overdubs were then combined into successive submixes. According to Roger Taylor, the voices of May, Mercury, and himself combined created a wide vocal range: "Brian could get down quite low, Freddie had a powerful voice through the middle, and I was good at the high stuff." The band wanted to create "a wall of sound, that starts down and goes all the way up".
Bohemian Rhapsody | Opera (3:05–4:07)
The opening ballad would be played on stage, and after Brian May's guitar solo, the lights would go down, the band would leave the stage, and the operatic section would be played from tape, while coloured stage lights provided a light show based around the voices of the opera section. Most playings of the opera section from the tape would often be accompanied by a portion of the song's music video containing the footage used for the operatic portion of the song. Other playings would be played over montages of footage filmed from the band members' other experiences throughout their daily lives.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Live performances
The song begins with a close five-part harmony a cappella introduction in B major—as evidenced by the presence of a V–I cadence (F7–B) multi-track recordings of Mercury although the video has all four members lip-syncing this part. The lyrics question whether life is "real" or "just fantasy caught in a landslide" before concluding that there can be "no escape from reality". After 20 seconds, the grand piano enters, the song modulates briefly to E major and Mercury's voice alternates with the other vocal parts. The narrator introduces himself as "just a poor boy" but declares that he "needs no sympathy" because he is "easy come, easy go" and then "little high, little low" (when heard in stereo, the words "little high" come from the left speaker and the "little low" comes from the right); chromatic side-slipping on "easy come, easy go" highlights the dream-like atmosphere.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Intro (0:00–0:49)
The first part of this rhapsody is based on a Gypsy song heard by Liszt in the autumn of 1846, "Káka tövén költ a ruca". The second part is based on the middle section of Mark Rózsavölgyi's "Víg szeszély csárdás".
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8 | Sources of the melodies
Leoš Janáček: "Taras Bulba. Rapsodia per orchestra. Partitura." (Score) Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1980. H 3616p
Taras Bulba (rhapsody) | References
Liszt used five themes in this rhapsody. The first of these, possibly Italian in origin, can be found in one Liszt's manuscript notebooks. The second theme is a csárdás by an unknown composer. After the third theme, which is an unidentified folk tune, Liszt quotes an authentic Hungarian folk song, "A kertmegi káposzta". The final theme quoted is a third folk tune, "Mikor én még legény voltam".
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9 | Sources of the melodies
This rhapsody is composed of several distinct melodies. Some of them are Hungarian folk songs, such as "Magosan repül a daru". Others are of uncertain origin; they may have been written by Liszt himself.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14 | Sources of the melodies
The title of this rhapsody is slightly misleading, as the introductory theme is Romanian, rather than Hungarian. This theme was found in one of Liszt's Weimar sketchbooks. The other themes were taken from the German pianist Heinrich Ehrlich.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 | Sources of the melodies
Galileo Figaro – The central character of the musical; a dreamer who hears strange words in his head. He is eventually revealed to be a reincarnation of Freddie Mercury. The character's name is a reference to the lyrics in the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody". Scaramouche – A sarcastic, cynical character and Galileo's love interest. In the finale she shows talent playing the electric guitar, and Galileo declares that she is a reincarnation of Brian May, only this time "he's a babe". The character's name is a reference to the lyrics in the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody". Killer Queen – The villain of the musical, she rules over iPlanet with an iron fist.
We Will Rock You (musical) | Characters
In this rhapsody, Liszt used three different tunes by Ferenc Erkel.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 | Sources of the melodies
In either case she’s a wonder. Imagine a tall lean woman in a long dress of some dead purple stuff, guiltless of hoops (or of anything else I should say) with a mass of crisp black hair heaped into great wavy projections on each of her temples … a long neck, without any collar, and "in lieu" thereof some dozen strings of outlandish beads. In his play "Pygmalion" (1912) Bernard Shaw unmistakably based the part of Mrs. Higgins on the then elderly Jane Morris. Describing Mrs. Higgins' drawing room, he referred to a portrait of her "when she defied the fashion of her youth in one of the beautiful Rossettian costumes which, when caricatured by people who did not understand, led to the absurdities of popular estheticism "[sic]" in the eighteen-seventies".
Bohemian style | Jane Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and pre-Raphaelite traits
The piece is divided into three main sections: The first part of the rhapsody is an introduction (Tempo giusto), where the left hand of the player plays a steady bassline made up of the chords in the D-flat major scale. Due to the overlapping of the melody over the bars, the piece does not sound as though it is in a rhythm. This is because Liszt did not start the first chord of the piece as an upbeat, which is what many composers have done to relate to the time signature of the piece. The melody of the first part is repetitive, ending with a long cadenza mainly using the black keys.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 | Form
He wrote the "Rhapsody on Long Flute" (); the Song dynasty "Classic of Loyalty" (), patterned after the "Classic of Filial Piety", bears attribution to his name.
Ma Rong | Introduction
In a BBC Three documentary about the making of "Bohemian Rhapsody", Roger Taylor maintains that the true meaning of the song is "fairly self-explanatory with just a bit of nonsense in the middle". When the band released a "Greatest Hits" cassette in Iran, a leaflet in Persian was included with translation and explanations (refers to a book published in Iran called "The March of the Black Queen" by Sarah Sefati and Farhad Arkani, which included the whole biography of the band and complete lyrics with Persian translation (2000)). In the explanation, Queen states that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Lyrics
Other aspects of the lyrics are changed for humorous purposes surrounding the Muppets characters. Pepe the King Prawn starts the opera portion of the song stating that he sees "a little silhouetto of a clam". The back-and-forth lyrics, "Bismillah! No! We will not let you go...let him go!", are replaced with Fozzie Bear begging "Let me joke" to Statler and Waldorf, who state "[We] do not like your jokes". The line "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me" is replaced with the remaining Muppets who have not been in the video singing "Does anyone know if there is a part for me?" The first two lines of the hard rock section, here performed by Dr.
List of Bohemian Rhapsody cover versions | Video
In addition to the two folk songs mentioned above, this rhapsody quotes "Akkor szép az erdő, mikor zöld". This rhapsody is based on the 17th number of "Magyar Dallok", Volume I.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 | Sources of the melodies
This led to Rachmaninoff nicknaming the twenty-fourth the "Crème de Menthe Variation".
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini | Composition
Taras Bulba is personified by dark trombone statements, and Ostap's last anguished cry is played by high clarinet. (There are clear parallels to two earlier orchestral execution scenes: in Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique" and Richard Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks".)
Taras Bulba (rhapsody) | Movements
Cut back to Bugs after the full-orchestra finalé, and he disgustedly plays the three single notes that actually end the piece, and then mutters inaudible profanity which can be lip-read as the short ends.
Rhapsody Rabbit | Plot
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5, S.244/5, in E minor, is the fifth in a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by composer Franz Liszt. It is marked "Lento, con duolo". The piece was given the nickname "Héroïde-élégiaque" by the composer himself. It is very different from his other Hungarian Rhapsodies, as it does not follow the "intro" - "lassan" - "friska" structure and is perhaps the darkest and most melancholic of the set. It was later arranged for orchestra.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 | Introduction
This rhapsody is based on a verbunkos and two csárdás.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 | Sources of the melodies
The first of the themes in this rhapsody is a song titled "Chlopitzky nóta" from the collection of the next edition of József Szerdahelyi and Béni Egressy in 1843, which was already included in the 4th and 5th numbers of "Magyar Dallok", Volume I. Also featured is the tune "Cserebogár, sárga cserebogár" and finally a fast "verbunkos" imported from the 11th number of "Magyar Dallok", Volume IV.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 | Sources of the melodies
The operatic section leads into a rock interlude with a guitar riff written by Mercury. At 4:15, a quadruple-tracked Mercury (in stereo, the four parts are panned two on the left and two on the right) sings angry lyrics addressed to an unspecified "you", accusing them of betrayal and abuse and insisting "can't do this to me, baby", before the final lines conclude that the singer "just gotta get right outta" an unspecified "here". Three ascending guitar runs follow. Mercury then plays a similar B run on the piano, as the song builds up to the finale with a "ritardando".
Bohemian Rhapsody | Hard rock (4:07–4:54)
"Bohemian Rhapsody" has been affiliated to the genres of progressive rock (sometimes called symphonic rock), hard rock, and progressive pop. The song is highly unusual for a popular single in featuring no chorus, combining disparate musical styles and containing lyrics which eschew conventional love-based narratives for allusions to murder and nihilism. The Beach Boys' 1966 single "Good Vibrations", which also consisted of disparate music sections recorded separately, was a precursor to "Bohemian Rhapsody". Music scholar Sheila Whiteley suggests that "the title draws strongly on contemporary rock ideology, the individualism of the "bohemian" artists' world, with "rhapsody" affirming the romantic ideals of art rock".
Bohemian Rhapsody | Composition and analysis
A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour, and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of variations. The word "rhapsody" is derived from the , "rhapsōidos", a reciter of epic poetry (a rhapsodist), and came to be used in Europe by the 16th century as a designation for literary forms, not only epic poems, but also for collections of miscellaneous writings and, later, any extravagant expression of sentiment or feeling. In the 18th century, literary rhapsodies first became linked with music, as in Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart's "Musicalische Rhapsodien" (1786), a collection of songs with keyboard accompaniment, together with a few solo keyboard pieces .
Rhapsody (music) | Introduction
'Bohemian Rhapsody' is full of drama, passion and romance and sounds rather like one of those mini-opera affairs that Pete Townsend ["sic"] used to tack on to the end of Who albums", before concluding, "The significance of the composition eludes me totally, though I must admit to finding it horrifically fascinating. It's likely to be a hit of enormous proportions despite its length." Ray Fox-Cumming of "Record Mirror" was also left unmoved, saying, "It has no immediate selling point whatsoever: among its many parts. there's scarcely a shred of a tune and certainly no one line to latch onto. There's no denying that it's devilishly clever, encompassing everything from bits of operatic harmonies to snatches that sound like Sparks and David Cassidy, but, in the end the whole adds up to less than the sum of its parts." He did, however, say that it was "unthinkable" that it wouldn't be a hit.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Critical reception
These seven dances are arranged into thirteen sections in various quick tempos, producing the impression of perpetual exposition. The movement begins in G, but is primarily anchored in D (with prominent use of the closely related acoustic and Lydian scales), and concludes in that key. Bartók appears to have been dissatisfied with the original ending, as published in 1929, and made as many as seven tentative alternatives, finally publishing one of them as definitive (; ). Other features of the piece include open-interval harmonies, drones, fiery rhythms and folk melodies.
Rhapsody No. 2 (Bartók) | Analysis
"The Bohemian Girl" is mentioned in the short stories "Clay" and "Eveline" by James Joyce which are both parts of "Dubliners". In "Clay", the character Maria sings some lines from "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls". The aria is quoted again in Joyce's novel "Finnegans Wake". In the P.G. Wodehouse short story ‘Without The Option’ Oliver Randolph Sipperley, mainly referred to, by Bertram Wooster as ‘Sippy’ greets Wooster with the quote ‘the heart bowed down by weight of woe to weakest hope will cling.’ George Orwell recalls ‘a little poem’ he wrote, in his essay ‘Why I Write’. The poem’s final verse runs: I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls, And woke to find it true ...
The Bohemian Girl | Other references
The first solo piano compositions with the title, however, were Václav Jan Tomášek’s fifteen Rhapsodies, the first of which appeared in 1810 . Although vocal examples may be found as late as Brahms's "Alto Rhapsody", Op. 53 (1869), in the 19th century the rhapsody had become primarily an instrumental form, first for the piano and then, in the second half of the century, a large-scale nationalistic orchestral "epic"—a fashion initiated by Franz Liszt . Interest in Romani violin playing beginning in the mid-19th century led to a number of important pieces in that style, in particular by Liszt, Antonín Dvořák, George Enescu, Ernő Dohnányi, and Béla Bartók, and in the early 20th century British composers exhibiting the influence of folksong composed a number of examples, including Ralph Vaughan Williams's three "Norfolk Rhapsodies", George Butterworth's "A Shropshire Lad", and Frederick Delius's "Brigg Fair" (which is subtitled "An English Rhapsody") .
Rhapsody (music) | Introduction
After Mercury plays ascending octaves of notes from the B mixolydian mode (composed of the notes from the E scale), the song then returns to the tempo and form of the introduction, initially in E major, before quickly modulating to C minor, only to soon go through an abrupt short series of modulations, bringing it back to C minor again in time for the final "nothing really matters" section. A guitar accompanies the chorus "ooh, ooh yeah, ooh yeah." A double-tracked twin guitar melody is played through an amplifier designed by John Deacon, affectionately nicknamed the "Deacy Amp". Mercury's line "Nothing really matters..." appears again, "cradled by light piano arpeggios suggesting both resignation (minor tonalities) and a new sense of freedom in the wide vocal span".
Bohemian Rhapsody | Outro (4:54–5:55)
Though Hovhaness uses two distinctly different motifs, through the piece he overlays them and distorts them in different ways in order to create a unified sound that represents not just his return to his Armenian roots but perhaps his unification or his American and Armenian roots as well.
Armenian Rhapsody No. 2 (Op. 51) | Techniques
The Bohemian Girl is an English Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, "La Gitanilla". The best-known aria from the piece is "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" in which the main character, Arline, describes her vague memories of her childhood. It has been recorded by many artists, most famously by Dame Joan Sutherland, and also by the Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø and Irish singer Enya.
The Bohemian Girl | Introduction
"The New York Times" commented that "the song's most distinct feature is the fatalistic lyrics". Mercury refused to explain his composition other than to say it was about relationships; the band is still protective of the song's secret. Brian May supports suggestions that the song contained veiled references to Mercury's personal traumas. He recalls "Freddie was a very complex person: flippant and funny on the surface, but he concealed insecurities and problems in squaring up his life with his childhood. He never explained the lyrics, but I think he put a lot of himself into that song." May, though, says the band had agreed that the core of a lyric was a private issue for the composer.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Lyrics
First Rhapsody may refer to the following musical works (arranged alphabetically by surname of composer):
First Rhapsody | Introduction
According to the violinist Zoltán Székely, he and the composer met one day in 1928 and, after chatting for a time, Bartók suddenly announced that he had a surprise for him, and produced the manuscripts of the two rhapsodies, which no one else had previously seen. "One is for you; one is for Szigeti," Bartók told him. “You may choose which one you like for the dedication.” Székely chose the Second Rhapsody, but quickly added, "that doesn’t mean that the First Rhapsody was already dedicated to Szigeti!" . Both rhapsodies exemplify a mode of composition using peasant-music sources, described by Bartók as taking an existing melody and adding an accompaniment together with some introductory or ending material, in such a way that the newly composed matter is strictly secondary—never competing with the folk material for prominence.
Rhapsody No. 1 (Bartók) | Introduction
When Bartók decided to submit the composition as an entry in the composers' category of the Anton Rubinstein Competition in Paris, 1905, it received no official recognition. Critics have acknowledged that this was a first step for his later compositions. Critics have also praised the Lisztian character of the composition, even though the style that he would later develop is diluted. Reviewer Michael Morrison said: "This Rhapsody must be assessed as a finely crafted but derivative effort, whose length may not be fully justified".
Rhapsody, Op. 1 (Bartók) | Reception
This rhapsody is similar in work and style to Enescu and the musical model of Liszt in the way in draws on tradition and folk songs.
Armenian Rhapsody No. 2 (Op. 51) | Music
In addition, it pays homage to the music of South America by incorporating a clear Latin American beat in the "Dance" sequence. The work is also noteworthy in so far as it represents an effort on the part of a known musician to compose for an instrument for which relatively few classical works were completed at the start of the 20th century in America (See Accordion Use in Classical music, Accordion music genres & List of jazz-influenced classical compositions). The composition was published in its original version for the solo Stradella bass system piano accordion by the Alpha Music Company in 1957 (see published compositions above).
American Rhapsody | Introduction
This rhapsody is a reworking of the 7th piece from Liszt's Magyar Dallok, Volume II. The first part is a slow "verbunkos" melody of unknown origin, but the other parts likely originate from the works of Antal Csermák.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 4 | Sources of the melodies
The work was premiered by the composer on the free bass accordion in a concert series hosted by the Orpheus Glee Club at Flushing, New York, in December, 1963. It was subsequently performed by a student of the composer (Joseph Nappi) for the first annual concert of the Accordion Association of Long Island during 1964 in New York. It was eventually transcribed by the composer for solo piano in 2002 and is described in its revised version for piano. Copies of the work have been donated for the benefit of researchers and students at the Eastman School of Music's Sibley Music Library for archival purposes within the Ruth T.
American Rhapsody | Introduction
The composer extracted a 17-minute concert suite, Op. 42a, from the ballet. There are also a version for wind band and a 9-minute solo piano version.
Homage to the Queen | Concert suites
The first section of this rhapsody is a slow Hungarian "verbunkos", but the second originates from Romania. This rhapsody is a reworking of the 11th piece from Liszt's "Magyar Dallok", Volume IV.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 3 | Sources of the melodies
According to Székely, he and the composer met one day in 1928 and, after chatting for a time, Bartók suddenly announced that he had a surprise for him, and produced the manuscripts of the two rhapsodies, which no one else had previously seen. "One is for you; one is for Szigeti," Bartók told him. “You may choose which one you like for the dedication.” Székely chose the Second Rhapsody . Both of the rhapsodies exemplify a mode of composition using peasant-music sources, described by Bartók as taking an existing melody and adding an accompaniment together with some introductory or ending material, in such a way that the newly composed matter is strictly secondary—never competing with the folk material for prominence .
Rhapsody No. 2 (Bartók) | Introduction
"The New Rolling Stone Album Guide" described it as "either a prog-rock benchmark or the most convoluted novelty song ever recorded". Writing for the BBC in 2015, the "Chicago Tribune"s music critic Greg Kot called it a "prog-rock pocket operetta" and said the song's "reign as a work of wigged-out genius rather than a dated gimmick testifies to its go-for-broke attitude—one that has resonated across generations". In 2009, "The Guardian"s music critic, Tom Service, examined the song's relationship with the traditions of classical music, describing its popularity as "one of the strangest musical phenomena out there":
Bohemian Rhapsody | Musical impact
Critics have noted that these rhapsodies "display a sense of atmosphere and a fresh approach to modal polyphony that was not present in his earlier work." Hovhaness wrote three rhapsodies, each with an opus number that was largely uncorrelated; he had just begun attempting to order his works, and began numbering though he did not yet have a system.
Armenian Rhapsody No. 2 (Op. 51) | Introduction
The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2004 documentary about the song "Bohemian Rhapsody", written by the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury.
The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody | Introduction
Initially following the song's release, the operatic middle section proved a problem for the band. Because of extensive multi-tracking, it could not be performed on stage. The band did not have enough of a break between the Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera tours to find a way to make it work live, so they split the song into three sections that were played throughout the night. The opening and closing ballads were played as part of a medley, with "Killer Queen" and "March of the Black Queen" taking the place of the operatic and hard rock sections.
Bohemian Rhapsody | Live performances
The bow of the violin has been stuck through diagonally under the fingerboard. To her right is a maple tree. The subject is a model employed by Bouguereau for this and other paintings, including "The Shepherdess". It was owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art until 2004 when it was auctioned by Christie's to benefit the acquisition fund.
The Bohemian (Bouguereau) | Introduction
Sources for the tunes used in this rhapsody include a csárdás by Márk Rózsavölgyi, a melody from the manuscript collection "Nagy potpourri", Beni Egressy's "Fantázia", and a portion of "A Csikós".
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 | Sources of the melodies
It was published by "Hudební matice" in 1924 in piano duet arrangement made by Břetislav Bakala. In 1927 the full score was published with further changes. Janáček described the piece as a "rhapsody" and chose three episodes from Gogol's story to portray in this programmatic work.
Taras Bulba (rhapsody) | Introduction
Overture (one in A major for the 1843 production, and a completely different one in C major for the 1867 Paris production conducted by Jules Pasdeloup) Act 1 Act 2
The Bohemian Girl | Musical numbers
The concert title is a play on the "Hungarian Rhapsodies" by Franz Liszt and one of Queen's most celebrated hits, "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest | Introduction
The composition is in one movement and takes 21 minutes to perform, even though the shortened version takes only half of the total duration. Critics have frequently stated that the loose structure calls for two contrasting sections; however, it is not marked as such in the score. According to some critics, Bartók used a Lisztian style, with very elaborate and vast chords and long and vastly ornamented scales and arpeggios. The composition starts with a fourteen-minute Adagio molto, which goes on to a second section, marked Poco allegretto.
Rhapsody, Op. 1 (Bartók) | Structure
The piece makes use of the gypsy scale.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 | Form
Drafts for the composition are not extant. The virtuoso piano writing of the work's "elaborate textures and sectional contrasts" relates to the model of Franz Liszt. After five revisions and updates, Bartók also released a version for piano and orchestra in 1905 and a version for two pianos. In 1907, Bartók also composed a fourth version of the same piece, which was shortened by almost half of the total length of the composition.
Rhapsody, Op. 1 (Bartók) | Composition
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 in E major, S.244/10, is a composition for solo piano by Franz Liszt. It is tenth in the set of his Hungarian Rhapsodies, and is subtitled "Preludio", although this name is not commonly used. It, along with the rest of the first fifteen rhapsodies, were published in 1853.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 | Introduction
The rhapsody "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" is one of the most forward-looking Irish compositions in the first half of the twentieth century. Written during the Civil War in Ireland in 1923, it was first performed in a small format, with a small orchestra and a vocal quartet replacing the chorus, in the 1950s; the first performance did not take place before 1990. Up to this time, Coghill had never heard an orchestra, but had a good knowledge of orchestral music from studying scores. The work is set for tenor solo, mixed chorus and orchestra, is in one continuous movement of about 23 to 25 minutes duration.
Rhoda Coghill | Music
The Second Rhapsody is a concert piece for orchestra with piano by American composer George Gershwin, written in 1931. It is sometimes referred to by its original title, "Rhapsody in Rivets". The Second Rhapsody was seldom performed in the twentieth century, and only in recent years has critical and popular attention turned to the work.
Second Rhapsody | Introduction
During "Bohemian Rhapsody", Freddie's vocal and piano part, along with video footage from Queen's 1986 show at Wembley Stadium would be used, while the rest of the band would play live music. After the operatic section, Rodgers would sing the heavy part, while the closing lines of the song would be an interchanging duet between Rodgers and Mercury. The song would end with Mercury taking a bow to the crowd, and the band would leave the stage. For the encore, a largely rigid line up of "The Show Must Go On", "All Right Now", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" would be played, before the band would leave the stage, Taylor throwing his drumsticks into the audience.
Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour | The show
The first list of tracks to record contained 24 songs, which was reduced to a final selection of 15. Among the scrapped tracks was a proposed suite for "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, but after three days working on it, Wakeman could not develop an arrangement that worked.
Piano Portraits | Background
American Rhapsody is a musical composition written for the accordion by John Serry Sr. American Rhapsody may also refer to:
American Rhapsody (disambiguation) | Introduction
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19 (S.244/19) in D minor is the last of a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. It was written in 1885.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19 | Introduction
The Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael Balfe. The Bohemian Girl may also refer to:
The Bohemian Girl (disambiguation) | Introduction