Voltaire and Bernstein

Bernstein really was one of the greatest musicians to ever live.  His Overture to Candide is a fine example of this.  He really picks up the ideas and characters of Voltaire's Candide and puts them into his music.  The opening section of the song gives the image of Westphalia.  The trumpets and the trombones come in with a sound full of glory.  The castle is described as this wonderful place, the most wonderful of all possible places.  If you close your eyes, you can almost see the castle and its grandeur and if you listen to the trumpets and percussion you can almost feel the sense of safety and power that it holds.  Then the woodwinds come in with a running part and you can almost see the castle grounds and the gardens where Cunegonde saw Pangloss and the servant.  The atmosphere of Westphalia is brought to life and you can get the feel that it actually exists.

Another aspect of Voltaire's Candide that reappears frequently is the character Cunegonde.  Again, Bernstein captures Voltaire's words in the form of music.  This section of the piece just flows with melodic beauty, just like Cunegonde was described as flowing of physical beauty.  The strings are the first to play her motive and gradually more and more instruments are added until the section reaches its musical climax.  I believe that the beginning part of this section represents Candide's gazing at Cunegonde from afar and once the section reaches its high point, it represents the kiss.  This motive returns several times throughout the overture just like the character returns several times throughout the novel.

The last section that I can see representing an aspect of the novel is the last really distinct section.  I believe that this represents the extreme highs and lows of Candide's life and how it seems to spiral out of control.  It begins with a simple little melody in the flute and oboe, very carefree and innocent.  Then more and more instruments are added and you can start to get the feeling of losing control.  It gets louder and louder and then begins to speed up until it feels like the conductor doesn't have control of the ensemble anymore, just like Candide's life seemed to be out of his control at times.

Bernstein really was a musicial genius.  He did it all; composed, conducted, played piano.  This particular piece really tells the story without using words.  Instead he uses music, which gives the mind even more freedom to imagine.