The Flight of the Bumblebee
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"Flight of the Bumblebee" is recognizable for its frantic pace when played up to temp, with nearly uninterrupted runs of chromatic sixteenth notes. It is not so much the pitch or range of the notes that are played that challenges the musician, but simply the musician's ability to move to them quickly enough. Because of this and its complexity, it requires a great deal of skill to perform. Often in popular culture, it is thought of as being notoriously hard to play.
The readers of Alexander Pushkin's original poem, upon which this opera is based, will note that Gvidon is supposed to go on three separate trips to Sultan's kingdom, each of which requires a transformation into a different insect.
Following is the text of the scene where the Swan-Bird sings during this music:
(Gvidon goes down from the shore into the sea. Out from the sea flies a bumblebee, whirling around the Swan-Bird.)
SWAN-BIRD SINGS:
Well, now, my bumblebee, go on a spree,
catch up with the ship on the sea,
go down secretly,
get deep into a crack.
Good luck, Gvidon, fly,
only do not stay long!
(The bumblebee flies away.)
In the "Tsar Saltan" suite, the short version is commonly played, taking less than two minutes. In the Opera version, the three-minute fifty-five-second version is performed.
Listen to this wonderful piece of classical music and think about all the bees that need our help:
The Flight of The Bumblebee
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This article was provided with information from Wikipedia
