Set in a small English coastal village, Benjamin Britten’s 1945 opera, Peter Grimes, tells the dark story of an alienated individual who falls victim to mob rule.
This human struggle, with its focus on morality and punishment, plays out against the backdrop of the sea, a vast eternal presence. Throughout the opera, the action is interrupted by four orchestral interludes. Howard Posner describes them as
scene changes by a master of the scene change. They not only take the listener from one physical location to another (at times seeming to go out to sea and back) but also explore the turmoil in the characters’ minds as coastal villagers hound the misanthropic loner fisherman Grimes to self-destruction after the mysterious deaths of two of his apprentices.
In the opera, the interludes melt into the drama of the scene. As concert pieces, the Four Sea Interludes from “Peter Grimes,” Op. 33a become atmospheric portraits. Orchestral color, with all of its expressive power, is on full display.
Dawn forms the transition between the Prologue’s “trial scene” (an inquest into the death of Peter’s first apprentice) and the first act. Sounding in unison, the flutes and violins evoke the brilliant shimmering flash of sunlight glinting off of water. Arpeggios in the harp, violas, and clarinets suggest the playful splash of waves and moist sea spray. A solemn brass and low string chorale becomes a recurring statement. An undercurrent of anxiety hangs over the serene daybreak.
In the second interlude, Sunday Morning, chiming church bells shatter the tranquility. This music opens Act II, as the Borough gathers for church. A cheerful birdsong can be heard in the flute.
The third interlude, Moonlight, forms the prelude to the final act. The dark expanse of the sea appears calm on a summer night. As the music builds to a wrenching climax and falls back again, we are left with a striking dichotomy. Human anguish meets the continuity of nature.
In the tumultuous final interlude, Storm, we experience the awesome, untamable power of the sea. It is a force which both sustains and threatens life. This music is heard during a scene change in the first act. A ghoulish English dance emerges. In a moment of tranquility, we hear the music which accompanies Peter’s final longing question, “What harbor shelters peace, away from tidal waves, away from storms?”
I. Dawn:
II. Sunday Morning:
III. Moonlight:
IV. Storm:
Die Hard: “We’ve Got Each Other”
Compare the colors and atmosphere of Britten’s Dawn with music from the end of the 1988 action film, Die Hard.
Through most of the film, New York police detective John McClane and LAPD sergeant Al Powell communicate exclusively through desperate police two-way radio calls. This music accompanies their heartfelt meeting after reaching safety. For the audience, the cue offers an emotional release from prior suspense.
While the Die Hard score was written by Michael Kamen, this excerpt was adapted from a score for the 1987 film Man on Fire by composer John Scott.
Here, shimmering strings and meandering woodwind scale lines accompany a magical scene in which thousands of papers fall like confetti from the burning Nakatomi Plaza high-rise.
Recordings
- Britten: Peter Grimes. Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a, Edward Gardner, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Chandos
- Kamen: Die Hard soundtrack Amazon
Featured Image: “Rainstorm over the Sea” (c. 1824), John Constable