#GIOVANNI GETS TO BE WRITTEN AT HIS SCARIEST?

[sins-of-the-sea]

//I dare you. I fucking dare you.

Try to steal the dragonskin from Giovanni. Then you will get to meet the true Sin of Greed of the Sea.

[hunterartemis]

Fantastic Beasts Characters As Classical Pieces

What if you could describe the characters of Fantastic Beasts with one Classical Piece? 

Newt Scamander: “American”-Allegro Ma Non Troppo by Antonín Dvořák: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JocDYVUb4kE

This particular tune was composed when Dvorak was abroad in America, working for a conservatory. ‘The American Quartet’ was composed during Dvorak’s stay in Spillville, Iowa, which he composed with great inspirations from contemporary Africa-American melodies, Native American tunes and even a songbird called “the red eyed vireo” that kept pestering him while he was composing. This reminds me of Newt’s worldwide voyages and him working on his book on his journey, inspired by people and magical beasts he sees. The piece speaks with a joy of seeing something new, the joys of travelling, meeting and being influenced by new people which is the essence of Newt’s character. 

Porpentina Goldstein: La Campanella, Grandes études de Paganini, by Franz Liszt. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Dvg2MxQn8

“La Campanella” or “The little bell” is called one of the difficult, most intricate piece on the piano to play. However, in it’s trilling and high notes it exudes an elegance that is both delicate, intimidating and fast. Tina Goldstein is characterized as a short fused level-headed personality. She was described as being "grounded."She was naturally ambitious, and had a desire to stand up for what was right. Her femininity is underrated, especially when she is placed beside Leta or Queenie. However, her femininity is most beautifully appreciated by Newt: the golden traces of her seen through the tracking spell, her emotional expressions when she was bidding Newt goodbye, her pouting at Newt’s “engagement”, all this highlight her unique femininity. This is what the La Campanella will capture.

Queenie Goldstein : Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, By Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker Suite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1qLYukTH8

From the moment Queenie entered the screen she filled my mind with a mystrey and alarm. She was almost ethereal and unreal sometimes and it is sometimes hard to tell what she is thinking when she is smiling and reading about you. That creepy-ethereal sweetness is evoked by the piece ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’. Feminine yet intimidating, this piece reminds me of Queenie. The character is both popular as a good and benevolent figure, also as a horror figure. ‘Sugar Plum’ is not a real fruit, but candied plum, and what she is seen making on screen for the first time? Strudel. 

 Jacob Kowalski: Miroirs (mvt: IV "Alborada del gracioso") by Maurice Ravel : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCKDG7w2S9c

Ravel’s ‘Miroir’ is a five-movement suite for solo piano written by French composer Maurice Ravel between 1904 and 1905. It was dedicated to his artist friends in Les Apaches (”hooligans”), who identified themselves as Avant-garde, and artistic outcast. Jacob as a non-magic folk, wants to grow as a person: from a dull employee of a canning factory to an artist of baking. From a wizard’s perspective he is a “hooligan”, in a sense: he is a no-maj who must be excluded. He is an outcast, but he celebrates it, a spirit that Ravel captures in the ‘Miroir’. The fourth movement Alborada del gracioso is called “The Jester’s Aubade” or the ‘Morning Love song of a Clown’. An Aubade laments on the lovers separating at daybreak. It can also be identified with his unfortunate separation with Queenie.

Niffler: Danse Boheme by Georges Bizet, Carmen:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P1dquJE7mQ

Gypsies were known to nick things in the past, and they are very mischievous and caused troubles for other non-gypsies. These are also the characteristics of niffler. They are troublemakers, and they pursue after shiny objects and treasures and pinches them for their own fun. Bizet’s Danse Boheme starts with light woodwinds with small movements which later becomes grands with frequent tremolo and hectic and fast tunes on the strings. This reminds me of the niffler’s small sneaky antics and how they usually get out of hand and makes things out of control.

Pickett:  Dance of the Reed Flutes, by Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, Nutcracker suit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h94BdxnheeM

Also known as the Marzipan song, the Reed-Flute song is a piece predominated by wind instruments. The piece also reminds be of birds chirping and woodland, which is considered as the seat of the Bowtruckles. The piece is very cheerful and innocent, like the bowtruckle and has a hint of mischief. 

Theseus Scamander: Violin Concerto in D Major, Allegro Moderato, By Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNmgDEUdKlw (for convenience skip to timestamp 6:17)

Tchaikovsky composed it in  Clarens, a Swiss resort on the shores of Lake Geneva, where Tchaikovsky had gone to recover from the depression brought on by his disastrous marriage to Antonina Miliukova. The concerto was swiftly composed and Tchaikovsky wouldn’t be able to complete it without the help of his composing pupil Iosif Kotek. However Kotek later refuses to play the concerto, believing that it would damage his reputation, which caused a breach between him and his tutor. Theseus is plagued too, by the death of his fiancee, Leta Lestrange, and finds consolation by his younger brother Newt’s support. The on-and-off relationship between him and Newt reminds me of Kotek and Tchaikovsky(despite the fact that the latter two had some homosexual tension between them). The overall melody is elegant yet majestic, tender but firm and noble with intricate notes, which all together sums up Theseus’ character and magical abilities. And let’s not forget his worldwide popularity and how this concerto (despite its failures in the initial receptions) rose to the position as one of the four greatest violin concertos in the world.

Seraphina Piquery: Bolero, Maurice Ravel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r30D3SW4OVw

Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. This piece begins with a soft beating of snare drums and repeats the same melody over and over again, but each time it includes a different instrument and gradually becomes grand. The melody includes the dynamics of every possible instruments in the orchestra. Seraphina is a martial heroine and an apt leader who utilities every wizard’s power in the ministry, that makes her power formidable. The meticulously crafted melody also expresses Seraphina’s calculating nature.

Albus Dumbledore: Erlkönig By Franz Schubert.(instrumental by David Garrett) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1uWr0p90EQ 

Schubert’s Erlkonig is an aria that uses the lyrics from Goethe’s poem from the same name. Erlkonig or the “Elf King” is about a father and son riding through the forest in the night. The boy hears whispers and sees the trainy veil of the Elf King floating through the air, who whispers to follow him. However the father sees nothing. When the duo reach the farm, the boy is found dead. This symbolizes that man is always flying away from death, but no matter how hard he tries death will get to him at the end. Dumbledore is a private person who is trying his hard to conceal and outrun his past, but it always gets tangled in the end. 

Gellert Grindlewald:  Don Giovanni! A cenar teco , by Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, Opera : Don Giovanni. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciZNyQNzM7I

In the Opera, the Commendator was an old man, Killed by Don Giovanni, who wished to win the old man’s daughter Dona Ana. Thus he came back as a spirit to drag Don Giovanni in hell. It is called one of the scariest songs by Mozart, and the process in while Commendator drew Don Giovanni into hell with fire and a legion of Demons reminds me of Grindelwald conquering his enemies and destroying them completely. Both of the characters were hateful, vengeful and absolutist, although Grindelwald cannot be justified like the Commendator, who rage was justified (because his daughter was snatched by a sketchy playboy). However, Grindelwald must think he is right and have thought about muggles like that!!

Credence Barebone: Swan Lake Op 20 introduction By Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, Ballet: Swan Lake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhYnHXpDyUI

Credence strongly reminds me of the Odette/Odille Complex from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Swan Lake. The ballet ends with a pessimistic note, in the sense that the pure and virginal white swan dies and the seductive and evil black swan wins. Up till the end of the Second Franchise, we saw that Grindelwald was able to draw Credence towards him, and I believe Rowling is aiming for a classic pathetic end for Credence, as “the innocent that gone bad” collateral. Ominous, haunting, breathtaking and beautiful, the opening of Swan Lake portrays the ravishment of Odette by an evil magician Rothbart. Credence has been manhandled by his adoptive mother and emotionally abused by Grindelwald and his journey from innocent to a dark entity is surely very Swan-Lake like. 

Leta Lestrange: Declaration of Love by Alfred Schnittke, A Fairytale of Wandering :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAVVXff_4BM

Originally composed for the soviet dark fantasy film A Story of Voyage (1983), Declaration of Love has been getting the position of classical music. The story of the film traces the journey of two orphan children, brother and sister separated at birth. However when they two meet in the adulthood the brother has become evil and violent. Although they reach a happy ending, but their encounter is as charged as Leta-Mustafa (who is Leta’s half brother from the same mother) encounter. It could also possibly indicate Leta’s encounter with Credence who was almost professed as Corvus Lestrange. The piece is haunting, beautiful and Schnittke’s signature discords lurking about throughout the symphony makes the piece perfect for Leta.

Nicolas Flamel : Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity, By Gustav Holst, The Planets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz0b4STz1lo

Flamel was a strong positive force in the film ‘Crimes of Grindelwald’. Unlike Dumbledore, who is more ‘hovering over and watching’ rather than participating in action (except in rare cases), Flamel’s presence and entrance fills the people around him with hope. Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ has a similar effect. In Indian Astrology ‘Jupiter’ is called the eldest, and ‘Adviser of Heaven’ who counsels with gods and protects the mortals from fatality and evil. Flamel’s presence was something like that.

Nagini: The Aquarium By Camille Saint Saens, from Le Carnival des animaux.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVpl-RNzdE4

Saint Saens’ Aquarium, is a doleful piece that evokes the image of the dimly lit, and often creepy aquarium. This so called aquarium is not visited at the daytime when the people are bustling, it is visited during the nighttime when there are no people. The Snake, is a creature that is fluid, smooth and meandered like water. This piece not only reminds me of an abandoned carnival, a place where Nagini belonged as a ‘freak’, but also a dimly lit, damp space where a snake inhabits.