The Four Temperaments

Paul Hindermith’s Music Transformed by Dance

Julia Cherlow
Cailean Cooke
David Long
Jay Ottovegio
 The Four Temperaments
1. Melancholic
• pensive
• ruled by physical body
• marked by despair, frustration
• cautious to embrace new courses of
action
 The Four Temperaments
2. Sanguine
• Latin meaning: blood
• extroverted, confident
• represents nervous system and astral
body
• conform with popular ideas
• rush from experience to experience
 The Four Temperaments
3. Phlegmatic
• stabilizing forces in group situations
• introverted and impassive
 The Four Temperaments
4. Choleric
• forcefulness of will
• must have their own way
• strength is zeal, weakness is anger
• easily agitated, ruled by impulse
• unlikely to judge or offend others
Paul Hindemith
(1865-1963)
• Composed musical
component in 1940
• One of four founders of
musical modernism
• Inspired by Bach
• Representative of neo-
classical school
• One of greatest German
composers of century
 George Balanchine
(1904-1983)
• Choreographed ballet in
1946
• Founded New York City
Ballet
• Formulated American
style of ballet
characterized by quick,
precise, syncopated
movement
 Hindemith’s Composition
• Instrumentals comprised of strings
supplemented by piano
• Broken up into three themes, four
temperaments
• Draws on characteristics associated with
the humors
• Neo-classic in style
 Transformation to Ballet
• Emphasis on simplicity
– Lack of set
– Minimal lighting effects
– No real costuming—practice
attire
– Plotless
– Uninterrupted flow
– Why?
 Manifestation of Music in
Movement
• Movement provides percussion to punctuate
music
• Lean, angular style reflected in both
mediums
• Syncopated movement corresponds to
musical dynamic
 Manifestation of Music in
Movement
• First theme
– Introductory strains of music reflected in
salutation of movement
– Partnership illustrates burgeoning musical
theme
– Convoluted shapes allude to neo-classical
structure of music