pastoral(e)

Genre of art, literature, music, or a musical play that depicts the countryside or rural life, often in an idyllic way. Pastoral scenes were popular in classical Greece and Rome (for instance, Virgil's Eclogues), and again in the 15th to 18th centuries (for example, German-born composer Handel's masque Acis and Galatea (1718)). They were frequently peopled with shepherds and shepherdesses or with mythological figures, such as nymphs and satyrs.

Often in moderate compound time (6/8 or 12/8) with a tonic pedal point (static bass note) derived from the drone of a shepherd's pipes, the pastorale originated in Italy, where, as part of the Christmas tradition, shepherds came into the towns playing music. Examples include German composer J S Bach's Pastorale from his Christmas Oratorio (1734) and Handel's Sinfonia Pastorale from his Messiah (1742).

The concept of the pastorale as a stage performance developed during the 16th century, based on a legendary or pastoral subject. One of the ancestors of opera, this related genre became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In literature, the pastoral is often a wistful longing for a fantasy.

pastoral

A light-hearted English madrigal with words of a pastoral character. See pastorale.

Pastoral

Anthology by Arthur Bliss for mezzo-soprano, chorus, flute, drums, and strings (using words by Theocritus, Poliziano, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, and Robert Nichols). It was first performed in London, on 8 May 1929.