Bohemian Rhapsody for Symphony

Bohemian RhapsodyIn 1975, the British rock group, Queen released their fourth album appropriately entitled, A Night at the Opera. The album was the band’s first Platinum selling album with its most successful track being what would become Queen’s signature song, Bohemian Rhapsody.

This post is not about the 2018 Academy Award nominated motion picture, but rather about the song itself,  Bohemian Rhapsody. Written by the group’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody is part ballad, part hard rock and an all engrossing mish-mash of musical heart tugs. It is also all genius because it actually lends itself extremely well to performance by an actual symphony orchestra. Listening to the Queen version of the song, it is so easy to get caught in the lyrics and not pay attention to the actual music. That’s a mistake because the music is the gelatin holding the composition together.

In 2013, the Indiana University Studio Orchestra recorded Bohemian Rhapsody as a symphonic piece. I think you’ll agree the recording shines as an orchestral composition and as an endearing tribute to Freddie Mercury musical songwriting talent.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.