Arcadia & Disney
Arcadia is the high central plateau of the Peloponnese, the large southern region of Greece, a penninsula connected to the northern mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth (to the east) and the modern Patras Bridge across the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth (to the west).
If you have any image of Arcadia in your mind, it might be from Disney’s Fantasia, the bit set to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (No. 6 in F major, Op. 68). This symphony has five movements, each intended to paint a picture of a bucolic life:
- “Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande” (“ Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside”)
- “Szene am Bach“ (“Scene by the brook”)
- “Lustiges Zusammensein der Landleute” (“Merry gathering of country folk”)
- “Gewitter, Sturm“ (“Thunder, Storm”)
- “Hirtengesang. Frohe und dankbare Gefühle nach dem Sturm” (“Shepherd’s song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm”)
Disney’s animators decided to set their scene in the Greek Arcadia of mythology, land of the god Pan, of merry-making, of wine, and of storms. After a week up here, I think they made an excellent call.
