Serenade for Wind Instruments (Dvorák)
Encyclopedia
Serenade for wind instruments, cello and double-bass in D minor, Op. 44 (B. 77), is a chamber composition by the Czech
composer Antonín Dvořák
.
It was created in 1878, shortly after the première of the opera The Cunning Peasant
. The work was premiered on 17 November 1878 at a concert featuring exclusively Dvořák's works, with the Prague
orchestra of the Provisional Theatre. The composition was performed under the composer's baton.
The Serenade evokes the old-world atmosphere of the musical performances on the castles of the Rococo
period, where the worlds of the aristocracy and the common folk merged. It is composed in a "Slavonic style" (shortly before the Slavonic Dances
), and the middle part of the second movement contains rhythms reminiscent of the furiant
dance form.
:
The Serenade
is written for two oboe
s, two clarinet
s, two bassoon
s and for three horns. The composer later added parts for cello
and double bass
to enhance the force of the bass line. The double bassoon part was attached ad lib
, since in Dvořák's time it was not easy to obtain this unusual instrument.
.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
composer Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
.
It was created in 1878, shortly after the première of the opera The Cunning Peasant
The Cunning Peasant
The Cunning Peasant is an opera by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech-language libretto is by Josef Otakar Veselý.-Composition and reception:...
. The work was premiered on 17 November 1878 at a concert featuring exclusively Dvořák's works, with the Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
orchestra of the Provisional Theatre. The composition was performed under the composer's baton.
The Serenade evokes the old-world atmosphere of the musical performances on the castles of the Rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
period, where the worlds of the aristocracy and the common folk merged. It is composed in a "Slavonic style" (shortly before the Slavonic Dances
Slavonic Dances
The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Opus 46 and Opus 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, the Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms's own Hungarian Dances and were...
), and the middle part of the second movement contains rhythms reminiscent of the furiant
Furiant
A Furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents.The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech composers such as Antonin Dvořák in the eighth dance from his Slavonic Dances and in his 6th Symphony, and by Bedřich Smetana in The Bartered...
dance form.
Structure
The work consists of four movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- I. Moderato, quasi marcia
- II. MinuetMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
to. Tempo di minuetto - III. Andante con moto
- IV. Finale. Allegro molto
The Serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
is written for two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s and for three horns. The composer later added parts for cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
to enhance the force of the bass line. The double bassoon part was attached ad lib
Ad libitum
Ad libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
, since in Dvořák's time it was not easy to obtain this unusual instrument.
In popular culture
An excerpt from the third movement is performed by a chamber ensemble in a scene from the film Iron Jawed AngelsIron Jawed Angels
Iron Jawed Angels is a 2004 American drama film. It was directed by Katja von Garnier and starred Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Julia Ormond, and Anjelica Huston. It focuses on the American women's suffrage movement during the 1910s. The film received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival...
.
Selected recordings
- Dvořák: Serenades in E major and in D minor. Supraphon (SU 3776-2 011)http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=2006031. (Performed by the Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble)
External links
- Performance of Serenade for Winds by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra conducted by Douglas Boyd, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format