Three Bavarian Dances
Encyclopedia
Three Bavarian Dances, Op 27 is an orchestral work by Edward Elgar
.
It is an arrangement for orchestra of three of the six songs Elgar wrote under the collective title From the Bavarian Highlands. The original song lyrics were written by the composer’s wife Alice
, as a memento of a holiday the Elgars had enjoyed in Bavaria
in 1894. As well as titles ('The Dance', 'False Love', 'Lullaby', 'Aspiration', 'On the Alm', and 'The Marksmen') Alice Elgar gave the songs sub-titles in recollection of favourite places visited during the holiday. Elgar preserved both the titles and the sub-titles in his orchestral version of the three dances.
The suite was first performed at the Crystal Palace
on 23 October 1897. Elgar scholar Dr Percy Young
stated that the composer conducted, the Elgar Society website states that the conductor was August Manns
, long-time resident conductor of the Crystal Palace concerts; but The Times
stated that Elgar conducted ('in first rate style') the Dances, and Manns the rest of the programme.
The three Dances are:
All three Dances are characteristic of the composer. The first is bright and robust, the second is Elgar in his gentle pastoral vein, with a wistful melody for the horn, and the third – the longest (about four and a half minutes) – is an Elgar finale in miniature, lively at first, then broadening and finally quickening to end in a blaze of orchestral colour.
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
.
It is an arrangement for orchestra of three of the six songs Elgar wrote under the collective title From the Bavarian Highlands. The original song lyrics were written by the composer’s wife Alice
Caroline Alice Elgar
Caroline Alice, Lady Elgar was an English author of verse and prose fiction, who married the composer Edward Elgar.- Family :...
, as a memento of a holiday the Elgars had enjoyed in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in 1894. As well as titles ('The Dance', 'False Love', 'Lullaby', 'Aspiration', 'On the Alm', and 'The Marksmen') Alice Elgar gave the songs sub-titles in recollection of favourite places visited during the holiday. Elgar preserved both the titles and the sub-titles in his orchestral version of the three dances.
The suite was first performed at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
on 23 October 1897. Elgar scholar Dr Percy Young
Percy M. Young
Percy Marshall Young was a British musicologist, editor, organist, composer, conductor and teacher.Young was born in Northwich, Cheshire. From 1934 to 1937 he was a Director of Music at Stranmillis Teacher Training College in Belfast. From 1937 to 1944, Young was a Musical Adviser to...
stated that the composer conducted, the Elgar Society website states that the conductor was August Manns
August Manns
Sir August Friedrich Manns was a German-born conductor who made his career in England. After serving as a military bandmaster in Germany, he moved to England and soon became director of music at London's Crystal Palace. He increased the resident band to full symphonic strength and for more than...
, long-time resident conductor of the Crystal Palace concerts; but The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
stated that Elgar conducted ('in first rate style') the Dances, and Manns the rest of the programme.
The three Dances are:
- The Dance (Sonnenbichl) - Allegretto giocoso
- Lullaby (In HammersbachHammersbachHammersbach is a municipality in the district of Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany.It is located near Frankfurt am Main. It consists of two districts: Marköbel and Langen-Bergheim. Only Marköbel once belonged to the Roman Empire. Parts of the Limes were found there recently. Since 2007...
) - Moderato - The Marksmen (Bei MurnauMurnau am StaffelseeMurnau am Staffelsee is a market town in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region of Bavaria, Germany.Murnau is situated on the edge of the Bavarian alps, approx. 70 km south of Munich. Directly to its west is the Staffelsee lake.-History:Murnau was first documented in...
) - Allegro vivace
All three Dances are characteristic of the composer. The first is bright and robust, the second is Elgar in his gentle pastoral vein, with a wistful melody for the horn, and the third – the longest (about four and a half minutes) – is an Elgar finale in miniature, lively at first, then broadening and finally quickening to end in a blaze of orchestral colour.