Carnival Overture, Op. 92
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
In the 17th and 18th centuries an overture usually set the mood for an opera, ballet or play that followed. In the 19th century, its role expanded. Melodies from the ensuing dramas were absorbed into the overtures, causing some to become potpourris, composed at the eleventh hour. Pretty soon, the overture broke from its introductory role in the theatre to stand alone, furnished with a title, introducing a concert rather than a drama. Among these are the ‘Hebrides Overture’ by Felix Mendelssohn, the ‘Academic Festival Overture’ by Johannes Brahms, and tonight’s overture, ‘Carnival,’ by Antonín Dvořák. We call them ‘concert overtures’.
Three linked concert overtures by Dvořák were premièred as a single work in 1891, their descriptive purposes being summarised in the words: ‘Nature’, ‘Life’ and ‘Love’. Soon after, Dvořák reclassified them as separate compositions giving them unique opus numbers and new titles. The central one, ‘Life’, was reborn as ‘Carnival’. He explained that the overture depicts…
…a lonely, contemplative wanderer reaching a city at twilight where a festival is in full swing. On every side is heard the clangour of instruments, mingled with shouts of joy and the unrestrained hilarity of people giving vent to their feelings in songs and dances.
Although we can pick up that mood easily, we notice that it is not merry-making all through. Some reflective passages, suggestive of ‘a pair of straying lovers’ (so described by Dvořák) provide contrast and delight. The overall structure is complex but the return of readily-recognised melodies sustains our interest up to the exhilarating conclusion, a ‘breathless, brilliant coda’, as the American critic Barbara Heninger dubbed it.
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
In the 17th and 18th centuries an overture usually set the mood for an opera, ballet or play that followed. In the 19th century, its role expanded. Melodies from the ensuing dramas were absorbed into the overtures, causing some to become potpourris, composed at the eleventh hour. Pretty soon, the overture broke from its introductory role in the theatre to stand alone, furnished with a title, introducing a concert rather than a drama. Among these are the ‘Hebrides Overture’ by Felix Mendelssohn, the ‘Academic Festival Overture’ by Johannes Brahms, and tonight’s overture, ‘Carnival,’ by Antonín Dvořák. We call them ‘concert overtures’.
Three linked concert overtures by Dvořák were premièred as a single work in 1891, their descriptive purposes being summarised in the words: ‘Nature’, ‘Life’ and ‘Love’. Soon after, Dvořák reclassified them as separate compositions giving them unique opus numbers and new titles. The central one, ‘Life’, was reborn as ‘Carnival’. He explained that the overture depicts…
…a lonely, contemplative wanderer reaching a city at twilight where a festival is in full swing. On every side is heard the clangour of instruments, mingled with shouts of joy and the unrestrained hilarity of people giving vent to their feelings in songs and dances.
Although we can pick up that mood easily, we notice that it is not merry-making all through. Some reflective passages, suggestive of ‘a pair of straying lovers’ (so described by Dvořák) provide contrast and delight. The overall structure is complex but the return of readily-recognised melodies sustains our interest up to the exhilarating conclusion, a ‘breathless, brilliant coda’, as the American critic Barbara Heninger dubbed it.