The midday witch
The Midday Witch op. 108 is a symphonic poem by the composer Antonín Dvořák .
Emergence
After Dvořák returned from teaching at the New York National Conservatory of Music to his homeland in 1896, the composer wrote several symphonic poems which - with the exception of Heldenlied , for which Dvořák developed his own program - on materials from the ballad collection »Kytice« ( bouquet of flowers ) by the Czech poet Karel Jaromír Erben .
instrumentation
The score shows the following scoring:
- 2 flutes , 1 piccolo
- 2 oboes
- 2 clarinets in A, 1 bass clarinet in A
- 2 bassoons
- 4 horns in F
- 2 trumpets in C.
- 3 trumpets
- 1 bass tuba
- Timpani
- Cymbals , bass drum , triangle , glockenspiel
- Strings ( violins 1 + 2, viola , cello , double bass )
content
At the beginning of the poem, the peaceful domestic life of a family is described. Subsequently, the oboe represents the screaming of the child through tone repetitions , threatened by the mother with the noon witch punishing the bad children , who actually appears a little later. The mother tries to fend off the witch when she demands the child. When the bell rings twelve times at noon, the witch can seize the child. The mother passes out and is later woken up by her husband with the dead child in her arms. Both hear the witch's cry of joy.
The music is divided into four sections , similar to a symphony . The progression of the plot from the initial idyll to the dramatic end is represented by corresponding variations on the C major theme. The composer Leoš Janáček wrote about the dissonances when the witch appeared : "One could feel the horrible shadow in these strangely hobbling, unfamiliar and unexpected harmonic progressions ."
effect
Together with Der Wassermann (op. 107) and Das goldene Spinnrad (op. 109), The Midday Witch was premiered by Anton Bennewitz on June 3, 1896 at the Prague Conservatory. This private event was followed by performances by Henry Wood and Hans Richter in London.
supporting documents
- Christoph Hahn, Siegmar Hohl (eds.), Bertelsmann Konzertführer, Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1993, ISBN 3-570-10519-9
- Harenberg concert guide , Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund, 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5
Web links
- The Midday Witch : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Noon_Witch%2C_Op.108_(Dvořák%2C_Antonín) accessed December 8, 2018