Overture Magazine: 2017-2018 Season March - April 2018 | Page 27

c
i
s
u
M
Making
Beautiful
the punchy five-note theme storms back
to complete the exposition.
A tempestuous development section
brings back the original version of “Mother
Volga,” played hauntingly by clarinets
in their dusky low register. As other
instruments take up this theme, it contends
energetically with the five-note theme. After
the recapitulation section, the music returns
to where it began, with the melancholy
sound of a horn singing the folk tune.
Tchaikovsky rescued the wedding-
march melody from his operatic failure
Undine and made it the subject of his
Andante marziale second movement.
A pungent ensemble of clarinet, bassoon
and timpani emphasizes its droll, slightly
enigmatic character. Soon strings add a
countermelody above, its smooth flow
contrasting nicely with the march’s
clipped notes. Flutes and oboes introduce
the symphony’s second genuine folk
tune, a plangent Slavic melody “Spin,
O My Spinner.” Tchaikovsky treats it
to a number of subtly beautiful scorings.
The scintillating third-movement
scherzo flutters like a humming bird in
the sunlight. Its middle section sounds as
if it were based on folksong, but it is the
composer’s own invention.
The finale is dominated by the
melody of the third Ukrainian folksong,
“The Crane.” We hear it first in a slow,
brass-dominated proclamation that
many commentators have likened to
the sonorous splendor of Mussorgsky’s
“Great Gate of Kiev” in his Pictures
at an Exhibition. Then the tempo
accelerates, and the violins begin a light,
scampering version of this same tune.
Its only companion is a gently sashaying
syncopated theme, also in the violins.
Tolling deep brass drive both themes
through a whirlwind of keys. Tchaikovsky
uses increasing speed and full-orchestra
intensity to build an exhilarating,
crowd-pleasing finish.
Instrumentation: Two flutes, piccolo, two
oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns,
two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,
percussion and strings.
Notes by Janet E. Bedell, © 201 8
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B A LT I M O R E C H O R A L A R TS P R E S E N TS
Duruflé Requiem
Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 3 pm • St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Anthony Blake Clark leads the Full Chorus in the original organ version
of the Duruflé Requiem, showcasing the magnificent organ in the historic
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. The program also includes Benjamin Britten,
Edward Elgar, and Leonard Bernstein. FREE parking is available in St. Paul
Place Garage beside the church.
A pre-concert Choral Conversation will be held at 2:00 pm inside the church | Tickets $20-$40.
BaltimoreChoralArts.org or call 410.523.7070

M A R –A P R 2018 / OV E R T U R E
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