As a youngster, Felix Mendelssohn was drawn to the works of Shakespeare, particularly the shimmering fairytale magic of A Midsummer Evening’s Dream.
After studying a German translation of the comedy, Mendelssohn’s sister Fanny wrote,
We have been entwined in “A Midsummer Evening’s Dream” and Felix significantly made it his personal. He recognized with the entire characters. He recreated them, so to talk, each considered one of them whom Shakespeare produced within the immensity of his genius.
In June of 1826, the 17-year-old Mendelssohn composed a piece for 2 pianos (which he performed along with his sister) primarily based on A Midsummer Evening’s Dream. Shortly, this preliminary sketch grew right into a full live performance overture. The English commentator, George Grove, described it as “the best marvel of early maturity that the world has ever seen in music.”
The Overture begins with 4 chords, performed by a woodwind choir, which draw us into the magic and thriller of Midsummer Eve. It’s a sort of musical “opening of the curtain” which Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov later echoed in Scheherazade.
Abruptly, E main turns to shadowy E minor, and we’re surrounded by the dancing fairies and spirits of the forest. Breathless divided traces within the excessive strings shimmer, sparkle, and heighten our consciousness. The nocturnal stillness is damaged as a celebratory theme erupts within the full orchestra. Starting with a descending scale, this theme quotes the finale of the second act of Carl Maria von Weber’s 1826 opera, Oberon. (Oberon, the legendary king of the fairies, seems all through Shakespeare’s play). With the quote, Mendelssohn appears to be paying homage to Weber, who died in June of 1826.
Transferring from the spirit world to the world of mortals, the Overture’s second topic represents a heat love theme, punctuated by regal fanfares (the royal music of the courtroom of Athens). Lastly comes the comedian musical “hee-haw” of the braying donkey head of Nick Backside, the sufferer of Puck’s mischief, and the sounds of a looking celebration. Unfolding in sonata kind, the Overture concludes with a closing serene assertion of the “Weber” theme, which resolves in a young and reassuring plagal cadence. The curtain falls with a return of the opening chords.
Overture A Midsummer Evening’s Dream, Op. 21
Excerpts from Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music
In 1842, Mendelssohn obtained a fee from King Frederick William IV of Prussia to jot down incidental music for A Midsummer Evening’s Dream. The Scherzo, which kinds an intermezzo between the play’s first and second acts, evokes the scurrying mischievous fairies and spirits of the woods. Propelled ahead with mild, off-the-string bow strokes which alternate in pace, this Scherzo is a well-liked excerpt for orchestra auditions.
Succumbing to Oberon’s magic, the lovers fall right into a deep sleep. Within the Nocturne, an intermezzo between the third and fourth acts, a noble theme emerges within the solo horn. To my ears, the ultimate moments foreshadow the quirky sounds of nature, as heard in Mahler’s symphonies.
Puck sums up the evening’s chaos with the phrases, “Lord what fools these mortals be!” However with the triumphant Wedding ceremony March, a contented ending is at hand.
Take heed to the whole incidental music here.
5 Nice Recordings
Featured Picture: “Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing. From William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Evening’s Dream” (1786), William Blake
