(Section D)
Led by MARIE WILSON
Conducted by JOHN BARBIROLLI Dvorak's Overtures
Though Dvorak's thtee overtures ' Carnival ', ' In der Natur ', and ' Othello ' bear different opus numbers, they were conceived in the summer of 1891 as a single work : a cycle of overtures' to be entitled ' Nature, Life, and Love '.
The first two were written almost at once and were dedicated to the Universities of Cambridge and Prague respectively, which had just conferred honorary degrees on the composer.
The ' Othello' Overture was composed a little later after Dvorak's visit to England in October of the same year
The brilliant ' Carnival' Overture must be well known to listeners bv this time, but' In der Natur ' is less familiar while the passionate, rather sombre ' Othello ' is heard very seldom. Spanish Capriccio
The first movement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio ; espagnol ' is an Alborado, a lively popular Spanish dance usually played on bagpipes with side-drum accompaniment. The second movement consists of four variations on a soft, languorous tune heard first on the horns over a string accompaniment.
The third movement is another version of the Alborado, which, although more or less the same in thematic material, is provided with a new orchestral dressing. The fourth movement is a guitar song' of gypsy character in the form of a series of cadenzas for (a) horns, trumpets, and side-drums, (b) violins, (c) flute, (d) clarinet, (e) oboe (f) harp. After these cadenzas the tempo and rhythm become wild and abandoned and the music is worked up by the full orchestra to a fine climax, which leads straight into the fifth movement, an Asturian Fandango, a brilliant dance in triple time, complete with castanets and guitar effects.