Did
you know that April 23 marks the 400th anniversary of the passing of
William Shakespeare? Composers throughout history have drawn from Shakespeare’s
work, musically setting many of his plays. This month, Clef Notes will explore
some of these settings. Though there’s not time in one month to explore this
topic to the fullest, this should give you a good highlight. Since we just
looked at musical settings of Romeo and
Juliet this past February, we will skip over that play this month.
This
week, let’s begin by looking at a couple composers who musically set A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Did you know
that Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) wrote his famous Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream when he was
just 17 years old? Growing up in a well-to-do family, young Mendelssohn was
exposed to music early on and given excellent musical instruction from Carl
Friedrich Zelter. His parents often hosted performances in their own home,
inviting society’s rich and famous to attend. It was at one of these in-home
performances that Mendelssohn first performed his overture, playing it as a
piano duet with his sister, Fanny. Shortly thereafter, he orchestrated the work
and it became quite successful.
Mendelssohn’s
Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream
was conceived as a concert overture, not originally intended to accompany the
play. It is likely that Mendelssohn first encountered Shakespeare as it was
read aloud or acted out at some of the performances his parents held in their
home.
Over
a decade after the completion of his overture, Mendelssohn was approached by the
King of Prussia who desired incidental music for a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was at
this time that the remaining music came to be. You can listen below. Can you
hear love, adventure, fairies, and even a donkey in this setting?
