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Does folk and
popular music inspire classical composers?
Folk and popular
music have always inspired classical composers in many ways. Sometimes
it's a familiar melody. Sometimes it's a dance rhythm or structure that
gives a movement an energetic drive. Sometimes it's just a feeling.
Gustav
Holst's St. Paul's Suite is
filled with folk music influences, especially the first and fourth
movements. In the first movement, Holst takes a folk-like tune and
rhythm and creates a fast-paced work that is frequently shifting the
beat. In the fourth movement, he combines two old
tunes: Dargason, a seventeenth-century
English tune, and Greensleeves, a
sixteenth-century popular song.
Antonin Dvořák's Serenade
for Winds doesn't
quote particular songs, but is inspired by the sounds of wind
bands one might hear in the village. The opening movement is a march resembling the
village band processing down the street. The second and third movements
are meant to sound like that same village band now settled in the
tavern, the audience listening
while enjoying a pleasant dinner. The finale is based on a dance
called Furiant, with several measures resembling a more
familiar polka rhythm. This particular dance was a favorite of
composers such as Dvořák and Smetana.
A Suite, A
Serenade, A Symphony
Sunday, June 9, 2024, at 2:00 PM Dolan Hall, The Annunciation Center,
Saint Elizabeth University, 2 Convent
Road, Morristown, New Jersey
Antonin Dvořák - Serenade for
Winds
Gustav Holst - St. Paul's Suite
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony #2
Click
here to order tickets
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