| Powered by phpBay Pro |
New World Symphony has Native American and African American themes?
I just don't hear them when I listen to this symphony (Symphony No. 9 by Antonin Dvorak).
Like what African American sounding melodies does this song have? If anything, it sounds slavic!
As always, Wikipedia can be inaccurate and it is dangerous to rely on it for factual information.
It was very rare for Dvořák to quote actual folk tunes in his music. Even in the very Czech-sounding Slavonic Dances, no actual folk melodies are ever quoted. So effectively had Dvořák soaked-up the music of his native Bohemia that he could compose tunes that SOUNDED like folk melodies that had been around for many years when, in fact, they were 100% original Dvořák.
When Dvořák went to New York, he was captivated by the music of the n3gros and North American Indians. He was particularly interested in what his black students might bring of their traditional cultural heritage to their academic music studies. Dvořák believed that American composers should embrace and absorb the music of black and Indian America as he had done with his native Bohemian folk music.
There are several sections in the 'New World' Symphony that seem to break with Dvořák's tradition of not using quotations - or at the very least he alludes to them very heavily. The first movement's second subject on the flute bears a remarkable resemblance to 'Swing low, sweet Chariot', a spritual Dvořák is known to have particularly liked, while the principal cor anglais theme at the beginning of the slow movement is most definitely the n3gro spiritual 'Going Home'. These two themes are repeated in the finale, along with a motive in the violas that sounds just like 'Yankee doodle'!
It is true that Dvořák always denied these references, although I cannot understand why he would do such a thing. However, I don't believe my ears are lying to me. I can here the quotations even if the great man says they're not there.
Edit:
How ridiculous that Y!A would would not allow me to use the word n3gro in a completely legitimate way in my contribution above. PC gone mad! I don't know anyone (of any colour or creed) who would be offended by that!
Items Recently Purchased From This Site:
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
