[#79] January 25, 2021
1885 | Wind Octet, cello, bass | Grade 5 | 15’-20’ | Chamber music
Serenade Op. 43 for chamber winds by Danish composer Emil Hartmann is our Composition of the Week.
Serenade is likely the only work for winds by Hartmann and it was written around 1885.
It is cast in four movements: I. Andante - Allegro, ma non tanto pastorale; II. Scherzo; III. Intermezzo; and IV. Finale.
It has a duration of around 20 minutes and calls for the following instrumentation:
1122/2000.Cello.Double Bass
The first movement has a pastoral beginning in sonata form, followed by a high-energy scherzo and a very romantic intermezzo. A rondo (finale) concludes the work with its main theme in a march-style, highly accented and full of wit.
Serenade should be thought of in the same vein as similar works of the romantic period such as Dvorak or Richard Strauss.