User:DanCherek/La ronde des lutins

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La ronde des lutins
Scherzo fantastique
Scherzo by Antonio Bazzini
Portrait of Antonio Bazzini
Portrait of the composer
Opus25
Published1852 (1852)
ScoringViolin and piano

La ronde des lutins (The Dance of the Goblins), Scherzo fantastique, Op. 25

Background[edit]

Antonio Bazzini (1818–1897) was an Italian violinist and composer from Brescia. He began performing at a young age, and in the 1840s he embarked on several concert tours, living in Germany, Denmark, and Spain. In 1852, he moved to Paris and lived there for the next 12 years.[1] La ronde des lutins, a scherzo for violin with piano accompaniment, was published by S. Richault in 1852, shortly after Bazzini's move to Paris.[2] A virtuosic character piece, it is typical of Bazzini's compositional style during the first half of his life; after returning to Brescia in 1864, he focused primarily on composing chamber and orchestral works.[1][3]

La ronde des lutins is one of several compositions around that time that were labeled scherzo fantastique. Stephen Heller and Joachim Raff published similarly-titled works for solo piano in 1845 and 1847, respectively. Perhaps influenced by La reine Mab (Queen Mab), a scherzo from Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette, these pieces were written for salons or concert settings and are evocative of supernatural beings such as elves, fairies, or gnomes. Francesca Brittan, a musicologist, described La ronde des lutins as "by far the best known of these early examples" of the new style of fantastique scherzi.[2]

Bazzini dedicated the composition to his peer, the Moravian violinist and composer Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst;[2] the two of them, along with Joseph Joachim and Ferdinand David, had previously performed Maurer's concerto for four violins together in 1844.[4]

Music[edit]

The composition is in the form of a rondo with an "ABACA" pattern. According to Brittan, the rondo form contributes to the supernatural imagery by creating "a familiar sense of stasis" and causing the listener to "literally go around in circles, mesmerized by the whirling fairy ring".[2]


\relative c' {
  \key e \minor
  \time 2/4
  \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t
  \tempo 4 = 138
  \set Score.currentBarNumber = #5
  \bar ""
  \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin"
    e16-.\p(\downbow fis-. g-. a-.) b8-.(\upbow c-.)
    b8-.(\downbow e-.) dis(_\markup \italic "gliss." b'16) r16
    e,16-.(\downbow fis-. g-. a-.) b8-.( c-.)
    b8-.( e-.) dis( b'16) r16
  }

\relative c' {
  \key c \major
  \time 2/4
  \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t
  \tempo 4 = 138
  \set Score.currentBarNumber = #64
  \bar ""
  \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin"
    \times 4/6 { <c f!>16\p( <g e'> <c f> <g e'> <c f> <g e'> } \times 4/6 { <c f> <g e'> <c f> <g e'> <c f> <g e'> }
    \times 8/12 { \repeat tremolo 6 { <c f>16 <g e'> } }
    d'8)\noBeam \times 6/7 { d16(\upbow e\< f g a b cis }
    \times 4/7 { d16 e f g a b cis\! } d8) d,\downbow
  }

\relative c'' {
  \key b \minor
  \time 2/4
  \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t
  \tempo 4 = 138
  \set Score.currentBarNumber = #193
  \bar ""
  \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin"
    fis!4_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "I" \super "a" } } }->( fis_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "II" \super "a" } } }->
    fis_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "III" \super "a" } } }-> fis8_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "IV" \super "a" } } }->) fis^\markup { \small \concat { "I" \super "a" } }-!
    g8[( \grace { a16 g } fis8 b) b-.]
    b8-! b32 a-+ g-+ fis-+ e8-+ r8
    e4-0->( e_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "II" \super "a" } } }->
    e_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "III" \super "a" } } }-> e8_\markup { \center-align { \small \concat { "IV" \super "a" } } }->) e-0-!
    d8[( \grace { e16 d } cis!8 fis) fis-.]
    fis8-! fis32-+ e d-+ cis-+ b8-+ r8
  }

Recordings[edit]

Recordings of La ronde des lutins
Title Violinist Pianist Label Year
Salut d'amour – Strauss Violin Sonata and Favorite Encores[5] Li Chuan Yun Robert Koenig Hänssler
OCLC 315749382
2007
Antonio Bazzini: Virtuoso Works for Violin and Piano[6] Chloë Hanslip Caspar Frantz Naxos
OCLC 264799296
2008
The Artistry of Oleh Krysa Vol. 3: Kaleidoscope[7] Oleh Krysa Tatiana Tchekina Troppe Note/Cambria
OCLC 51315072
2010
Bazzini: La ronde des lutins – Music for Violin and Piano[8] Luca Fanfoni Maria Semeraro Brilliant Classics
OCLC 930923030
2015

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Carli Ballola, Giovanni; Marvin, Roberta Montemorra (20 January 2001). "Bazzini, Antonio". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
  2. ^ a b c d Brittan, Francesca (2017). Music and Fantasy in the Age of Berlioz. Cambridge University Press. pp. 306–309. ISBN 978-1-107-13632-8.
  3. ^ Friedland, Bea (January 1970). "Italy's Ottocento: Notes from the Musical Underground". The Musical Quarterly. 56 (1): 40. doi:10.1093/mq/LVI.1.27. JSTOR 741143.
  4. ^ Rowe, M. W. (2016). Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst: Virtuoso Violinist. Routledge. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-138-24610-2.
  5. ^ Maxham, Robert (May 2008). "Collections: Instrumental – 'Salut d'Amour'". Fanfare. Vol. 31, no. 5. p. 309–310. ProQuest 1268718.
  6. ^ Maxham, Robert (May–June 2009). "Bazzini: Calabrese. 3 morceaux lyriques, op. 41. Le carillon d'Arras. 2 morceaux de salon, op. 12. 2 grandes études, op. 49. 3 morceaux en forme de sonate, op. 44. La ronde des lutins". Fanfare. Vol. 32, no. 5. p. 75–76. ProQuest 223095298.
  7. ^ Maxham, Robert (March 2011). "What's New in Troppe Note/Cambria's Oleh Krysa Collection". Fanfare. Vol. 34, no. 4. p. 189–193. ProQuest 859516887.
  8. ^ Maxham, Robert (January–February 2016). "Bazzini: La Ronde des lutins, op. 25. Violin Sonata, op. 55. La traviata: Fantasia brillante, op. 50. Elegia, op. 35/1. La Calma serenata, op. 34/3. Mulattiere, op. 35/3. Carillion d'Arras, op. 36". Fanfare. Vol. 39, no. 3. p. 196. ProQuest 1789138374.