In Nature’s Realm, Op. 91

Program notes

About the Work

In 1891 Dvořák conceived a cycle of three concert overtures on the grand theme of ‘Nature, Life and Love’, meant to be played together as a single arc. He later separated them and gave each its own title and opus number: In Nature’s Realm (Op. 91), the boisterous Carnival (Op. 92), and the dark, jealous Othello (Op. 93). The first of the three, heard tonight, is a serene and radiant hymn to the natural world, written at the height of Dvořák’s powers, just before he left for his celebrated years in America.

The overture is built around a single, gently rocking ‘nature motif’ that pervades the whole piece, a melodic idea Dvořák associated with the peace and majesty of the countryside he loved. From a hushed, dawn-like opening it grows into a broad, warm and songful celebration of the outdoors, full of the Bohemian folk flavour and the glowing orchestration that are Dvořák’s signatures. It makes a fittingly pastoral, open-air opening to a programme that will travel from Czech nature through neoclassical wit to the sensuous Mediterranean dawn of Ravel.

What to Listen For

Listen, at the very start, for the quiet, expectant opening over a sustained low note, out of which the ‘nature motif’ gently emerges, along with little flecks of flute and oboe that suggest birdsong waking in the woods. This rocking motif is the seed of the whole overture; follow it as it returns again and again, passed around the orchestra in different registers and colours.

The theme has a folk-like, call-across-the-valley quality, and the overture grows from its tranquil opening into warm, full-orchestra climaxes before settling back into peace. Enjoy the glowing Dvořákian orchestration (the warm horns, the singing strings, the woodwind birdcalls) and the overall mood of contented communion with nature. It is a short, gracious tone-poem of the outdoors.