Nocturne from Midsummer Night’s Dream

Thoughts on a orchestral solo.

The Nocturne from Felix Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to Midsummer Night’s Dream is a standard excerpt that is commonly asked at most principal horn orchestral auditions. The extended opening horn solo is a good opportunity for a player to demonstrate a variety of talents, including dynamic and breath control and moreover, musicianship.

In performing this passage, among the things to consider are dynamics, tempo and phrasing.

A superb performance found on YouTube is embedded below. It is a classic recording of Bruno Jaenicke performing it with the New York Philharmonic. Pay particular attention to the phrasing in the fourth measure; this will be a topic discussed later in this post.

The Nocturne begins at the 4:35 mark — I would highly recommend listening to the opening scherzo. The flute and woodwind playing is simply stunning.

» Dynamics

The opening piano dolce dynamic is relative to each unique circumstance.

In an audition, where the excerpt is performed without accompaniment, the temptation might be to perform it too softly. The piano dynamic should sound free and gentle without a hint of restriction or effort.

In context — although the orchestration is light — generally speaking it can be beneficial to play it slightly louder than piano. This, for a better balance from the audience perspective and for a bit more playing comfort.

The mezzo-forte may be played with a full sound — without being brassy. In romantic seduction, it is a bit counter-productive to sound strident.

Dolce, after all, means sweet — not scream.

» Tempo

Andante does not mean slow. Alas, the temptation for many a conductor is to interpret the title “Nocturne” as meaning dirge. I just performed the Nocturne last week at a televised Catholic service, and yes, it was more on the slow side of Andante.

The tempo I believe works better as a somewhat brisk Andante, in the neighborhood of 76 beats per minute.

A brighter tempo not only makes it easier on the chops, but it also makes musical sense. The harmonic motion — the pacing of harmonic changes — is relatively slow.

If the tempo is too slow, it can be frankly a bit boring to listen to.

» Phrasing (measure 4)

While in conservatory, my teacher Milan Yancich insisted that the breath occur at the end of the measure, after the written E.

I must admit that this goes against my basic instinct to always phrase melodies across the bar line. Also, on almost every recording I listen to the breath is taken before the written E, not after.

Mr. Yancich insisted nevertheless that this was the way that Philip Farkas had played it and the way that the legendary conductor Fritz Reiner had wanted it to be phrased.

At auditions and in performances, I always played it with a breath phrased before the written E. I have passed ahead in the rounds playing it this way, and conductors seem to like it played this way in performance.

Maybe I am getting older and — hah — wiser, but this embedded recording of Bruno Janicke has changed my mind. At a brisker tempo, phrasing the melody in 4 bars seems more elegant and appropriate to the theme of the composition — pixies and magical creatures.

If I get the chance to play this piece again some day, I will definitely give it a try.

While a long 8-bar phrase has its masculine Wagnerian merit, it lacks the regal, elegant charm that a very simple, 4-bar phrase has.

» Additional resources:

• Hornexcerpts.org
  Four recorded excerpts

Image at top is excerpted from http://www.life.com/image/tlp731832