Antonín Dvořák
(b. Nelahozeves, 8 September 1841 – d. Prague, 1 May 1904)
Husitská op. 17 (1883)
Dramatic Overture for Full Orchestra
Preface
Antonín Dvořák’s dramatic overture Husitská was written in 1883 for the reopening of Prague’s National Theater, which had been destroyed by fire two years previously only a few days before its scheduled inauguration. Among the Czech writers who wrote new plays for the theater was František Adolf Šubert (1849-1915), who was also the theater’s managing director. Šubert lit on the idea of writing a dramatic trilogy on the age of the Hussite Wars in order to depict “the origins of the Hussite movement, the battles of the Hussites, and finally the restoration of peace at the end of hostilities.” He wanted his play to be preceded by an orchestral overture, the composition of which he entrusted to Dvořák. In the end, his trilogy never proceeded beyond the first act, but its contents so appealed to Dvořák that he was able to complete the score within the space of a single month, from 9 August to 9 September.
Dvořák’s work follows the classical overture structure with a slow introduction and a fast, agitated section in sonata-allegro form. The entire piece has five underlying thematic ideas, of which two deserve special mention. Both are hymn tunes: the fifteenth-century Hussite chorale Kdož jste Bŏzi bojovníci (“Ye who are warriors of God”), which first occurs in bars 11-12, and the central motif from the thirteenth-century chant Svatý Václave (“Saint Wenzeslaus”), first heard in bars 9-10.
The slow introduction opens with a solemn theme (mm. 1-8) vividly highlighted by the above-mentioned chorale melodies. In keeping with Šubert’s line of thought, it represents the “origins of the Hussite movement.” Accordingly, the fast central section can be associated with the impassioned “battles of the Hussites” (exposition and development), while the recapitulation and coda depict the “restoration of peace,” once again using the two chorale melodies. The main theme appears in the form of two ascending fifths connected by a diminuted motif from the Hussite chorale (mm. 81-86). The second theme has a broadly arched, cantabile line and escalates to a passionate climax (mm. 167 ff.). After a final apotheosis (mm 531 ff., Più animato), the work comes to a close on a radiant C-major chord.
Although Husitská is basically program music, Dvořák was concerned with more than a musical depiction of the turmoil and battles of the Hussites: he also sought to emphasize the national and ethical elements rooted in the subject matter.
The overture was first performed on 18 November 1883, the day on which Prague’s National Theater was officially inaugurated. It was heard during a morning concert alongside the prelude to Smetana’s opera Libuše, conducted by Mořic Anger. Husitská was highly successful and was performed many times in the years that followed, including a performance in England conducted by the composer himself (1884). Nonetheless, critical voices were also raised, especially for its apparent glorification of Hussitism (a complaint heard mainly from German nationalist quarters). It was not least thanks to the German conductor Hans von Bülow that the work achieved widespread dissemination after all.
Translation: Bradford Robinson
Bibliography
Kurt Honolka: Antonín Dvořák (Reinbek: Rowohlt, 1974)
Otokar Sourek: Antonín Dvořák: Werkanalysen I: Orchesterwerke (Prague: Artia, 1954)
Vaclav Holzknecht: Antonín Dvořák (Prague: Orbis, 1959)
Klaus Döge: Dvořák: Leben – Werke – Dokumente (Mainz: Schott, 1991)
For performance material please contact the publisher Benjamin, Hamburg. Reprint of a copy from the Musikbibliothek der Münchner Stadtbibliothek, München.
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