Mendelssohn – Midsummer Night’s Dream (1842)

There’s more here than you might think.

First, aged 17 he composed a concert overture in E major an unrelated to any action in the play, having read a German translation of it.

Then sixteen years later in 1842 he writes the rest – a set of incidental music to complement the action. We’ve often heard the suite of works comprising the Scherzo (end of Act 1), the Intermezzo (end of Act 2), the Nocturne, and the famous Wedding March (at the end of Act 4).

However, there is more – some of the action, including that of the Fairies, is put to music, and other sections including a Marcia funebre, an Andante, and a finale with the choir. IT’s all easy, delightful, and brilliantly written – listen out for the ‘donkey’ noise (an accented falling 9^th) in the Dance of the Clowns which also comes in the Overture.