Rheingold_.]

[Footnote 207: See his treatise on Orchestration, p. 194.]

Let us now analyze the _Midsummer Night's Dream_ Overture,[208] "his
first and highest flight" to quote Schumann. In this work we do not
find a characterization by musical means of the emotions of the
dramatis personae, as in the _Coriolanus_ Overture; and there is
little specific correspondence between the type of theme and definite
incidents, except possibly at the beginning of the Recapitulation,
where the low tones of the Bass Tuba[209] may be thought to represent
the snores of Bottom, as the fairies hover about him. Anyone familiar
with Shakespeare's play--and such a knowledge is indispensible for a
complete enjoyment of the music--will see that Mendelssohn's object
was to give a broad, general picture of the fairy world and to
intensify, by his music, the fancy and humor found in the play. The
introductory sustained chords, pianissimo, are a happy illustration of
his deftness in tone-painting; for, assigned to the ethereal flutes
and clarinets, they constitute, as Niecks ingeniously expresses it, a
"magic formula" which ushers us into the moonlit realm of fairyland.
The first theme in E minor (Allegro di molto: throughout _pp_ and
staccato), announced by the strings, is a graphic representation of
the playful antics of the nimble elves and fairies. Its course is
twice interrupted by a peculiar, prolonged chord which seems to say,
"Hush! you are listening to the activities of beings not of this
every-day, humdrum world." The first theme has a second part in E
major (beginning at measure 62) of a pompous, march-like nature, which
may be thought to represent the dignity of Duke Theseus and his train.
The Overture being in complete Sonata-form, there occurs at this
point a short transition based on the rhythm of the first theme;
followed by a lovely cantabile melody--the second theme proper--that
typifies the romantic love pervading the play. This theme also is
expanded into several sections; the first of which may portray the
clownish Athenian tradespeople, and the second, the brays of Bottom
after he has been transformed into an ass, _e.g._

[Music]

[Footnote 208: This is exceptionally effective in the four-hand
version--in fact, it was often played as a pianoforte duet by his
sister Fanny and himself--although the real poetic effect is
inseparably connected with the orchestral treatment.]

[Footnote 209: Originally these tones were pla