Dvorak, Antonin - String Serenades, Vol. 2 - Suk & Dvorak

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The word ‘serenade’ has carried several different meanings throughout music history. The term originates with the Latin serenus (meaning soft, serene but also bright and light), and was used to designate night music offered under the windows of one’s lady – by good luck it may have meant singing love songs in bright weather – where the singer customarily accompanied himself. This medieval courting practice is the general interpretation of a serenade which has persisted through ages and fashions in common practice and in musical compositions. In the 19th century, with the spread of public concert life, new forms of the serenade developed to meet the demands of the acoustics of large concert halls and the audience. Open-air performance ceased to be a primary consideration, so multi-movement compositions of lighter quality, termed serenade, were composed for a variety of ensembles from chamber groups to full symphony orchestras. These works often employed strings only (Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Hugo Wolf, Elgar), but there were also special combinations of string and wind instruments; the mixed chamber orchestra score of Serenade No. 2 of Brahms, for example, lacks violins. Due to their character and themes the Hungarian Dances of Brahms and the Slavonic Dances of Dvorák may rightly be included among Romantic serenades, even if they are not titled as such. The present release showcases serenades by Dvorak as well as Josef Suk.