Antonín Dvořák was a clever and highly communicative humorist and musical dramatist. His masterful compositional strategies underscore, heighten, and construct sonic humor in his six (!!) comic operas. He crafts musical slapstick, satire, parody, and merriment using sudden breaks in rhythmic patterns, explosive harmonic shifts, excessive repetition, and startling pauses, as well as incongruous tempi, dynamics, range, and instrumentation. Dvořák also gives the orchestra its own "voice," breaking the metaphorical "fourth wall" to reveal humor outside of the characters' awareness. Narrative description and comprehensive music examples guide the reader through all six of Dvořák's works in this genre, revealing a significantly under-appreciated side of the composer's immense creative skills.
Antonín Dvořák’s masterful compositional strategies construct sonic humor in his six comic operas. He crafts musical slapstick, satire, parody, and merriment using clever orchestration and voicing techniques and incongruity. Narrative description and comprehensive music examples reveal an under-appreciated side of the composer's creative skills.
Dvořák, Comic Opera Composer
Understanding and Creating Musical Humor
The King and the Charcoal Burner 1871 (Král a uhlíř)
The King and the Charcoal Burner 1874 & 1887 (Král a uhlíř)
The Stubborn Lovers (Tvrdé Palice)
The Cunning Peasant (Šelma Sedlák)
The Jacobin (Jakobín)
The Devil and Kate (Čert a Káča)
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Professor Julia R. Adams teaches musicology, music theory, and performance courses at Franklin & Marshall College, Penn State University, and Boston University. She received her Doctorate in Musicology from Boston University. She is also a choral-orchestra conductor, and founder emerita for Calliope (Boston).