Dvorak- Symphony No. 6 in D Major, op. 60 Part III
The nationalistic, Bohemian Furiant dance forms the basis for the exciting third movement.
III. Scherzo- Furiant- Presto
Ternary form
The Furiant is based on two motives; the first is a syncopated hemiola figure that appears three times in the first two bars, while the second is an eighth-note figure that appears just after. This creates the allusion of switching between duple and triple meter.
The first phrase is composed solely of these two motives mainly in the strings supported by the rest of the orchestra. The phrase is repeated at 0:15. The second phrase begins at 0:30 has a lyric but very Slavic-sounding melody in the violins that keeps time with the hemiola motives played in the winds. The melody moves to the horns as the the strings take up the hemiola motive.
At 0:57 a series of wind episodes with orchestral interruptions begins starting with the horn followed by the clarinet and bassoon and then the bassoon and oboe. The first phrase is repeated twice before eighth note motives take over (1:23) and a forte brass descent (1:33) leads to a tutti phrase one, this time with a strange off-beat timpani rhythm that is annoyingly difficult to play and sounds wrong.
Phrase two is repeated at 1:51 with the melody in the violins, repeated in the horns. The wind episodes (2:18) again grow into eighth note motives capped with a brass descent (2:55) and the return of the timpani.
At 3:13 the pace slows and we can catch our breath with a series of tutti chords and progressively softening timpani strokes. In the first section of the trio, the winds and strings sequence eighth note motives upwards as a piccolo sings a bird-like solo at 3:25. At 3:52 a graceful, gently rolling melody in the winds over quick string figures seems to lead us to the trio, but instead heads back to the beginning of this transition section with another piccolo solo at 4:15. The gentle melody descends beginning at 4:42, finally bringing us into the second section of the trio at 4:59.
The second section of the trio is much more lyrical than anything we’ve heard thus far in the movement. The upper strings play the melody with accompaniment most audible in the low strings. Far beneath, the timpani reminds us of the movement’s dance roots with hemiola motives. Pastoral flute and bassoon solos beginning at 5:07 are followed by eighth note motives sequencing upwards through the wind and string sections. A minor version of the trio theme darkens the atmosphere (5:27). After more eighth note motives the key returns to major at 5:54, but the melody in the lower strings does not quite fit with the countermelody in the upper strings. This imbalance foreshadows a return to the Furiant. The strings quietly play hemiola motives under the oboe solo at 6:07, after which the winds repeat the eighth note motive as the music accelerates back into the Furiant (6:24).
The Furiant is repeated much as it appeared in the exposition. After the various phrases are restated, the coda at 7:58 is curiously devoid of any of the nationalistic tint that had previously dominated the movement. Listen to it- everything is almost straight on the beat, most of all the timpani that had previously been playing mostly on its own. The movement ends on 3 tutti chords.
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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Witold Rowicki’s 1996 recording with the London Symphony Orchestra on Philips. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. Unfortunately this is not available in iTunes, so as a suitable alternative I’ve linked to Sir Colin Davis and the LSO’s 2005 recording.
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