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Malcolm Arnold (1921 - 2006)
Tam O'Shanter, Op. 51
This concert overture is closely
based on the poem "Tam O'Shanter" by Robert Burns. The
action is precisely located at Alloway, the village where Burns
was born in Ayrshire.
Tam O'Shanter, is the story of a hard drinker who ignores his
wife's warning that he will one day be "catch'd wi' warlocks"
for his bad behaviour. Late one momentous night, in tempest and
roaring thunder, he sets out from the pub and drives his mare,
Meg, on the homeward road. When they reach the church they see
lights shining from inside, and Tarn takes a look - he sees a
wild party of witches and warlocks, dancing to the bagpipes. One
dancer, wearing a dress "in longitude tho' sorely scanty"
(a "cutty-sark" in native Scots dialect, a mini-skirt
in modern English), pleases Tam so well that he cries out "Weel
done, cutty-sark!" In an instant all is dark, and the hellish
legion are after him like a swarm of bees. If he can reach the
river bridge he is safe, for spirits cannot cross running water.
He escapes narrowly - but his gallant mare loses her tail, which
had been grasped by a witch.
The overture begins slowly. Clarinets put in a bagpipe drone;
the piccolo whistles a fragment of melody with a Scottish flavour;
bassoons amble along in an inebriated rhythm; muted brass slithers
in glissandi (a recurring device). Soon, with growing velocity,
Tarn is on his wild ride into the storm. Lightening flashes and
thunder roars. Tam gallops harder and harder, cracking his whip.
Brass and drums suddenly lead to shivering string tremolos, and
Tam watches the-unholy dancers - in hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys
and reels. The Scottish character of the music is evident. "Weel
done, Cutty-sark!" cries Tam, in a trombone phrase that all
but articulates the words - and the chase is on. It comes to a
sudden end and there is a short scud of woodwind solos (Tam disappearing
in the distance) ending in a high trilling note on the first violins.
Flutes and clarinets, perhaps sarcastically, point the moral of
the story and with a terrific flurry, the overture ends. |
