Amilcare Ponchielli (1834 - 1886)
Dance of the Hours

The Dance of the Hours comes from an opera La Gioconda by the Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli. Ponchielli was as famous in his day as Verdi, writing operas which were produced with great success at La Scala opera house in Milan during the 1870s and 1880s. The Dance of the Hours represents the different times of the day, from the morning, through the daytime and the evening to the night. The writing for orchestra is quite charming, with some particularly lovely woodwind writing and melodies for the 'cellos.