Ouvertüre in C für Harmoniemusik
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (ed. Christopher Hogwood)
This work also may appear under the title Notturno or Military Overture in C.
General Info
Year: 1824 / 1838 / 2005
Duration: c. 9:40
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Bärenreiter
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €32.95 | Score Only (print) – €22.50
Instrumentation
1824 / 1826 Version ("Nocturno")
Full Score
Flute
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
C (or B-flat) Soprano Clarinet I-II
C (or B-flat) Trumpet
Horn in C (or F) I-II
Bass Horn
1838 Version
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
F Soprano Clarinet I-II
C (or B-flat) Soprano Clarinet I-II
F Basset Horn I-II
C (or B-flat) Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Alto Trombone
Tenor Trombone
Bass Trombone
English Bass Horn
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbal
- Snare Drum
- Triangle
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The original version of the Overture for Band –- first titled Notturno –- was composed by the fifteen-year-old Mendelssohn in 1824 for one flute, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, one trumpet and one (bass) serpent. After losing the original score, he rewrote the work in 1826 (utilizing his photographic memory) and made a new revision for 23 winds and percussion (titled Ouverture für Harmoniemusik) in 1838. The overture was composed for the excellent small wind band (Doberaner Hamonoiemusik) at the fashionable seaside resort of Bad Doberan near Rostock, northern Germany, where Mendelssohn was vacationing with his father in the summer of 1824.
This overture joins other works by Marthieu-Frédéric Blasius, Charles-Simon Catel, François Devienne, Louis-Emmanuel Jadin, Hyacinthe Jadin, and Charles Bochsa as among the few surviving wind band compositions from the classical period. In a letter of January 13, 1839, to Ignaz Moscheles, Mendelssohn stated his reasons for wanting Op. 24 published: "...because I thought it would give some people pleasure, and because it is easy and there are parts in it I like." Judging from the countless arrangements of the work for various media and its continued popularity in the wind band version, Mendelssohn's overture still gives people pleasure.
- Program Note from Program Notes for Band
Media
- Audio CD: United States Marine Band (Michael J. Colburn, conductor) - 2006
- Audio CD: Zefiro (Alfredo Bernardini, conductor) - 2016
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Penn.) Wind Ensemble (Julieta Ugartemendia, conductor) - 1 April 2023
- University of Texas at Arlington Wind Symphony (Douglas Stotter, conductor) - 9 May 2021
- Florida State University (Tallahassee) Wind Ensemble (Brandon Meeks, conductor) - 13 April 2021
- Ohio State University (Columbus) Chamber Ensemble (Christopher D. Hoch, conductor) - 29 March 2021
- Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Tx.) Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, conductor) - 13 November 2020
- Indiana University (Bloomington) Wind Ensemble (Jeff Osarczuk, conductor) – 17 October 2019
- University of Southern Maine (Gorham) Concert Band (Justin Reyes, conductor) – 31 March 2019
- San Francisco Wind Symphony (Martin H. Seggelke, conductor) – 9 February 2019
- Sanger (Calif.) High School Wind Ensemble (Dan Peña, conductor) - 15 April 2018
- New England Conservatory (Boston) Wind Ensemble (Thomas Kociela, conductor) – 14 December 2017
- University of Kansas (Lawrence) Wind Ensemble (Paul Popiel, conductor) – 12 October 2017
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) – 31 March 2017
- University of Texas (Austin) Wind Symphony (unconducted) – 22 February 2017
- Ithaca (N.Y.) College Concert Band (Brian Diller, conductor) – 1 December 2016
- Tokyo Wind Sinfonica – 2013
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Scherzo (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Ambrose) (1823/2021)
All Wind Works
- Concertpiece No 1 (tr. Mooren). See: Konzertstück nr. 1
- Concertpiece No 2 (arr. Gee) (1831 / 1964)
- Elegy (arr. Erickson) (1961)
- Fingal's Cave (tr. Mahaffey) (1832/2013)
- Fingal's Cave Overture (tr. Winterbottom) (1832/1910)
- Fingal's Cave Overture (tr. Seredy) (1832/1946)
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (arr. Holcombe) (1840/1997)
- Notturno (arr. Hautvast) (1842/2005)
- Konzertstück nr. 1 (tr. Mooren) (1833/1998)
- Konzertstück No. 1 in F minor (tr. Knox) (1833/)
- March, Opus 108 (arr. Stalter) (1841/2011)
- Midsummer Night's Dream (ed. Laurendeau) (1826/1904/1909)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (arr. De Meij) (1826/2022)
- Nottorno. See: Ouvertüre in C für Harmoniemusik
- Ouvertüre in C für Harmoniemusik (ed. Hogwood) (1824/1838/2005)
- Overture for Band (ed. Garofalo) (1824/1838/1998)
- Overture for Band (adapt. Greissle) (1839/1948)
- Overture for Band, Opus 24 (tr. Fred) (1824/1981)
- Overture for Winds (adapt. Boyd) (1824/1981)
- Overture for Winds (ed. Patterson) (1824/2008)
- Piano Concerto in G minor: First Movement (tr. Dahnert) (1831/1954)
- Ruy Blas Overture (tr. Moses-Tobani) (1839/1900)
- Scherzo (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Ambrose) (1823/2021)
- Scherzo from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (arr. Blair) (1842)
- Selections from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (arr. Tarkmann) (1842/1997)
- Spring Song (arr. Laurendeau) (1844/1898)
- Symphony No. 2
- Choral (tr. Aubin) (1840/2011?)
- Trauermarsch (ed. Leidzen) (1836/1954)
- War March of the Priests (1845/2013) (arr. Balfoort)
- War March of the Priests (1845/2013) (ar. Stalter)
Resources
- Geraldi, Kevin M. "Felix Mendelssohn's Nocturno/Overture, Opus 24: A Study in Context, Composition, and Performance." Journal of Band Research 44, no. 2, Spring 2009, pp. 13–44.
- Mendelssohn, F.; Hogwood, C. (2005). Nocturno [score]. Bärenreiter: Kassel [u.a.]
- Mendelssohn, F.; Hogwood, C. (2005). Ouvertüre in C für Harmoniemusik, Op. 24 [score]. Bärenreiter: Kassel
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 424.