What a fabulous score A Midsummer Night’s Dream is! Mendelssohn’s incidental music left its mark on his contemporaries with its virtuosity, its subtle orchestration and its evocative power. Here, Pablo Heras-Casado, the Freiburger Barockorchester and the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin present the music absolutely complete, flanked by Max Urlacher as a wonderfully ebullient narrator. Their historically informed interpretation offers a delightful plunge into this world of dreams and enchantment.

Tracklist: 

FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY (1809–1847)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Overture & Incidental Music
for narrator, two sopranos, women’s chorus and orchestra

· Overture. Allegro di molto (11:58)
· Scherzo. Allegro vivace (4:39)
· Melodrama: “Über Täler und Höh'n” (1:23)
· March of the Elves. Allegro vivace (2:12)
· Song with Chorus. Allegro ma non troppo (4:59)
· Melodrama: “Was du wirst erwachend sehn”. Andante – Allegro molto (2:38)
· Intermezzo. Allegro appassionato – Allegro molto comodo (3:56)
· Melodrama: “Welch hausback'nes Volk macht sich hier breit”. Allegro – Allegro molto (5:29)
· Nocturne. Andante con moto tranquillo (5:59)
· “Jetzt fängt mich doch Titanias Wahnsinn an zu dauern” – Melodrama: “Sei, als wäre nichts gescheh’n!”. Andante (1:59)
· Wedding March. Allegro vivace (4:25)
· “Der Prolog ist fertig”. Allegro comodo – Funeral March. Andante comodo (4:17)
· Dance of the Clowns. Allegro di molto (1:40)
· Allegro vivace (1:11)
· Finale. Allegro di molto (5:36)