''Scapino'' is a short work for large orchestra by
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...
, described by the composer as a "comedy overture". It was commissioned by the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
and was first performed in 1941. A revised version was premiered in 1950.
Background and first performances
In July 1938 William Walton, by this time established as a leading composer, received a visit from
Frederick Stock
Frederick Stock (born Friedrich August Stock; November 11, 1872 – October 20, 1942) was a German conductor and composer, most famous for his 37-year tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Early life and education
Born ...
, conductor of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
, who was commissioning works for the 1940–41 season to celebrate the orchestra's fiftieth anniversary. Walton accepted the commission, and originally planned an extensive suite of five pieces to be called ''Varii Capricci''. He had in mind a series of ''
commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'' sketches.
[Kennedy, Michael (1992). Notes to Lyrita CD SRCD224 ]
Among Walton's earlier works was ''
Portsmouth Point
Portsmouth Point, or "Spice Island", is part of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on the southern coast of England. The name Spice Island comes from the area's seedy reputation, as it was known as the "Spice of Life". Men were easily found ...
'', a lively overture inspired by an 1814 etching by
Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 175721 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social an ...
, and the composer abandoned the idea of a suite in favour of another such overture. He again drew inspiration from an old print, in this case the character Scapin in
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot (; – 1635) was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine (an independent state on the north-eastern border of France, southwestern border of Germany and overlapping the southern Netherlands). He is an impo ...
's ''Les Trois Pantalons'', dating from 1619. Scapin –
Scapino
Scapino, or Scapin, is a zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian word "scappare" (to escape) and his name translates to “little escape artist” in reference to his tendency to flee from fights, even those ...
in the original Italian – was the rascally servant in the ''
commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'', who helped plan the escapades of his master,
Harlequin
Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...
, and in particular his amorous adventures; he was not without such escapades of his own.
[Howes, p. 115] In the 1950 edition of the published score, Walton included this note:
The first performance was given in Chicago on 3 April 1941 with a repeat performance a fortnight later.
[Kennedy, pp. 109–111] Because of evacuation from London during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the British premiere was given in the town of
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
60 miles (97 kilometres) north of London, where the
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
was temporarily based. The composer conducted. The London premiere, also under Walton, was given by the
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
on 13 December 1941.
["London Philharmonic Orchestra", ''The Times'', 15 December 1941, p. 8]
The original score was written for an unusually large orchestra, and Walton revised the work to make it suitable for conventional orchestra forces.
[ Palmer, Christopher (1991). Notes to Chandos CD CHAN 8968 ] Wilhelm Furtwängler
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...
conducted the
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...
in the first performance of the revision in November 1950 at the Albert Hall.
Music
In its revised 1950 form, the work is scored for three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, one cor anglais, two clarinets, one bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, one tuba and one harp, with a percussion section comprising timpani, cymbals, triangle, castanets, Chinese temple blocks, glockenspiel, xylophone, side drum, bass drum, tam-tam and strings.
The overture typically takes between eight and nine minutes in performance.
[ After the first London performance, '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' described it thus:
The character Scapino is presented in two contrasting themes at the opening of the work, the first molto vivace on the trumpet; it is, in Michael Kennedy's words, "preceded by a flurry of strings and woodwind and a crash of percussion. Typical Walton, no one else". The second theme is also lively, but is less assertive. After the two themes have been presented and developed, Walton introduces a slower and more flowing melody for violas and cor anglais, "''come una serenata''" (like a serenade), depicting Scapino's romantic side. The two livelier themes return and the work ends boisterously.[Tierney, pp. 201–202]
Recordings
Recordings of ''Scapino'' include:
An arrangement for military band has been recorded by The President's Own United States Marine Band. ().
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
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{{William Walton
Compositions by William Walton
Concert overtures
1941 compositions