The ''Tam o' Shanter Overture'', Op. 51 by

Malcolm Arnold Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music ...

is a piece of

programme music Program music or programatic music is a type of instrumental art music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience through the piece's title, or in the form of program notes ...

based on the famous

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

by Robert Burns. It was completed in March

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. The overture was first performed at the BBC Proms on 17 August 1955, with the composer conducting the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. Two months later he supervised the first recording of the work by 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 ...

under his assistant conductor,

John Hollingsworth John Hollingsworth (20 March 191629 December 1963) was a British orchestral conductor prominent in the concert hall, the ballet and opera theatre, and the film studio. He was Sir Malcolm Sargent's assistant conductor at The Proms, where he condu ...

. Despite his many accomplishments in the musical realm, Malcolm Arnold was known for being a drunkard and rather promiscuous, which perhaps was the greatest inspiration for the ''Tam O’Shanter Overture''. The piece is based on an epic poem by Robert Burns which tells of a farmer and drunkard by the name of Tam O’Shanter, a Scotsman, who gets intoxicated with friends in a local tavern while his angry wife waits for him at home. Within the piece, his drunkenness is portrayed by the bassoon theme at the very beginning. On his way back, he stumbles into the Kirk-Alloway (a church) filled with witches and goblins dancing about. Terrified, Tam scurries away on his horse while being chased by the ghouls. A Scottish theme and Tam's drunkenness reoccur throughout the piece. Two piccolos play a short folk tune randomly throughout. The piece is sprinkled with chromatic runs and scales to portray Tam's hurried scampering as he runs into all sorts of trouble crossing the Brig O'Doon with his beloved horse, a grey mare, named Meg (or Maggie). It is dedicated to John Michael Diack, director of Arnold's then publishing company Paterson Sons & Co.

Selected commercial recordings

*1955

, conductor

, Philips NBL5021 - US release: Epic LC 3422, 1958 *1956

, conductor

, Columbia SED 5529 *1957 New Symphony Orchestra of London, conductor Alexander Gibson, RCA Victor LSC-2225 *1962 Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conductor Alexander Gibson, Waverley YLP 060, SYLP 061 (then Scottish National Orchestra) *1981 Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conductor Alexander Gibson, Chandos CHAN 8379 *1993

, conductor

Vernon Handley Vernon George "Tod" Handley (11 November 1930 – 10 September 2008) was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, Middles ...

*1998

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

, conductor Eiji Oue, Reference Recordings RR-82CD *2005 BBC Philharmonic, conductor Rumon Gamba, Chandos CHAN 1029

References

Chester Novello's page on the work
Concert overtures Compositions by Malcolm Arnold 1955 compositions Adaptations of works by Robert Burns {{classical-composition-stub