von Suppe, F :: Poet and Peasant: Overture

Musicians Publications presents Franz Von Suppe s Poet and Peasant arranged for woodwind quintet by Bill Holcombe Jr.

Take a deep breath and marvel at the name of Francesco Ezechiele Ermengildo Cavaliere di Suppe Demelli, who in daily life went by just Franz von Suppe. Croatia is proud to claim him as its own, and he was indeed born in what is now that country, although at the time it was in the Kingdom of Dalmatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His parents were Austrian, and his father was assigned to Dalmatia in a civil-servant capacity. The family was actually of Belgian extraction. Franz was distantly related to Gaetano Donizetti, who encouraged his career as a composer.

His operettas were of their time, and almost none of them are produced today. What keeps his name alive are his operetta overtures, principally those for his Dichter und Bauer (Poet and Peasant, 1846) and Leichte Kavallerie (Light Cavalry, 1866), but sometimes those for Ein Morgen, Mittag und Abend in Wien (Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna, 1844) and Die schone Galathee (Beautiful Galatea, 1865). Suppe had already used some material from the Poet and Peasant Overture in two works before this overture reached its final form, heading the operetta that would make it famous. Its delicious episodes include a lyrical cello solo, an infectious waltz, and a syncopated, cancan-flavored Allegro sprepitoso ( boisterous allegro ). They suggest that the entire operetta must be a delight, though few of us can hope to ever see it onstage. -James M. Keller

This woodwind quintet is advanced in difficulty.