Abstract
Antonín Dvořák composed the String Quartet in F major (op. 96, the ‘American’) in June 1893 while visiting the town of Spillville, Iowa, USA. Based on accounts from Dvořák's secretary Josef Kovařík, portions of the quartet's Scherzo movement were inspired by birdsong Dvořák heard in Spillville. Kovařík's account included both Dvořák's visual description of the bird that inspired him and a transcribed fragment of the birdsong Dvořák reportedly used. In 1954, Clapham identified the bird as a scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea), based mainly on the visual description. This widely accepted identification was questionable because of the poor match of the tanager's song to musical material in the Scherzo. In 2016, Floyd proposed the red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus) as Dvořák's inspiration, based on song rather than appearance. The vireo's song is clearly identifiable in the Scherzo as well in the birdsong fragment recorded by Kovařík. The mismatch between the visual description and the transcribed song fragment could have occurred when Dvořák heard and recorded the persistent singing of a cryptic red-eyed vireo, but misidentified the song's source when he caught sight of a brightly coloured tanager. Correct identification of the birdsong changes the interpretation of the movement. Previously, birdsong has been considered the source of a short secondary motif. But red-eyed vireo songs are highly variable, and a slight variation of Kovařík's song fragment could be the basis of the main theme of the Scherzo. Therefore, Dvořák may have used American birdsong in the movement considerably more than previously appreciated.
Highlights
Conservatory of Music in America from 1892 to 1895 and lived in the United States for most of that time
In 1954, Clapham identified the bird as a scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea), based mainly on the visual description
It is widely asserted that Dvorák heard the song of a scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) during his morning walks in Spillville and incorporated that song into the third movement (Scherzo) of the American quartet
Summary
Conservatory of Music in America from 1892 to 1895 and lived in the United States for most of that time. It is widely asserted that Dvorák heard the song of a scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) during his morning walks in Spillville and incorporated that song into the third movement (Scherzo) of the American quartet. Unequivocal statements to this effect can be found in numerous sources, including scholarly[4] and creative writing,[5] radio. Despite the frequent assertion that the scarlet tanager inspired Dvorák’s composition of the American quartet, the musical connection between the birdsong and the Scherzo has not been easy to identify. We significantly expand the evidence to support Floyd’s new identification and conclude that the song of the red-eyed vireo permeates the Scherzo far more completely than previously understood
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