Symphony No.3 in A minor (“Scottish”), Op.56

How Scottish is Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony? No less a critic than Robert Schumann made a classic mistake in that respect when he confused it with the “Italian” Symphony, telling the readers of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in 1842 that it was inspired by “old tunes of lovely Italy.” Actually, they might well have been confused even in Mendelssohn’s mind. Although the initial stimulus of the “Scottish” Symphony, like that of the Fingal’s Cave Overture, was a visit he made to Scotland in 1829, the writing of the symphony actually began in Rome in 1831, when he also started work on the “Italian.” Symphony No.4 in A major was completed in 1833, nine years before No.3 in A minor, which latter was dedicated to Queen Victoria and given its first performances in Leipzig and London in 1842.

Mendelssohn himself described the moment of conception of the “Scottish” Symphony. It was on an evening visit to Holyrood Palace “where,” he said, “Queen Mary lived and loved…The chapel beside it has now lost its roof, it is overgrown with grass and ivy, and at the broken alter Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything in ruins, decayed, and open to the skies. I believe I found there today the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.”

It would be an exaggeration to say that all the thematic material of the symphony is derived from the gloomy Holyrood chorale that opens the work. But it is true, as Schumann rightly remarked, that the symphony is distinguished by the ”homogeneity of all four movements” and, certainly, the first subject of the Allegro un poco agitato is closely related to the Holyrood theme. So too, by a prominent melodic feature they have in common, is the second subject introduced by clarinet.

In the transition to the second movement Mendelssohn recalls the Holyrood theme - not least to link it with the same melodic feature in the delightful folk-dance theme of the Vivace non troppo that follows. Although the composer confessed to a dislike of British folk music (and British folk instruments, including the Scottish bagpipes and the Welsh harp), here on is a folk tune presented on the clarinet as the first subject of a rare sonata-form scherzo.

At least as far as the slow movement is concerned, Schumann deserves to be forgiven for feeling himself “transported under Italian skies.” There is a southern sweetness about the A major Adagio, the character of which is determined by the lovely song of the first violins rather than by the dour mood of the second subject. As for the finale, its dancing Allegro vivacissimo in A minor is not a world away from the Saltarello in the same key in the “Italian” Symphony. The second subject, on the other hand, introduced by oboe and clarinets over violin tremolandos, is clearly derived from the second subject of the first movement. So, quite naturally, it leads to a triumphant version in A major (Allegro maestoso) of the Holyrood chorale.

Gerald Larner ©2005

How Scottish is Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony? No less a critic than Robert Schumann made a classic mistake in that respect when he confused it with the “Italian” Symphony, telling the readers of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in 1842 that it was inspired by “old tunes of lovely Italy.” Actually, they might well have been confused even in Mendelssohn’s mind. Although the initial stimulus of the “Scottish” Symphony, like that of the Fingal’s Cave Overture, was a visit he made to Scotland in 1829, the writing of the symphony actually began in Rome in 1831, when he also started work on the “Italian.” Symphony No.4 in A major was completed in 1833, nine years before No.3 in A minor, which latter was dedicated to Queen Victoria and given its first performances in Leipzig and London in 1842.

Mendelssohn himself described the moment of conception of the “Scottish” Symphony. It was on an evening visit to Holyrood Palace “where,” he said, “Queen Mary lived and loved…The chapel beside it has now lost its roof, it is overgrown with grass and ivy, and at the broken alter Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything in ruins, decayed, and open to the skies. I believe I found there today the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.”

It would be an exaggeration to say that all the thematic material of the symphony is derived from the gloomy Holyrood chorale that opens the work. But it is true, as Schumann remarked, that the symphony is distinguished by the ”homogeneity of all four movements” and, certainly, the first subject of the Allegro un poco agitato is closely related to the Holyrood theme. So too, by the rising fourth they have in common, is the second subject introduced by clarinet.

In the transition to the second movement Mendelssohn recalls the Holyrood theme - not least to link it with the rising fourths in the delightful folk-dance theme of the Vivace non troppo. Although the composer confessed to a dislike of British folk music (and British folk instruments, including the Scottish bagpipes and the Welsh harp), here on the clarinet is a folk tune presented as the first subject of a rare sonata-form scherzo.

At least as far as the slow movement is concerned, Schumann deserves to be forgiven for feeling himself “transported under Italian skies.” There is a southern sweetness about the A major Adagio, the character of which is determined by the lovely song of the first violins rather than by the dour mood of the second subject. As for the finale, its dancing Allegro vivacissimo in A minor is not a world away from the Saltarello in A minor of the “Italian” Symphony. The second subject, on the other hand, introduced by oboe and clarinets over violin tremolandos, is clearly derived from the second subject of the first movement. So, quite naturally, it leads to a triumphant version in A major (Allegro maestoso) of the Holyrood chorale.

Gerald Larner©

How Scottish is Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony? Robert Schumann - proving that even the most distinguished critic can be wrong - made a classic mistake about it when he confused it with Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony, telling the readers of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in 1842 that it was inspired by “old tunes of lovely Italy” and that it “might make one forget for a while one’s misfortune in never having seen that blessed land.” Which only goes to show that the folk character of the themes in the “Scottish” Symphony is more general than specific.

It is surprising anyway that for Mendelssohn the difference between Scotland and Italy was no more than that between A minor (turning to A major) and A major (turning to A minor). The fact is that Mendelssohn worked on the two symphonies at the same time. They were probably confused even in his mind. Although the initial stimulus of the “Scottish” Symphony, like that of the Fingal’s Cave Overture, was a visit he made to Scotland in 1829, the writing of the symphony actually began in Rome in 1831, when he also started work on the “Italian.” Symphony No.4 in A major was completed in 1833, nine years before No.3 in A minor, which latter was dedicated to Queen Victoria and given its first performances in Leipzig and London in 1842.

Mendelssohn himself described the moment of conception of the “Scottish” Symphony. It was on an evening visit to Holyrood Palace “where,” he said, “Queen Mary lived and loved…The chapel beside it has now lost its roof, it is overgrown with grass and ivy, and at the broken alter Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything in ruins, decayed, and open to the skies. I believe I found there today the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.” It is interesting that the aptly chorale-like melody of the Andante con moto introduction to the symphony needed little adaptation to become the main theme of the overture, headed Schlechtes Wetter (“Bad Weather”) of his 1832 setting of Die erste Walpurgisnacht.

It would be an exaggeration to say that all the melodic material of the symphony is derived from that Holyrood theme. But it is true, as Schumann remarked, that the work is distinguished by the ”homogeneity of all four movement” and that it is a “tightly integrated whole” - to be performed, moreover, with only the shortest of pauses between the movements. Certainly, the first subject of the Allegro un poco agitato is closely related to the Holyrood theme; and that first subject is still present on first violins, when, after a quickening of the tempo, the clarinet introduces the second subject. The Holyrood theme and the first and second subjects all have at least a rising fourth in common.

In the transition to the second movement Mendelssohn recalls the Holyrood theme. This is partly to complete the integration of the first movement and partly also to link it with the rising fourths in the delightful folk-dance theme of the Vivace non troppo. Mendelssohn confessed to a dislike of British folk music (and British folk instruments, including the Scottish bagpipes and the Welsh harp) but here on the clarinet is a folk tune presented as the first subject of a rare sonata-form scherzo, alongside some very authentic Mendelssohn in scherzo mode.

At least as far as the slow movement is concerned, Schumann deserves to be forgiven for feeling himself “transported under Italian skies.” There is a southern sweetness about the A major Adagio, the character of which is determined by the lovely song of the first violins rather than by the dour mood of the second subject. And, as for the finale, its dancing Allegro vivacissimo in A minor is not a world away from the Saltarello in A minor of the “Italian” Symphony - even though in the athletic first subject Mendelssohn might well have had in mind the highlanders he saw in Edinburgh with their “long red beards, tartan plaids, bonnets and feathers, naked knees, and their bagpipes in their hands.”

In the second subject, introduced by oboe and clarinets over violin tremolandos, he was thinking of more technical matters - for this theme is clearly derived from the second subject of the first movement. So, quite naturally, it leads to a triumphant good-weather version in A major (Allegro mæstoso) of the Holyrood theme. As Schumann so rightly said, “The end of the symphony will exite controversy…We find it sheerly poetic, the proper evening for a lovely morning.”

Gerald Larner©

Gerald Larner copyright