Dorfschwalben op164

Josef Strauss

Dorfschwalben aus Österreich, Waltz, Op.164

Like Johann II’s Bauern-Polka, Josef’s Dorfschwalben aus Österreich (Village Swallows from Austria) offered Viennese good-time society a pleasure trip to the countryside - where, since it originated as the Ländler folk dance, the waltz is not entirely out of place. Having set the scene in the opening bars with bagpipe drones on the strings and a yodelling clarinet, Josef introduces not only his first main theme but also, with the help of a bird whistle in the orchestra, his twittering swallows. Some of the tunes are more sophisticated than others but there are regular yodelling or droning reminders of the rustic setting. The swallows and the graceful tune that goes with them are recalled just before the end.