On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring

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On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is a tone poem composed in 1912 by Frederick Delius; it was first performed in Leipzig on October 2, 1913. The work opens with a slow three-bar sequence; its first theme is an exchange of cuckoo calls, first for oboe, then for divided strings. The second theme of the piece is scored for first violins, and is taken from a Norwegian folk song, "In Ola Valley". The clarinet returns with the cuckoo calls before the piece ends in pastoral fashion.

[edit] References

  • David Ewen, Encyclopedia of Concert Music. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.
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