Ecloghe - by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

Ecloghe
I. Andantino Quieto
II. Allegro con spirito (Tempo di Saltarello)
III. Lento-Elegiaco
IV. Allegro Vivace, con spirito (Girotondo)

Allison Hughes, flute; Megan Lathan, viola; Joseph Van Doran, guitar



Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was one of the most prolific Italian composers, and one of the foremost guitar composers, of the 20th Century. He composed nearly 100 works for the guitar. In 1939, fearing for his life as a Jew, Tedesco fled Europe and moved to Hollywood. With the help of Jascha Heifetz, Tedesco landed a contract with MGM and began a very successful career writing music for film. Tedesco’s music was influenced by a number of styles including Impressionism, Neo-Classicism and briefly, Serialism. His work with the film industry influenced his later compositions to become increasingly Neo-Romantic.

Ecloghe was composed in 1966, just two years before Tedesco’s death. The neo-Romantic influence is clear throughout this work. In Classical Latin Literature, an eclogue is a short poem with pastoral imagery. Tedesco’s Ecloghe’s is a set of four independent, stylized dances that are reminiscent of folk music. The first movement, Andantino quieto, is filled with beautiful, pastoral melodies; the second movement, Allegro con spirito, is in the form of a Saltarello, an old “leaping dance”; the third movement, Lento-Elegiaco, is an elegy; and the fourth movement, Allegro Vivace con spirito, is a Girotondo, or a “round dance.”




*Performed live in Berkman Recital Hall on May 4, 2017