Grossvatertanz

The Grossvatertanz (Grandfather Dance) is a German dance tune from the 17th century. It is generally considered a traditional folk tune.

It is a tripartite tune:

  • 8 bars in 3
    8     time, Andante
  • 4 bars of a different theme in 2
    4     time, Allegro (repeated)
  • 4 bars of a further theme, in 2
    4     time, Allegro (repeated).
{ \time 3/8 \key g \major \tempo "Andante" \tempo 4 = 80 \partial 8 \relative d' { d8 g8. g16 g8 g a b | b a a a4 a8 | b8. c16 d8 d c b | b a a a4 \repeat volta 2 { \time 2/4 \tempo "Allegro" \tempo 4 = 126 s8 d'8 b g a fis g16 a g fis g8 d' b g a fis g4 r8 } \repeat volta 2 { d8 g a b c d16 e d cis d8 c b g a fis g4 r8 } } \addlyrics { Und als der Groß- va- ter die Groß- mut- ter nahm, da war der Groß- va- - ter ein Bräu- ti- gam } }

The first part was sung to the words:

Und als der Großvater die Großmutter nahm,
Da war der Großvater ein Bräutigam

New lyrics to the first part of the tune were written by Klamer Eberhard Karl Schmidt in 1794[1] and August Friedrich Ernst Langbein in 1812,[2] both "lengthy and dull pieces of ornate poetry" (Franz Magnus Böhme, 1886).[3] Carl Gottlieb Hering (1766–1853) in 1823 composed a new tune to Langbein's lyrics,[4] for which he has erroneously been claimed to be the real author.[5]

For many years, it was regularly played and danced at the end of wedding celebrations, and became known as the Kehraus ("finale", lit. turn-out).[6] It became so associated with marriage that when Louis Spohr wrote a Festival March for the wedding of Princess Marie of Hesse to the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen in 1825, he was required to quote the Grossvater Tanz in it.

Robert Schumann quoted the Grossvatertanz in a number of works, among them:

  • the final section of Papillons, Op. 2 (1831)
  • the final section ("Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins") of Carnaval, Op. 9 (1834–35), where he labels the theme Thème du XVIIème siècle (Theme from the 17th century).

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky also quotes the tune in act 1 of his ballet The Nutcracker (1892). It appears at the end of the Christmas party. Tchaikovsky was a great admirer of Schumann's music, but it is not clear whether this was meant as some sort of tribute to Schumann or simply as an appropriate tune to use in music depicting the winding up of a happy family event.[7]

More recently, the German composer Jörg Widmann has used the Grossvatertanz in his Third String Quartet, "Jagdquartett" (2003), to evoke a hunt.[8][9]

References
  1. Wilhelm Werner Johann Schmidt, Friedrich Lautsch (eds., 1826): Klamer Eberhard Karl Schmidt’s Leben und auserlesene Werke. Vol. I. Cotta, Stuttgart and Tübingen, p. 389 (online).
  2. August Friedrich Ernst Langbein (ed., 1820): Deutscher Liederkranz. Berlin, p. 152 f. (online, p. 152, at Google Books).
  3. Franz Magnus Böhme (1886): Geschichte des Tanzes in Deutschland. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig. Vol. I: Darstellender Teil. p. 184 f. (online at the Internet Archive); Vol. II: Musikbeilagen. p. 214 f. (online at the Internet Archive); quotation: "lange und langweilige Kunstdichtungen".
  4. August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Karl Hermann Prahl (1900): Unsere volkstümlichen Lieder. 4. edition. Engelmann, Leipzig, p. 12 (online at the Internet Archive).
  5. Cooper, John Michael (2013). "Kehraus". Historical Dictionary of Romantic Music. Scarecrow Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-8108-7484-8. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  6. Jensen, Eric Frederick (2001). Schumann. Oxford University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-19-534606-0.
  7. "Decca, Notes to Tchaikovsky recording" (PDF).
  8. "Hunting Quartet". Schott Music. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. Armstrong, Asher Ian (5 April 2016). "Jörg Widmann's Jagdquartett". Tempo. 70 (276): 22–33. doi:10.1017/S0040298215000959. S2CID 147149237. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

Further reading
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