Conductor - James Stobart
Corn Exchange - King's Lynn
 

Overture der Freischutz

Weber (1786-1826)
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr (baron) von Weber, to give him his full title, was born into a musical and theatrical family, in Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein in 1786 and died in London in 1826 having travelled from Germany to hear the first performanceof his opera "Oberon". The baronial "von" was a conceit of Weber's father the family having no such entitlement. His short life was divided into a rather inconclusive and messy first 20 years, at one low stage he was put into prison for debt and banished from the court of King Frederick 1 of Wurtemburg, and the period from 1807 when he was, in his own words, "born for the second time", inspired by a cultured circle of friends in Mannheim. Life became easier in spite of problems with a diseased hip, which gave him a pronounced limp throughout his life, a near fatal accidental swallowing of a phial of engraving acid which permanently damaged his voice and, de rigeur for a Romatic composer, a stormy love-affair. From this time appointments came more readily, conductor of the Prague and Dresden opera companies for instance and a friendship with the clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Barmann producing a set of glorious clarinet pieces. The immediate success in 1821 of the opera, "Der Freischutz", in which he freed German opera from French and Italian influences and laid down the foundations of a great deal of later 19th century operas, made Weber a national hero. The "Waldhorn" or hunting horn was regarded by the Romantics as a symbol of nature thus it is of great significance that Weber starts his overture to "Oberon" with a magical horn-call. The resulting slow introductory music is deeply felt with rich string textures and woodwind embellishments to relish. It leads to a sparkling quicker section in which the opening motif makes a dramatic appearance.
 
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