Mendelssohn – Italian Symphony – Part 2 [ANALYSIS]

Saltarello, presto

Another short introduction. The atmosphere of an elegant evening is swept away in this final movement by stomping chords with woodwinds trills on top. A curious thing here is the key: normally we would have an A major, like the 1st and 3rd movement. But Mendelssohn reverses it to A minor (mirroring the tradition of beginning a symphony in minor and finishing it in major), and the obsessive rhythm that will take us all the way to the end begins.

This is the only movement that makes use of an authentic Italian folk style, incorporating the saltarello and the tarantella. Both of them are fast folk dances.

The saltarello was very popular in the middle ages, especially in the regions of Abruzzo and Lazio, and gets its name after the verb “saltare“, to jump, which was part of the choreography.

The tarantella is typical of the southern regions of Italy, and every region will claim to have the original one. In Puglia, the name derives from the spasmodic movements one would get when bitten by a wolf spider in the region of Taranto. In Campania, it takes the name of tammurriata, pizzica in the Salento area, and Sonu a ballu in Calabria.

Regardless of its origins, this is a perfect example of how folk music could be incorporated in a refined symphonic work.
Under the obsessive rhythm in triplets of the strings – that is our tarantella rhythm – the theme is portrayed by the woodwinds. Only 2 flutes at first, accompanied by the first violins. The second time around, the rest of the strings join in while the clarinets double the flutes an octave lower

The witness is passed onto the first violins in an exciting crescendo that little by little embraces the entire orchestra

And we get to the modulating bridge moving to the canonical E minor. After which we would expect a second theme – if this was a normal sonata form movement, that is. Mendelssohn goes back to play with the tarantella rhythm mixing and matching different elements. The rhythm is relentless, till we come to a figure that starts putting a stop to it

The rhythm overlaps, and the episode is repeated with an enlarged orchestration, while we get to the end of the first part, in a clear E minor 

which immediately shifts back to A minor and the tarantella begins again. It’s just an excuse. After a few modulations we land on the saltarello

The theme is frantically passed from one string section to another, though everything remains crystal clear and all in a pianissimo to piano dynamic

The woodwinds join the dance but then they go their own way, playing the tarantella while the strings answer with the saltarello

The tarantella seems to take over as the strings retake the rhythm reinforced by the brass and timpani and then it’s the saltarello again, in a game of alternation between the two that doesn’t seem to see an end.

Slowly but surely the dynamics drop as we approach the end of the movement. But the tension is still there, even in the pianissimo of the strings in bar 254 and following.

The tension is palpable, the theme is disrupted in short questions and answers and in a final crescendo that recalls once more the saltarello the movement ends with great energy.