Invitation to the Dance (Weber)

The Invitation to the Dance is a work composed by Carl Maria von Weber in 1819 Rondo for piano solo; Weber himself described it in the subtitle Rondo brillant for piano. It is written in D flat major, op.65, the opus number or Jähns directory number J 260 and a playing time of about 9-10 minutes. Weber dedicated the piece to his young wife Caroline von Weber.

The Invitation to the Dance was often orchestrated. Best known is the orchestration of Hector Berlioz, who was commissioned in 1841 by the Paris Opera, rewrite the Rondo for a ballet insert after the opera Der Freischütz. This orchestration was well received by the public, so that the Invitation to the Dance has long been inextricably linked to the Freischütz.

Program of the piece

The play tells the story of a couple on a ball, in which a man politely asks a girl to dance and she, after they have turned a few laps, polite separate them from each other.

Weber put the piece based on the following program:

• Bars 5-9: The evasive answer lady
• Cycles 9-13: His urgent call
• Bars 13-16: Your consent
• Bars 17-19: He begins to talk to her
• Bars 19-21: Your response
• Bars 21-23: He now speaks warmly to her
• Bars 23-25 ​​: Your empathic response
• Bars 25-27: Does she speak again in relation to the dance
• Bars 27-29: Your Answer
• Bars 29-31: you go on the dance floor
• Bars 31-35: you wait for the start of the dance
• The Dance
• The finale of the dance, he thanks her answer, they separate

In popular culture

In Jamie Uys ' humorous animal Documentation The Animals Are the piece is used effectively to accompany the reaction of the animal inhabitants of the desert after the long-awaited rain.