Rusalka's Song to the Moon (Mallet Quintet) [Dvorák]

Rusalka's Song to the Moon is an aria from Antonín Dvorák's opera "Rusalka," which combines elements from three fairy tales. It is a song of love, loss, and longing. This arrangement for keyboard percussion quintet perfectly captures the magic of the beautiful aria. Since it is in the same key as the original, you may choose to invite a soprano to sing with your ensemble.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 5
Level: Intermediate | Duration: 6:55

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (8.5"x11" stapled booklet)

Glockenspiel & Chimes
Vibraphone & Marimba (shared with Marimba 1)
Marimba 1 (4-octave)
Marimba 2 (4-octave)
Marimba 3 (5-octave)

*Three marimbas are required for performance.

Program Notes
Song to the Moon is an aria from Antonín Dvořák’s opera “Rusalka,” which combines elements from three fairy tales, Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid, Friedrich de la Motte Fouque's Undine, and Gerhart Hautpmann's The Sunken Bell. At this moment in the opera, the good-natured old Spirit of the Lake, Jezibab, is enjoying the singing of the Wood Nymphs, when his daughter, Rusalka, approaches him sadly. She tells him that she has fallen in love with a handsome young prince and wishes to become human in order to know the bliss of union with him. Deeply saddened, the Spirit of the Lake consents to her request, and leaves. All alone, Rusalka sings this beautiful aria, confiding in the moon the secrets of her longing.

I originally scored this for eight percussionists with optional voice in 2005. Steve Craft approached me 20 years later to reduce the orchestration to just five percussionists for a special performance by members of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra.

– N.D.