When commenting on anything concerning August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, I must first mention how much I absolutely love his name. It reminds me of how much I would like to have a friend or acquaintance that answers to the name of Ditters. I share this information not to distract from any thoughts concerning his Sinfonia no. 1 in C major, “Die vier Weltalter” but to give the observations that follow some context. Anything composed by my dearest Dittersdorf is almost automatically regarded in a favorable light.

One of the features of the work that Ben Cross chooses to address in his response to Sinfonia No. 1 is the way Dittersdorf uses the source of his inspiration, Ovid's Metamorphoses, in each of his movements. Mr. Cross also makes an excellent point in noting that use of the work by the Roman poet Ovid catalogs the Sinfonia as a part of the classical period before one even begins to listen. Not being familiar with the work of Ovid in any form, it was interesting to investigate the work. It is interesting to note that in the Greek version of the Ages of Man myth by the poet Hesiod, there were five Ages of Man. In between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, there was a period referred to as the Heroic Age where Zeus formed a “nobler and more righteous people, a god-like race of hero-men who are called demi-gods…”[i] The idea of the Greek presentation of the Ages of Man versus the Roman presentation of that concept caught my attention and brought to mind a new query. In his post Mr. Cross ably relates each of the movements of the symphony with the ages they represent, leading one to briefly wonder what Dittersdorf would have done with another movement relating to the Heroic Age. I found Dittersdorf’s use of the trumpet and the timpani in the final movement depicting the Iron Age to be very effective and I wonder if the composer would have utilized some of the same techniques depicting the Heroic Age or if he would have found another way to convey the idea of the age to the listener.

The first movement of the piece is used to describe the Golden Age which is meant to represent a more peaceful time. I believe one of the phrases often in Mr. Cross’ post is “eternal spring.” Dittersdorf definitely showcases that idea, well with the opening sequences in the strings. One of the words that I think of while listening to this piece is pastoral. The movement is simple in style and does not feel overworked, which aids in creating a spring-like feeling. The second movement is representative of Ovid’s Silver Age, where the four seasons were created and structure came to man. While there are different characters that could be perceived as seasons present through the piece, particularly in the development, I had some difficulties positively identifying each of the seasons. I am left unsure as to whether Dittersdorf included all the seasons in the movement or choose to concentrate on a few that he felt would be justly represented. Upon a review of the actual poem, it is easy to see the correlation between the text and the manner is which Dittersdorf has composed the second movement where he represents first the combined warmth of summer and autumn with the quick exultations of the brass. This is then followed by the chill of winter and finishes with the renewal of life in spring.

The third movement speaks to the violence of the Bronze Age. Here man has learned to be cruel and is prone to erring on the side of bad judgment. With the skipping strings throughout, there is a sense of wicked mischief. The scale lines with crescendos in the winds that occasionally interject could allude to the escalation of immoral behavior in the period. In the Iron Age, evil has finally prevailed. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid describes in detail the malevolent misdeeds of the people. That is present here in Dittersdorf’s increased use of the brass and timpani and also the increasing urgency of the rhythms in the strings. It is interesting to note that in his poem, Ovid also mentions the good and pure parts of humanity such as truth and faith departing by sea for unknown areas. Dittersdorf cleverly considers this portion of the text with his more mellow interludes in the strings that suggest the themes of the previous, less tumultuous movements.

Overall, I liked the piece. I found the whole concept and interesting and I very much liked the way Dittersdorf presented and tried to communicate the text of the poem in a purely instrumental way. I responded to the lovely bucolic feeling of the first movement and I also enjoyed the noticeable use of the timpani in the fourth movement as it provided an important contrast and increased the dramatic tension. I felt that Mr. Cross’ review of the piece was well informed and well written. For those reasons, I would really like to hear more about what he thought of the piece. He does a good job of listening to and interpreting the piece but I would be curious to see if he had any kind of reaction to the piece that was not so objective.
[i] Hesiod, “Works and Days” available from http://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodWorksDays.html