Search - The Merling Trio;Renata Artman Knific (violin);Bruce Uchimura (cello);Susan Wiersma Uchimura (piano) :: Postcards in e: Dvorak Dumky Trio in E minor, Op.90; Shostakovich: Piano Trio in E minor, Op.67

DVORÁK: Piano Trio in E minor, Op.90 Dumky: Dumky is not a nickname, but the plural form of a dumka, a musical genre derived from Slavic folk tradition. In the nineteenth century, the dumka came to be known as a sung lament, and later, an instrumental piece of thoughtful, usually melancholy, character. Dvorak s trio, composed in 1891, is a series of six dumky whose prevailing plaintiveness is occasionally interrupted by livelier music, but never totally dispelled. Though the set is not really unified by key or theme, the first three dumka are somewhat interrelated and played without a break. The first and second each have a slow section followed by a faster one; the third is in three sections carrying a basic theme through a number of variations and mood changes. The fourth dumka has a primary cello theme which appears four times, interrupted twice by a related scherzando theme in the piano, and the third time by a lively dance motif. The fifth is least like a dumka in that its quickness and agitated rhythm continue almost unabated. The sixth opens with a beautiful section marked Lento maestoso, and later, a violin melody on the G string is particularly noteworthy.