If you played the video in the previous post, The Grail Made Me Do It, you got to hear what I think is probably the most famous tune to come out of the classical world, a tune that may well be known to over 90% of folks in the Western World, although most of them most likely don’t have a clue to its origin.

But a close second is today’s link.

Mendelssohn wrote his wonderful Overture to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream when he was still a teenager. Sixteen years later his was commissioned to compose incidental music for a performance of the play. Expert craftsman that he had become, he was able to match the spirit of his youthful creation so the Overture forms a seamless introduction to the rest of the score.

The most famous piece is, of course, the Wedding March, but when is the last time you’ve heard it in it’s original orchestral guise?