Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree

Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree is a set of variations, with fugue, for orchestra composed in 1939 by Jaromír Weinberger. It premiered under the direction of Sir John Barbirolli in New York City on October 12, 1939. The work is based on an English popular song of the period,^[1] which Weinberger is said to have mistaken for a folk song, and opens with the theme presented without preliminaries. Seven variations follow:

• Her Majesty's Virginal
• The Madrigalists
• The Dark Lady
• The Highlanders
• Pastorale
• Mr. Weller, Senior, Discusses Widows With His Son, Samuel Weller, Esquire
• Sarabande

The fugue, which ends the work, has an eight-bar subject which finally joins contrapuntally with the original theme of the piece.

It was popularized in Japan during the American occupation of Japan. The song is now regarded as a children's song in Japan.

Notes and references

1. Anne Gilchrist concludes that it is "a version of an old English tune called 'Go no more a-rushing,' which was arranged for virginals by William Byrd and Giles Farnaby—by the latter under the title of 'Tell mee, Daphne.' ... So 'Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree' is really an Old English—perhaps originally a dance—tune, preserved traditionally and lately modernized."

• David Ewen, Encyclopedia of Concert Music. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.
• Anne G. Gilchrist, "'Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree': The Adventures of a Tune." The Musical Times, Vol. 81 (March 1940), pp. 112–113.