The Hebrides (overture) a concert conducted by Thomas Attwood, that also featured Mendelssohn's "Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream". The final revision was completed by 20 June 1832. and premiered on 10 January 1833 in Berlin under the composer's own baton. The music, though labelled as an overture, is intended to stand as a complete work. Although programme music, it does not tell a specific story and is not "about" anything; instead, the piece depicts a mood and "sets a scene", making it an early example of such musical tone poems. The overture consists of two primary themes; the opening notes of the
A Midsummer Night's Dream was John Dryden, writing in 1677. He was preoccupied with the question of whether fairies should be depicted in theatrical plays, since they did not exist. He concluded that poets should be allowed to depict things which do not exist but derive from popular belief. And fairies are of this sort, as are pigmies and the extraordinary effects of magick. Based on this reasoning, Dryden defended the merits of three fantasy plays: "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Tempest", and Ben Jonson's "Masque of Witches". Charles Gildon in the early 18th century recommended this play for its beautiful reflections, descriptions, similes,