Verklärte Nacht

Last updated • 6 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Mathilde Schonberg (1907), by Richard Gerstl Richard Gerstl - Mathilde Schonberg - 4757 - Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere.jpg
Mathilde Schönberg (1907), by Richard Gerstl
Arnold Schoenberg, by Egon Schiele, 1917 Schiele - Bildnis des Komponisten Arnold Schonberg. 1917.jpg
Arnold Schoenberg, by Egon Schiele, 1917

Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. [1] It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's poem of the same name and by Schoenberg's strong feelings upon meeting his future wife Mathilde Zemlinsky, who was the sister of his teacher, Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871–1942). Schoenberg and Zemlinsky married in 1901. [2] The movement can be divided into five distinct sections which refer to the five stanzas of Dehmel's poem; [3] however, there are no unified criteria regarding movement separation. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Premiere

The work was premiered on 18 March 1902 in the Vienna Musikverein by the Rosé Quartet with Arnold Rosé and Albert Bachrich (violins), Anton Ruzitska (viola), and Friedrich Buxbaum (cello), extended by Franz Jelinek (second Viola) and Franz Schmidt (second cello).

The British premiere of the sextet was on 23 of January 1914 at the Bechstein Hall in the presence of the composer. [7] It was played by the London String Quartet: Albert Sammons, Thomas Petre, Harry Waldo Warner and Warwick Evans, who were joined by James Lockyer on viola and Cedric Sharpe on cello. [8]

The composer's first version for string orchestra received its premiere on 29 November 1916 in Prague, under the direction of Alexander von Zemlinsky. [9] It received its British premiere in Newcastle upon Tyne in December 1924, conducted by Schoenberg's champion and former student Edward Clark. [10]

Poem

Dehmel's poem (from 1896) describes a man and woman walking through a dark forest on a moonlit night. The woman shares a dark secret with her new lover: she bears the child of another man. The stages of Dehmel's poem are reflected throughout the composition, beginning with the sadness of the woman's confession, a neutral interlude wherein the man reflects upon the confession, and a finale reflecting the man's bright acceptance (and forgiveness) of the woman: "O sieh, wie klar das Weltall schimmert! Es ist ein Glanz um alles her" (See how brightly the universe gleams! There is a radiance on everything).

Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain;
der Mond läuft mit, sie schaun hinein.
Der Mond läuft über hohe Eichen;
kein Wölkchen trübt das Himmelslicht,
in das die schwarzen Zacken reichen.
Die Stimme eines Weibes spricht:

"Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von Dir,
ich geh in Sünde neben Dir.
Ich hab mich schwer an mir vergangen.
Ich glaubte nicht mehr an ein Glück
und hatte doch ein schwer Verlangen
nach Lebensinhalt, nach Mutterglück
und Pflicht; da hab ich mich erfrecht,
da ließ ich schaudernd mein Geschlecht
von einem fremden Mann umfangen,
und hab mich noch dafür gesegnet.
Nun hat das Leben sich gerächt:
nun bin ich Dir, o Dir, begegnet."

Sie geht mit ungelenkem Schritt.
Sie schaut empor; der Mond läuft mit.
Ihr dunkler Blick ertrinkt in Licht.
Die Stimme eines Mannes spricht:

"Das Kind, das Du empfangen hast,
sei Deiner Seele keine Last,
o sieh, wie klar das Weltall schimmert!
Es ist ein Glanz um alles her;
Du treibst mit mir auf kaltem Meer,
doch eine eigne Wärme flimmert
von Dir in mich, von mir in Dich.
Die wird das fremde Kind verklären,
Du wirst es mir, von mir gebären;
Du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht,
Du hast mich selbst zum Kind gemacht."

Er faßt sie um die starken Hüften.
Ihr Atem küßt sich in den Lüften.
Zwei Menschen gehn durch hohe, helle Nacht. [11]

Two people are walking through a bare, cold wood;
the Moon keeps pace with them and draws their gaze.
The Moon moves along above tall oak trees,
there is no wisp of cloud to obscure the radiance
to which the black, jagged tips reach up.
A woman's voice speaks:

"I am carrying a child, and not by you.
I am walking here with you in a state of sin.
I have offended grievously against myself.
I despaired of happiness,
and yet I still felt a grievous longing
for life's fullness, for a mother's joys
and duties; and so I sinned,
and so I yielded, shuddering, my sex
to the embrace of a stranger,
and even thought myself blessed.
Now life has taken its revenge,
and I have met you, met you."

She walks on, stumbling.
She looks up; the Moon keeps pace.
Her dark gaze drowns in light.
A man's voice speaks:

"Do not let the child you have conceived
be a burden on your soul.
Look, how brightly the universe shines!
Splendour falls on everything around,
you are voyaging with me on a cold sea,
but there is the glow of an inner warmth
from you in me, from me in you.
That warmth will transfigure the stranger's child,
and you bear it me, begot by me.
You have transfused me with splendour,
you have made a child of me."

He puts an arm about her strong hips.
Their breath embraces in the air.
Two people walk on through the high, bright night. [12]

Music

Schoenberg, the 20th-century revolutionary and later inventor of the twelve-tone technique, is perhaps best known among audiences for this early tonal work. [13] [14] The piece derives its stylistic lineage from German late-Romanticism, as does the poem. Like his teacher Zemlinsky, Schoenberg was influenced by both Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner and sought to combine the former's structural logic with the latter's harmonic language, evidenced in the work's rich chromaticism (deriving from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde ) and frequent use of musical phrases which serve to undermine the metrical boundaries. [15] Richard Swift has examined the various tonal relations in the work. [16]

The work, a tone poem, [17] consists of five sections which correspond to the structure of the poem on which it is based, with themes in each section being direct musical metaphors for the narrative and discourse found in the poem. As such, the piece is one of the earliest examples of program music written for a chamber ensemble.

The original score calls for two violins, two violas and two cellos. In 1917, Schoenberg produced an arrangement for string orchestra (a common practice at the time), and revised this version in 1943. There is also a version for piano trio by Eduard Steuermann. The string orchestra version is the one most often recorded and performed. The work has also served as the basis for several ballets.

Reception

Verklärte Nacht was controversial at its 1902 premiere. This was due to the highly advanced harmonic idiom, although Schoenberg did receive praise for his inventiveness. The work employs a richly chromatic language and often ventures far from the home key, though the work is clearly rooted in D minor. A particular point of controversy was the use of a single 'nonexistent' (that is, uncategorized and therefore unpermitted) inverted ninth chord, which resulted in its rejection by the Vienna Music Society. Schoenberg remarked "and thus (the work) cannot be performed since one cannot perform that which does not exist". [18]

Some unfavorable reaction was also due to the use of Dehmel's poem as inspiration, questioning the viability of setting its themes to music, or being concerned about the situation of the woman in the story. [19] The poem's content was considered improper for its failure to criticize (and possibly even its glorification of) premarital sex, and Schoenberg's lush harmonic treatment of the material further brought the work towards indecency in the minds of the Viennese. [20]

Richard Dehmel himself was favorably impressed by Schoenberg's treatment of the poem, writing, "I had intended to follow the motives of my text in your composition, but soon forgot to do so, I was so enthralled by the music." [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Schoenberg</span> Austrian-American composer (1874–1951)

Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-century classical music, and a central element of his music was its use of motives as a means of coherence. He propounded concepts like developing variation, the emancipation of the dissonance, and the "unity of musical space".

<i>Kindertotenlieder</i> 1904 song cycle by Gustav Mahler

Kindertotenlieder is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String sextet</span>

In classical music, a string sextet is a composition written for six string instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such a composition. Most string sextets have been written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, two violas, and two cellos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Dehmel</span> German poet and writer (1863–1920)

Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.

<i>An die ferne Geliebte</i>

An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98, is a composition by Ludwig van Beethoven written in April 1816, setting poetry by Alois Jeitteles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Rosenberg</span> German singer

Marianne Rosenberg is a German Schlager music singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Holm</span> German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer

Michael Holm is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962, he had his first big hit in 1969. "Mendocino", the German adaptation of a song by the Sir Douglas Quintet, was the biggest selling single that year in (Germany). The record was released in September 1969, reached number three for five weeks, selling over a million copies. Ariola presented him with a gold record in October 1970.

<i>Pelleas und Melisande</i> (Schoenberg) Orchestral work based on the play by Maurice Maeterlinck

Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5, is a symphonic poem written by Arnold Schoenberg and completed in February 1903. It was premiered on 25 January 1905 at the Musikverein in Vienna under the composer's direction in a concert that also included the first performance of Alexander von Zemlinsky's Die Seejungfrau. The work is based on Maurice Maeterlinck's play Pelléas and Mélisande, a subject suggested by Richard Strauss. When he began composing the work in 1902, Schoenberg was unaware that Claude Debussy's opera, also based on Maeterlinck's play, was about to premiere in Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireen Sheer</span> German-English singer

Ireen Sheer is a German-English singer. She had her first major hit in 1970 with Hey Pleasure Man. She had a top five hit on the German singles chart with "Goodbye Mama" in 1973. She went on to finish fourth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 representing Luxembourg, sixth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 representing Germany, and thirteenth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 representing Luxembourg again.

The Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg published four string quartets, distributed over his lifetime: String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Opus 7 (1905), String Quartet No. 2 in F minor, Op. 10 (1908), String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30 (1927), and the String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37 (1936).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 8 (Penderecki)</span> Symphony by Krzysztof Penderecki

The Symphony No. 8 "Lieder der Vergänglichkeit" by Krzysztof Penderecki is a choral symphony in twelve relatively short movements set to 19th and early 20th-century German poems. The work was completed and premiered in 2005. The symphony has an approximate duration of 35 minutes. Penderecki revised the symphony in 2007 by adding a few more poem settings and the piece has expanded to around 50 minutes. Although given the designation Symphony No. 8, it was not actually the final symphony Penderecki completed before his death in March 2020; the Sixth Symphony, begun in 2008, was not completed until 2017.

The Fred Sherry String Quartet is an American classical string quartet.

Among the repertoire for the standard string sextet are the following works:

Franz Schubert's best-known music for the theatre is his incidental music for Rosamunde. Less successful were his many opera and Singspiel projects. On the other hand, some of his most popular Lieder, like "Gretchen am Spinnrade," were based on texts written for the theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein</span>

"Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein", or “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” in English, is a Lutheran hymn, written in 1523 by Martin Luther. It is one of Luther's early hymns and considered by some as one of his finest. It was published as one of eight songs in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal, the Achtliederbuch. The Achtliederbuch contained four songs by Luther, three by Speratus, and one by Justus Jonas. It appeared also in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ännchen von Tharau</span>

"Ännchen von Tharau" is a 17-stanza poem by the East Prussian poet Simon Dach. The namesake of the poem is Anna Neander (1615–1689), the daughter of a person from Tharau, East Prussia. The poem was written on the occasion of her marriage in 1636 and had been set to music as a song by 1642.

<i>Zwei Gesänge</i>, Op. 1 (Schoenberg) Two Lieder by Arnold Schoenberg

Arnold Schoenberg's Zwei Gesänge, Op. 1 (1898–1903), are Lieder for baritone and piano. Each song sets a poem of Karl Michael von Levetzow. The songs bear the influence of both Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner, whose music was traditionally opposed. In their length, depth of expression, density of texture, and transcription-like piano writing, they approached the limits of the Lied genre and anticipated Gurre-Lieder.

References

  1. Grout & Palisca 1988, p. [ page needed ].
  2. Beaumont 2000, p. [ page needed ].
  3. The Early Works of Arnold Schoenberg, 1893–1908.
  4. "Korngold/Schoenberg: Sextet & Verklärte Nacht".
  5. "Schoenberg – Pelleas und Melisande – Karajan". Polydor Records. 1998. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  6. "Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht / Chamber Symphony No. 2". Naxos Records. 2000. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  7. Potter Tully, "Britain's early chamber ambassadors", Classical Recordings Quarterly , Autumn 2010, pp. 12–20.
  8. S., F. H. (24 January 1914). "Schonberg Hazy: String Sextet at the Bechstein Hall". Sheffield Daily Telegraph .
  9. "Verklärte Nacht: B. Einrichtung für Streichorchester (1917)". Arnold Schönberg Center. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  10. Lambourn, David (August 1987). "Henry Wood and Schoenberg". The Musical Times . 128 (1734): 422–427 (427). doi:10.2307/965003. JSTOR   965003.
  11. Text of the poem by Richard Dehmel, schoenberg.at
  12. "Program notes: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Opus 4", Newburyport Chamber Music Festival (translation by Mary Whittall)
  13. Hayakawa 2006, p. [ page needed ].
  14. Wein 2006.
  15. Schoenberg 1949.
  16. Swift, Richard (July 1977). "1/XII/99: Tonal Relations in Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht". 19th-Century Music . 1 (1): 3–14. doi:10.2307/746766. JSTOR   746766.
  17. "Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4" by Betsy Schwarm, Britannica
  18. Vignal 1977.
  19. Vande Moortele, Steven; Pednault-Deslauriers, Julie; Martin, Nathan John, eds. (2015). "Dominant Tunnels, Form and Program in Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht". Formal Functions in Perspective: Essays on Musical Form from Haydn to Adorno. Eastman Studies in Music, vol. 127. Boydell & Brewer. p. 345. ISBN   978-158046-518-2.
  20. "Verklärte Nacht Archives – Vancouver Recital Society". vanrecital.com. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  21. Nepil, Hannah (2016-07-27). "Inside Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht". Gramophone . Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  22. "Object #10 / Richard Dehmel to Arnold Schönberg". www.schoenberg.at. Retrieved 2023-12-26.

Sources

Further reading