Its instrumentation flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano with standard doublings and in this case. Originally released by koch, these recordings of key works in arnold schoenbergs oeuvre are now part of naxos robert craft collection, a series of reissues that reaffirms the conductors unflagging devotion to modern music, even if the performances and recording quality periodically flag. Its not really a story, though perhaps its more about storytelling. Pierrot lunaire is among schoenbergs most celebrated and frequently performed works. Patricia gray karol bennett, soprano john mcmurtery, flutepiccolo ted gurch, clarinetbass clarinet helen kim, violin craig hultgren, cello james romig, conductor. Unrhymed strict line form lines 12, 78, and serve as a refrain the vocalist uses a technique called sprechstimme. For the previous internet archive avant garde project installment, here.
So too, in his fusion of music and poetry, does schoenberg provide what may be the most powerfully. Pierrot lunaire 1912 is one of the most important music theater works ever written. Pierrot lunaire consists of three groups of seven poems. Obtain a greater understanding and appreciation of pierrot lunaire, one of the seminal works of twentiethcentury music. Essential reading for anyone interested in the music and history of the twentieth century, this book makes clear schoenberg changed the history of music forever. In the early 1920s, alexander ringer wrote in his remarkable book, arnold schoenberg, the composer as a jew, pierrot lunaire was the focus of many a reactionary, if not.
In this work it is no longer possible to discuss consonance and dissonance, for these concepts relate to the structure of a composition according to the harmonic principles of tonality. In the first group, pierrot sings of love, sex and religion. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire marks century the. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire is the story of a moonstruck clown, a 20th century descendant of the classic commedia dellarte clown.
Schoenberg wrote in his diary, dated january 28, 1912, read the foreword, looked at the poems, am enthusiastic. Yet, in both its content and psychology, the work clearly anticipates the innovative twentiethcentury music schoenberg himself helped to forge. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire op. It was after mahlers death that schoenberg moved from vienna to berlin.
I do hope not but when tonal music again grips the. Schoenbergs pierrot lunaire is not a series of pitchclass set manipulations. The work is atonal but does not use the twelvetone technique that schoenberg would devise eight years later. Without tonality, schoenberg structured his music with developing variation, the integration of harmony and melody, and. The atonal music of arnold schoenberg, 19081923 bryan r. Pierrot lunaire 1912 is one of the most important music theatre works ever written. The pieces predate schoenbergs discovery of the twelvetone system and are to varying degrees atonal. The book describes the artistic environment around the turn of the century from which pierrot emerged, and discusses schoenbergs working methods and intentions in composition.
Schoenbergs pierrot lunaire showcases the technique of sprechstimme. A cip catalog record for this book is available from the british library. Music history is littered with stories of masterpieces condemned at their premieres. The piece was premiered at the berlin choralionsaal on. Arnold schoenberg has 74 books on goodreads with 4921 ratings. Take me to the internet archive avant garde project home, morpheus. The way the story is told and the music schoenberg composed to tell it have become one of the most significant works in. The piece on our playlist, madonna, is song number 6 from part one.
On the origins of schoenbergs sprechgesang in pierrot lunaire eliezer rapoport introduction schoenberg wrote pierrot lunaire in 1912, after being commissioned by albertine zehme, an actress who organized evenings of poetry readings and recitations accompanied by piano or small instrumental music ensembles. It is written in three parts with each part containing seven songs. Pierrot lunaire is the last important work of schoenbergs expressionist period 1907 to world war i. Igor stravinsky pierrot lunaire pierrot lunaire is a musical work by arnold schoenberg that sets german translations of poems by albert giraud to music. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire three times seven poems from albert girauds pierrot lunaire, commonly known simply as pierrot lunaire, op. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Schoenberg fills the work with canon, passacaglia, fugue, and other contrapuntal games. In his schoenberg and german poetry, vilain compares the poetic styles of ludwig pfau, dehmel, and stefan georgeschoenbergs three primary sources for song texts in his early periodfinding a steady increase in refinement that culminates in the composers turn to george in 1907 and 1908. For sprechstimme, piano, flutepiccolo, clarinetbass clarinet, violinviola, and violoncello. The whole piece is split into three sections, with each section having. In the program book for the premiere, schonberg prefaced the poems with a. Arnold schoenberg s most popular book is theory of harmony. The book describes the cultural environment around the turn of the century from which pierrot emerged and discusses schoenbergs working methods and intentions in its composition.
Between 1908 and 1923, arnold schoenberg began writing music that went against many of the accepted concepts and practices of this art. There an old friend sent him a copy of 50 pierrot lunaire poems by albert giraud. This is the first guide in english to a work which continues to be performed, broadcast and recorded worldwide. There have been a number of versions of pierrot lunaire available to the public since the advent of recorded sound. It is a setting of 21 selected poems from otto erich hartlebens german translation of albert girauds cycle of french poems of the same name.
Unlike most writings on the general subject of pierrot andor the specific subject of schoenbergs pierrot lunaire, the. Rather, schoenbergs music was just one farout option among many. The protagonist of the cycle is pierrot, the comic servant of the french commedia dellarte and, later, of parisian boulevard pantomime. The latest reissue in wergos studio reihe series is very special. Albert giraud otto erich hartleben arnold schoenberg.
On the origins of schoenbergs sprechgesang in pierrot lunaire. It is a music setting for solo voice and chamber ensemble of 21 poems by. This is the first guide in english to a work that continues to be performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. Pierrot lunaire arnold schonberg, conductor erika stiedrywagner, recitation rudolf kolisch, violin and viola stefan auber, cello eduard steurermann, piano leonard posella, flute and piccolo kalman bloch, clarinet and bass. Be able to explain arnold schoenbergs connections to the modernist movement. In the gertrude clarke whittall foundation collection of the library of congress.
This recording, featuring soprano helga pilarczyk and conductor pierre boulez performing schoenbergs pierrot lunaire, was the first release on the newly founded wergo label in 1962, and it was the recording that laid the foundation of the labels decadeslong story of success. History, i fear will frown on them as the men who scarred a whole century of composition. It is a deeply expressive work describing a soul tortured by love. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire commonly known simply as pierrot. Passacaglia augmented chords and melodic contour portray pierrots fear pierrot, a clown, suffers from eerie gruesome visions that are provoked. Schoenberg 18741951 reached musical maturity in vienna, the home of freud and the expressionist art movement that dominated germany and austria during the early twentieth century. Pierrot lunaire in our series on building a classical library, andrew clements selects the definitive recording of schoenberg fri 17 sep 1999 12. Sprechstimme in arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire. Arnold schoenberg pierrot lunaire 1955, vinyl discogs.
Sharon mabry, revisits her role as pierrot for this stunning 1991 performance of arnold schoenbergs chamber music masterpiece which happens to. German words, translated from the french of albert giraud by otto erich. A collection of musicological and literary studies. Chamber symphony no 1 by catherine wynrogers, john alleytim careyphilharmonia orchestra, arnold schoenberg, robert craft, eileen hulse, anja siljatwentieth century classics ensemble from amazons classical music store. Know more about arnold schoenberg as a person, composer, and creative painter. Pierrot lunaire brought back the long, dormant musical form of the melodrama, and spoke directly to a german nation on the verge of world war i.
Its instrumentation flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano with standard doublings and in this case with the addition of a vocalist is an important ensemble in 20th and 21stcentury classical music and is referred to as a pierrot ensemble. However, the lack of tonality reduces the impressiveness of these devices, and the scoring, often confined to low and middle registers, makes it all very muddy anyway. Arnold schoenbergs celebrated monodrama of 1912, pierrot lunaire, op. In the preface to the score schoenberg provides the following instructions relative to sprechstimme. Bryan simms purports that schoenberg likely read the foreword to the 1911 otto erich hartleben translation, written by franz blei. It includes 21 poems in total, in the fashion of a song cycle. But arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire, which turned 100 in march, is legendary for the outrage it provoked. It was composed during schoenbergs second period after the composer had turned to atonality. Verklarte nacht and pierrot lunaire by arnold schoenberg. Books by arnold schoenberg author of theory of harmony.
Pierrot lunaire, one of schoenbergs bestknown and most striking works, was composed in 1912. Pierrot, the main character, is a clown obsessed with the moon. Largely following his intuition during these years, he composed some of the masterpieces of the modern repertoireincluding pierrot lunaire and erwartungworks that have since provoked a large, though fragmented, body of critical and analytical writing. Pierrot lunaire, arnold schoenbergs early masterpiece, premiered oct. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire 1912 is regarded by many as the first masterpiece of his illustrious career. Low register, depicting the insects expressionism sought to depict objects and invoke negative emotions harmony. The melody given in the sprechstimme by means for notes is not intended for singing. For the next internet archive avant garde project installment, here. The early 19thcentury romantics, theophile gautier most notably, had been drawn to the figure by his chaplinesque pluckiness and pathos, and by the end of the century, especially in the.