Pierrot lunaire, one of schoenbergs bestknown and most striking works, was composed in 1912. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire marks century the. Pierrot lunaire, arnold schoenbergs early masterpiece, premiered oct. The whole piece is split into three sections, with each section having. The protagonist of the cycle is pierrot, the comic servant of the french commedia dellarte and, later, of parisian boulevard pantomime. Unrhymed strict line form lines 12, 78, and serve as a refrain the vocalist uses a technique called sprechstimme. In the program book for the premiere, schonberg prefaced the poems with a. Low register, depicting the insects expressionism sought to depict objects and invoke negative emotions harmony.
For the next internet archive avant garde project installment, here. Pierrot lunaire consists of three groups of seven poems. Arnold schoenberg s most popular book is theory of harmony. 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. This is the first guide in english to a work which continues to be performed, broadcast and recorded worldwide. Pierrot lunaire 1912 is one of the most important music theatre works ever written. Verklarte nacht and pierrot lunaire by arnold schoenberg. Passacaglia augmented chords and melodic contour portray pierrots fear pierrot, a clown, suffers from eerie gruesome visions that are provoked. Books by arnold schoenberg author of theory of harmony. Schoenberg fills the work with canon, passacaglia, fugue, and other contrapuntal games. Schoenbergs pierrot lunaire is not a series of pitchclass set manipulations. Schoenberg did not have the last word on critical opprobrium, and his supposed revolution was simply not heard as such at the time.
Sharon mabry, revisits her role as pierrot for this stunning 1991 performance of arnold schoenbergs chamber music masterpiece which happens to. Know more about arnold schoenberg as a person, composer, and creative painter. A collection of musicological and literary studies. Pierrot, the main character, is a clown obsessed with the moon. 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. Unlike most writings on the general subject of pierrot andor the specific subject of schoenbergs pierrot lunaire, the. The pieces predate schoenbergs discovery of the twelvetone system and are to varying degrees atonal. 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. This is internet archive avant garde project installment agp175 arnold schoenberg pierrot lunaire. The way the story is told and the music schoenberg composed to tell it have become one of the most significant works in. 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 gertrude clarke whittall foundation collection of the library of congress. The piece was premiered at the berlin choralionsaal on. It is a deeply expressive work describing a soul tortured by love. 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. Music history is littered with stories of masterpieces condemned at their premieres. 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. For the previous internet archive avant garde project installment, here. Be able to explain arnold schoenbergs connections to the modernist movement. Arnold schoenbergs celebrated monodrama of 1912, pierrot lunaire, op. For sprechstimme, piano, flutepiccolo, clarinetbass clarinet, violinviola, and violoncello. 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.
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. Without tonality, schoenberg structured his music with developing variation, the integration of harmony and melody, and. This is the first guide in english to a work that continues to be performed, broadcast, and recorded worldwide. 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. The work is atonal but does not use the twelvetone technique that schoenberg would devise eight years later. Its instrumentation flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano with standard doublings and in this case. But arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire, which turned 100 in march, is legendary for the outrage it provoked. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Seldomheard works by three composers were presented last night by the juilliard orchestra and chorus in a special concert at the juilliard concert hall. Pierrot lunaire in our series on building a classical library, andrew clements selects the definitive recording of schoenberg fri 17 sep 1999 12.
Albert giraud otto erich hartleben arnold schoenberg. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire is the story of a moonstruck clown, a 20th century descendant of the classic commedia dellarte clown. German words, translated from the french of albert giraud by otto erich. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire commonly known simply as pierrot. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire 1912 is regarded by many as the first masterpiece of his illustrious career. So too, in his fusion of music and poetry, does schoenberg provide what may be the most powerfully. The piece on our playlist, madonna, is song number 6 from part one. Bryan simms purports that schoenberg likely read the foreword to the 1911 otto erich hartleben translation, written by franz blei. In the preface to the score schoenberg provides the following instructions relative to sprechstimme. 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. Pierrot lunaire 1912 is one of the most important music theater works ever written. Pierrot lunaire is the last important work of schoenbergs expressionist period 1907 to world war i.
It includes 21 poems in total, in the fashion of a song cycle. Pierrot lunaire is among schoenbergs most celebrated and frequently performed works. There have been a number of versions of pierrot lunaire available to the public since the advent of recorded sound. The latest reissue in wergos studio reihe series is very special.
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. There an old friend sent him a copy of 50 pierrot lunaire poems by albert giraud. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire op. 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. It was after mahlers death that schoenberg moved from vienna to berlin. Schoenberg wrote in his diary, dated january 28, 1912, read the foreword, looked at the poems, am enthusiastic. 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. Between 1908 and 1923, arnold schoenberg began writing music that went against many of the accepted concepts and practices of this art. 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 schoenberg pierrot lunaire 1955, vinyl discogs. Arnold schoenberg has 74 books on goodreads with 4921 ratings. Igor stravinsky pierrot lunaire pierrot lunaire is a musical work by arnold schoenberg that sets german translations of poems by albert giraud to music.
Schoenbergs pierrot lunaire showcases the technique of sprechstimme. 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. History, i fear will frown on them as the men who scarred a whole century of composition. Its not really a story, though perhaps its more about storytelling. Rather, schoenbergs music was just one farout option among many. On the origins of schoenbergs sprechgesang in pierrot lunaire. Sprechstimme in arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire. Take me to the internet archive avant garde project home, morpheus. Obtain a greater understanding and appreciation of pierrot lunaire, one of the seminal works of twentiethcentury music. It was composed during schoenbergs second period after the composer had turned to atonality. Patricia gray karol bennett, soprano john mcmurtery, flutepiccolo ted gurch, clarinetbass clarinet helen kim, violin craig hultgren, cello james romig, conductor. It is a music setting for solo voice and chamber ensemble of 21 poems by. 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.
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. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire three times seven poems from albert girauds pierrot lunaire, commonly known simply as pierrot lunaire, op. It is written in three parts with each part containing seven songs. A cip catalog record for this book is available from the british library. In the first group, pierrot sings of love, sex and religion. 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. The melody given in the sprechstimme by means for notes is not intended for singing. The atonal music of arnold schoenberg, 19081923 bryan r.