Moondrunk arnold schoenberg da capo chamber players lucy shelton pierrot lunaire. The work is a melodrama, a form popular at the time, consisting of poetry spoken against an instrumental background. Schoenberg, pierrot lunaire pierrot lunaire is one of those rare masterpieces that seems to have materialised out of thin air, that had no antecedents yet defined an expressive world that is. Pierrot is a harlequin, one of the stock characters from the commedia dellarte. Suddenly, here comes cassander, fuming at the nighttime virtuoso. In one or two numbers the poem is sung in french and there is no translation. The melody given in the sprechstimme by means for notes is not intended for singing except for specially marked isolated exceptions. German and english by lucy shelton, da capo chamber players on amazon music. Its unbelievably intense, wild, outlandish, and haunting, especially once you read the translation of the. Oct 16, 2012 serenade with a grotesquely giant bow, pierrot scrapes on his viola.
Say pierrot, and any musician will instantly know youre talking about arnold schoenbergs opus 21, three times seven poems from albert girauds pierrot lunaire. Schoenberg wrote in his diary, dated january 28, 1912, read the foreword, looked at the poems, am enthusiastic. Pierrot is the rare case of a new technique perfectly suited to its subject matter. Arnold schoenberg yes, more information schoenberg has a subtle way of creating unity in the course of the song he indicates the connecting device in the subtitle of the piece. They are quite different in style, the first being more based upon normal song structure though still being quite experimental, and the second being more freeform and experimental than the first. The whole piece is split into three sections, with. Pierrot lunaire written by arnold schoenberg is considered to be one of the strangest, yet most brilliant pieces composed among classical musicians.
Pierrot lunaire is among schoenbergs most celebrated and frequently performed works. The character of pierrot is a well loved puppet and pantomime character from the commedia dellarte who often plays the forlorn clown. Passacaglia an old term, stemming from the baroque period, describes a variation form. Smith leads ars nova dallas at the 2009 dallas festival of modern music.
With a grotesquely giant bow, pierrot scrapes on his viola. Chronology, form, and set structures cornell university, 1978. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire three times seven. Bryan simms purports that schoenberg likely read the foreword to the 1911 otto erich hartleben translation, written by franz blei. Pierrot lunaire is a music studio album recording by pierrot lunaire prog folkprogressive rock released in 1974 on cd, lp vinyl andor cassette. Like a stork standing on one leg, he sadly plucks a pizzicato. Schoenberg, pierrot lunaire pierrot lunaire is one of those rare masterpieces that seems to have materialised out of thin air, that had no antecedents yet defined an expressive world that is unique. 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. Motivic transformations and networks in schoenbergs. For sprechstimme, piano, flutepiccolo, clarinetbass clarinet, violinviola, and violoncello. Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations if applicable. But arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire, which turned 100 in march, is.
Pierrot lunaire is the last important work of schoenbergs expressionist period 1907 to world war. The poetry of pierrot lunaire is extremely rich in recurrent symbols and images, and has led some authors to give extensive inanalyses of eleven numbers from the cycle are presented in the authors m. Narrative structure and purpose in arnold schoenbergs pierrot. Pierrot lunaire from albert giraud translated by paul amrod. The string to his head the boss makes it nod the string to his mouth his mum pulls for food the string to his soul it leads up to god. It is written in three parts with each part containing seven songs. 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. The premiere of the work, which is between 35 and 40 minutes in length, was at the berlin.
Schoenbergs title describes the work as three times seven poems by albert giraud in german translation by otto erich hartleben. Comments about pierrot lunaire from albert giraud translated by paul amrod by paul amrod lockey 6142019 4. 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. Pierrot is a harlequin, one of the stock characters from the. Pierrot, the main character, is a clown obsessed with the moon. Pierrot lunaire biography an original mix of soft progressive and avantgarde atmospheres is the distinctive sound of pierrot lunaire, highly regarded among foreign collectors though not particularly representative. Pierrot lunaire from albert giraud translated by paul. The protagonist of the cycle is pierrot, the comic servant of the french commedia dellarte and, later, of parisian boulevard pantomime.
Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire marks century the. Projecting an english translation on a screen during a performance of pierrot lunaire is an excellent way of enhancing its impact on a new audience, and one which i think could be used more often. Pierrot has got to be one of the most desperately selfconscious pieces in. Conductor jordan randall smith conducts arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire. A cip catalog record for this book is available from the british library. If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. It avoids that familiar, distracting rustle of pages when words are provided in the printed programme. Motivic transformations and networks in schoenbergs nacht. Pierrot lunaire raw english translation albert giraud. 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. In the gertrude clarke whittall foundation collection of the library of congress. It is a setting of 21 selected poems from albert girauds cycle of the same name as translated into german by.
German words, translated from the french of albert giraud by otto erich. The new grove dictionary of music and musicians, second edition, edited by. Sprechstimme in arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire. However, it is in the public domain in canada where imslp is hosted and other countries where the term is lifeplus50 years such as china, japan, korea and many others. It is a setting of 21 selected poems from otto erich hartlebens german translation of. Learn pierrot lunaire with free interactive flashcards.
Jun 21, 2004 pierrot lunaire pierrot lunaire is a musical work by arnold schoenberg that sets german translations of poems by albert giraud to music. Resick and conductor tsung yeh gave of the work at the debartolo performing arts center in 20. Oct 17, 2012 say pierrot, and any musician will instantly know youre talking about arnold schoenbergs opus 21, three times seven poems from albert girauds pierrot lunaire. Pierrot a poet and dandy from bergamo, is moondrunk, and intends to present his beloved columbine with blossoms of moonlight. Pierrot lunaire definition, a cycle of 21 songs 1912 for voice and instruments, by arnold schonberg, written in sprechgesang style and set to poems of albert.
He daubs his face with moonlight, and the moon washes clothes made of moonbeams. Arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire marks century the forward. Serenade, the 19th of the 21 songs of schoenbergs pierrot lunaire actually, the composer calls them melodramaswhich, upon reflection, totally feels accurate, even given their miniature size is even more metamusical than the others. Music history is littered with stories of masterpieces condemned at their premieres. A young girl that regularly dresses as a boy falls in love and seduces a young girl that has no clue that her lover has the same sex. In the final piece of each half, the voices sing other words girauds dedication from the front page of pierrot lunaire, while the text is spoken in french no 22 and in both languages no 50. Dreimal sieben gedichte aus albert girauds pierrot lunaire three times seven poems from albert girauds pierrot lunaire, commonly known simply as pierrot lunaire, op. Aug 22, 2014 conductor jordan randall smith conducts arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire. In the preface to the score schoenberg provides the following instructions relative to sprechstimme.
Pierrot is both the hero and the fool, acting in a drama that is also a concert piece, performing cabaret as high art and vice versa with song that is also speech. Pierrot lunaire started out as a more normal italian folk band when it released its first eponymous album in 1974 but after a few years when the more adventurous side of progressive music was waning rather than waxing the band took the absolute opposite approach and created a more experimental, avantgarde and progressive approach with their. It is a setting of 21 selected poems from albert girauds cycle of the same name as translated into german by otto erich. It is a setting of 21 selected poems from otto erich.
There have been a number of versions of pierrot lunaire available to the public since the advent of recorded sound. Resicks interpretation of pierrot lunaire is an outgrowth of the highly compelling and acclaimed concert performance which ms. Refer to the reference list for the most indepth published accounts of pierrot lunaire, as well as other important sources pertaining to the music of schoenberg and atonal music in general. Jordan randall smith conducts arnold schoenbergs pierrot lunaire. It is a bergamask rondel, not only because the jagged progress of the poems recalls the eponymous rustic dance, but also because 19thcentury admirers of the commedia dellarte characters or masks often associated them with the. It includes 21 poems in total, in the fashion of a song cycle. Choose from 84 different sets of pierrot lunaire flashcards on quizlet. In pierrot, though schoenberg did intend for this to be a speechlike \.
Premiered in 1912, the piece is atonal, meaning there is no. Mar 30, 2012 pierrot is the rare case of a new technique perfectly suited to its subject matter. Serenade with a grotesquely giant bow, pierrot scrapes on his viola. Bryan simms purports that schoenberg likely read the foreword to the 1911 otto erich hartleben translation.
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