Verklarte Nacht by Schnberg - Essay Example

Topic: Relationship of poetry and music in Verklarte Nacht(1899) by Arnold Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht (1899) is known to be the earliest work of Schoenberg, which provided recognition to the composer and his composition. The poem, Verklarte Nacht, is a string sextet in one movement. The poem is an inspiration from Richard Dehmel’s poem by the same name “Verklärte Nacht” (“Transfigured Night”). This poem reflects the late romantic tradition of string sextet, composed in 1899. The occasion and inspiration of composing this string sextet other than Dehmel’s poem was meeting the sister of Schoenberg’s teacher by the name of Alexander von Zemlinsky; the sister’s name was Mathilde von Zemlinsky, whom Schoenberg married later. Schoenberg’s translation of Dehmel’s poem arouses the same feelings, making the poem a monumental piece of chamber music. A string sextet in classical music is a poem written for six string instruments. A group of six musicians play it on their instruments. Generally, string sextets require an assemblage of two violins, two violas, and two cellos. The tradition of composing for string sextet starts from Op. 23 of Luigi Boccherini, written in 1776. Other famous string sextets include the Op. 18 and Op. 36 of Johannes Brahms, the Op. 48 of Antonín Dvořák, the Souvenir de Florence Op. 70 of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and the Fantasy for String Sextet Op.3 of John Caughman. (String Sextet The Wikipedia) Schoenberg’s translation of Dehmel’s poem is very deft. It is a powerful presentation of a man and woman walking on the moonlit night in the dark forest, sharing a secret of her with her lover that she is pregnant by a stranger. The composition is in five sections. It starts with a feeling of sadness in the woman because of the confession, the man’s reflection on the guilty feeling in the woman, and his agreeing by forgiving the woman of the guilt: 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). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkl%C3%A4rte_Nacht Coming back to Schoenberg’s poem, he was first a composer, anything afterwards. Music in the poem comes from the twelve tone technique. His Verklarte Nacht bears the impact of Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, and Gustav Mahler – the German Romanticists. It is evident from his use of chromaticism and separation of phrases from measure boundaries, a Brahms impact. Lyricism permeates throughout the composition, which is an indication of his atonal attempts in future compositions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkl%C3%A4rte_Nacht As the poem is divided into five sections, its movement matches with the body structure of the poem. Themes in each section depict a direct musical metaphor, descriptive and vivid. The composition is one of the early examples of program music composed for a chamber assemblage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkl%C3%A4rte_Nacht The earliest number needed two violins, two violas and two cellos but later in 1917, Schoenberg created a setting for string orchestra, which was in fashion at that time. Schoenberg further improvised the number in 1943. A copy of piano trio by Eduard Steuermann was also attempted. Out of all variants tried, the string orchestra was the most randomly recorded and acted. The musical composition became the basis for a number of ballets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkl%C3%A4rte_Nacht The composition Verklarte Nacht when attempted for the first time in 1902 became debatable because of the latest sound of chromaticism mixed with atonality besides clear references to sexual themes by Dehmel in Verklarte Nacht. Although the composition doesn’t move very far from the tonal work in the key of D minor but chromaticism is random. Even the Vienna Music Society rejected it because of single ‘nonexistent’ inverted ninth chord. See Schoenberg remarks on it, “and thus (the work) cannot be performed since one cannot perform that which does not exist.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkl%C3%A4rte_Nacht Verlarte Nacht was performed in the Vienna Musikverein by the Rosé Quartet, Franz Jelinek and Franz Schmidt. Arnold Rosé and Albert Bachrich played the violin, Anton Ruzitska and Franz Jelinek the viola, and Friedrich Buxbaum and Franz Schmidt the cello. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkl%C3%A4rte_Nacht Schoenberg was a true master of sound and feeling. He broke old rules and created new ones. He was not a part of the system; he denounced the old program and created his own sonic verse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D84sLB8tUMo&feature=related Lebrecht finds the work a musical composition after recalling the criticism and calling Verlarte Lacht ‘box office poison’, which can compel audience to run away from the hall where it is to be enacted. The composition has an appealing happy ending containing a unitary passion of late Brahms, reaching the Straussian complexity in love relation. Schoenberg acclaimed himself to be a conservative who was compelled to be a revolutionary, which he did in 1908 by breaking the conventions of tonality being practiced in European music from the early time (2001). Verklarte Nacht whether is a sextet or orchestral copy is difficult to grasp but it is intimate. The LaSalle Quartet (DG) is performed with a royal touch, with the 1946 string trio as a compensator, but the Ensemble Inter Contemporary murmur attracts with soft vibes of illicit love. Pierre Boulez has directed the serial Suite, opus 29, to weave away the rest of the composition (Lebrecht 2001). The Second String Quartet is classic. The new Vienna String Quartet and the LaSalle are wonderful but Christiane Oelze’s solo performance with Leipzig String Quartet is all praise on the leveled MDG record (Lebrecht 2001). The late-romantic reversion, the operas and the Gurrelieder are far away from the theatrical experience of Christiane Oelze, performance with Leipzig String Quartet on the leveled MDG record. Even Glenn Gould collection of Lieder and piano music is offbeat (Lebrecht 2001). If the choice is ever to be made between Pierrot Lunaire and the Serenade, opus 24, Serenade is preferable to Pierrot, as it needs to be seen also while listening. The Marlborough Festival Serenade on Sony - with the first Chamber Symphony orchestra – is soft and touching, the rhetorical tool of rugged and harsh modernism. One should not miss the Mitsuko Uchidas copy of the piano concerto, added with two sets of brilliant solo shots even in a recorded area challenged by Brendel and Pollini. Boulez, who reveres Schoenberg as the spring of all modern wisdom, performs (Lebrecht 2001). According to Frisch, Schoenberg is an autodidact; he learned composition from Alexander Von Zemlinsky through friendly talk. Nonetheless, works of Schoenberg show his high caliber brilliantly, as Schoenberg remarks in Harmonielehre, “The artist does nothing that others deem beautiful, but rather only what to him is a necessity.” Schoenberg is called a theoretician by his rivals; his way of counter pointing has become a topic of criticism. Pure music is all permeated in the works of Schoenberg as it is in the works of Beethoven and Mahler. Listen to his music without any assumptions. His experiences become tones; his emotions require a different sort of outburst that demands a new way where content and form cannot be differentiated (1999). The string sextet Op.4, Verklarte Nacht was a first attempt of its kind that directed at chamber music at a time Wagner’s music dramas were prevalent and encompassed the arena for German composers. Opera and orchestra was the popular medium of expression. Schoenberg walked a different road – the road led by Richard Wagner, not by the classic way of Johannes Brahms (Frisch 1999). The sextet has single movement, randomly changing the type of movement. Schoenberg’s art lies in and revealed through the different themes and their variations. Brevity in themes and free structure of the sextet is a wonder in sound that has no parallel in chamber music (Frisch 1999). Schoenberg is not a musical dramatist; he is a chamber musician. Actually, his composition requires no stage. His other works like Die gluckliche hand is theatrical chamber music, and Fidelio is a symphony. His lectures hint at “making music with the means of the stage,” or of “making music with inner concepts alone”. His caliber saves him to be dragged into speculation regarding the theory and definition of music, taking him to the heights of creating live music (Frisch 1999). In one of his lectures at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin in 1927, Schoenberg discusses two problems of modern music i.e. tonality and dissonance. He associates tonality with the term key, referring it as a series of sounds to the single major tone. It is inactive in each tone as each pitch has a fundamental tone and overtones. These overtones state the basic and chromatic notes. The small note is an imitation of the big note under the impact of the church modes. Tonality needs not to be accomplished; it comes automatic as the artist practices the art. Initially, the main triad has three different keys. A series of chords are not tonal by themselves; they are made tonal through beats. Because tonality is an artistic expression, it cannot be heightened to the rank of self-evident and innate. It needs to be included as an important tool to understand the work; also if there is no replacement, tonality needs to be included in a composition (Frisch 1999). Tonality is achieved by unifying and wording; it unifies through the “relatedness of all musical events to a toner center.” It vocalizes through the unique differentiation of personal tonal elements like separating C-major elements from G-minor etc. Other than the elements of tonality, music requires unity of thoughts and ideas; just using tonal means is impractical. If other elements provide the same musical impact as provided by tonality, it can be ignored (Frisch 1999). Another requirement of music is dissonance. Dissonance is achieved like scale from overtones. Like tonality, dissonances are also innate. They need to be taken as artistic elements. Modern music has gone far away from the time of Wagner in the use of dissonances because its horizon is not reserved to moving towards tonality. Initially, listeners may get perplexed at the setting but they would be able to identify the unity that controls the “disturbing” dissonances. In the words of Schoenberg, “It is to be hoped that in twenty years people will recognize the tonality of ‘atonal’ music.” Incidentally, Schoenberg was against the use of the term ‘atonal’ because such tones don’t exist that do not relate to each other. The difference in the past music and modern music is, according to Schoenberg, lack of stress on tonality; it is a difference of not kind but degree. The modern music from the perspective of tonality gives importance to other elements in music (Frisch 1999). Schoenberg later abandoned atonality and started advocating a different method of composition. He preferred to let it decide the composer to set the 12 notes as per the series of his choice before expressing his heart felt feelings. His serial method became the basic principle of modern music for the 20th century. Schoenberg was unlike his mentor Gustav Mahler who opened up all the art that he possessed. He was by nature not easily pleased, impressed, and approachable. It was this feature of his character, not any prejudice that has blocked his way of becoming accepted to the audiences (Lebrecht 2001). Time is changing for the better for his compositions are being taken for piano concerto by a Mozartian as musical as Mitsuko Uchida. The “unplayable” violin concerto is being publicized by the brilliant Viktoria Mullova. The new generation of composers is filling the forbidden void (Lebrecht 2001). Schoenberg has taken a seat parallel to Picasso and Joyce as an artist who changed the perspective of art from simple joy to a mix of ethereal vision and intellectual hardship. In the age of insipid simplicity and impractical irony, Schoenberg has become a shelter house for the intellect audience. He holds a place associated with courage and difficulty. As you solve the mystery, you get the earthly pleasure out of the relationship between poetry and music. Works Cited Frisch, Walter. Schoenberg and his world. Princeton University Press, 1999. 4 October 2009 . Lebrecht, Norman. “Why Were Still Afraid of Schoenberg.” Time 8 July 2001. 4 October 2009 . “String Sextet.” The Wikipedia. 4 October 2009 . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D84sLB8tUMo&feature=related “Verklärte Nacht.” The Wikipedia. 4 October 2009 . Read More