Arminius (break)

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Arminius op. 43 is an oratorio by Max Bruch . It is about the Cheruscan prince Arminius , who defeated the Roman troops of Publius Quinctilius Varus in the battle in the Teutoburg Forest .

Emergence

Bruch composed Arminius in 1875, the inauguration of the famous Hermann monument . The work hit the nerve of the times with its creation shortly after the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent establishment of an empire . After the German name of the title character Arminius, the oratorio should originally be called Die Hermannsschlacht . The libretto comes from the 24-year-old teacher Friedrich Hellmuth, who wrote it under the pseudonym J. Küppers.

The premiere was conducted by Max Bruch on December 4, 1875 in Barmen ( Wuppertal ). The dedicatee is the hero baritone soloist George Henschel , who sang the title role in the premiere. Bruch revised the oratorio several times; the first performance of the revised version took place on January 21, 1877 in Zurich. Henschel also took part in this world premiere, in the role of Siegmund, and thus stood in for the sick tenor soloist.

action

Part I: "Introduction"

Arminius tries to dispel the fear of his warriors of the Roman troops with a speech about peaceful coexistence. However, Krieger Siegmund warns of the impending danger. The Roman soldiers introduce themselves as " Mars's mighty sons". Arminius and Siegmund encourage the Germanic warriors to resist with their weapons.

Part II: "In the sacred grove"

The Cherusci gather in the sacred grove. The priestess calls Wodan and promises them that the gods will be on their side. The tribe thanks the gods in Valhalla in prayers.

Part III: "The Uprising"

Siegmund says that a Roman insulted his wife and Siegmund killed him for it. After his escape, his father was imprisoned by the Romans for revenge; Siegmund can no longer return to help his father. Arminius urges his warriors to be in vengeance against the Romans; you sing a battle song for freedom together.

Part IV: "The Battle"

The priestess now describes the battle and asks Wodan for help for the warriors. The Teutons beat the Romans with a trick. The priestess asks Freia to take the dead and dying into Valhalla. The dying Siegmund expresses the wish to be brought to the sacred grove. Arminius is honored as the conqueror of the Romans, but admonishes his followers that the gods deserve their thanks. Arminius and the priestess join the final chorus.

effect

Because of the situation in the newly united Germany, Arminius was initially received positively.

In America the work was performed several times between 1883 and 1912; the American premiere took place on May 5, 1883 in Boston with Max Bruch as conductor. The initially euphoric reviews in the American press ("[...] the oratorio is", as the Boston Herald wrote after the American premiere, "a ceaseless source of delight for the listener") turned negative over the course of these years. The Boston Herald wrote , among other things, in February 1912: “[...] Arminius was not worth being dragged out of oblivion. There is much that is bland in music and it is almost consistently monotonous ”.

literature

  • Christopher Fifield: Max Bruch. Biography of a composer. From d. Engl. By Renate Maria Wendel, Schweizer Verlagshaus, 1990 Zurich, ISBN 3-7263-6616-4 , pp. 143-147

Web links