Paradise and the Peri

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Paradise and the Peri (Op. 50) is a secular oratorio by Robert Schumann . It was written between February and June 1843 and premiered on December 4, 1843 in Leipzig.

Occupation and structure

Solos (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass), solo quartet in alternating line-up from the solos, three to six-part mixed choir and orchestra. Three-part structure with a total of 26 numbers. The performance lasts about 90 minutes. The solo parts are used both for the selected roles (angel, youth, virgin, man, tyrant Gazna and of course for the Peri, which occurs in 9 numbers) and (with the exception of soprano and bass) for the test of the testo (narrator) which is traditionally the responsibility of the tenor. 5 of the 12 choirs are also role-bound (choir of the Indians, the Conquerors, the Angels, the Nilgenien, the Houris), which means that the line -up deviates from the usual SATB division , e.g. B. Conqueror T B1 B2 or Angel S1 S2 A1 A2. This conception of starting from voices and not roles (characters) gives the work a new, strongly epic and in the mood pictures (e.g. No. 6 or 18) lyrical tendency at the expense of the dramatic (see below "poetry" instead of "oratorio") ), which is also reflected in the lack of action and conflict. The orchestra is made up of 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones (alto, tenor, bass), 1 ophicleide , timpani, triangle, bass drum, harp and strings.

libretto

The libretto of the oratorio was translated and edited by Emil Flechsig and the composer based on the oriental epic Lalla Rookh (1817) by Thomas Moore . Schumann must have known Moore's story as a child, since a German translation was published by his father's publishing house in 1822. Following the suggestion of Schumann's friend Flechsig, the oratorio text was written from 1841 and was completed on January 6, 1842. Schumann initially called the work “poetry” and not oratorio, to emphasize the novelty of the compositional system.

action

The Peri (Persian پریfor fairy, elf ), child of a fallen angel and a mortal, tries to gain access to paradise from which she was excluded due to her impure origins. Her first two offerings - the last drop of blood of a brave, young freedom fighter against a tyrant and the last sigh of a virgin dying in the arms of her beloved by the plague - are not recognized by the heavenly guardian (angel). Only with the tears of a repentant criminal at the sight of a boy praying, who reminds him of the innocence of his own childhood, does the Peri finally reach its destination.

content

  • First part.
    • 1. Alto solo. Before Eden's Thor in the morning jump
    • 2nd soprano solo. (Peri.) How happily they walk
    • 3. Recitative. (Tenor and angel, alt.) The noble angel who opens the gate
    • 4. Soprano Solo. (Peri.) Where can I find her?
    • 5th tenor solo. So she thought about it
      • Solo quartet. O sweet land!
    • 6th choir. But its rivers are red now
    • 7. Solo and choir. (Tenor, Gazna, Bass and youth, tenor.) And a youth stands alone
    • 8th choir. Woe, woe, he missed the target
    • 9. Solo and choir. (Tenor and Peri.) The Peri saw the mark of the wound
  • Second part.
    • 10. Tenor and alto solo with choir. The Peri steps shyly
    • 11. Tenor solo. Their first hope in heaven waned
      • Choir of the Genii of the Nile. Out of the waters
    • 12. Solo. (Tenor and Peri.) Away from here the child of the air wanders
    • 13. Tenor solo. The Peri is crying
      • Solo quartet. For in the tears there is magic
    • 14. Solo. (Old and young man, tenor.) In the green forest by the quiet lake
    • 15. Solo. (Mezzo-soprano, tenor and youth.) Forsaken youth
    • 16. Solo. (Virgin, Soprano and Tenor.) O let the air permeate me
    • 17. Solo with choir. (Peri.) Sleep now and rest in dreams full of fragrance.
  • Third part.
    • 18. Choir of the Houris. Adorn the steps to Allah's Throne
    • 19. Solo. (Tenor and angel.) Listening to the song from afar.
    • 20. Soprano Solo. (Peri.) Violated! Locked up again
    • 21. Baritone solo. Now the golden glow was falling in the evening
    • 22nd solo quartet. (4 peris.) Peri, is it true?
    • 23. Solo. (Peri, tenor, mezzo-soprano and the man, baritone.) Down to that temple of the sun
    • 24. Solo quartet and choir. O holy tears of inner repentance
    • 25. Solo with choir. (Peri and tenor.) A drop falls
    • 26. Solo and choir. (Peri.) Joy, eternal joy, my work is done

Reception history

The text may have appealed to Schumann's contemporaries mainly through its romantic and oriental appeal and through the idea of ​​individual redemption. The premiere was a decisive success for Schumann; by 1855 the work had fifty performances.

By reinterpreting and rearranging the text and the individual numbers, the work was misused in 1914 as "music for the funeral of our heroes" ( "blood of a brave, young warrior" ). Also in that sense it was a due to a call to the Reich Music Chamber of Max Gebhard revised version, which offset the subject of repentance at the beginning and the sacrificial death to achieve a heroic action at the end of 1943 under the direction of Kurt Barth at the official Schumann celebrations in Schumann's hometown Zwickau and reinterpreted politically through accompanying lectures. After that, hardly played for decades, the oratorio is now performed more often and by important conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt (including Vienna, March 2008), Simon Rattle (Berlin, February 2009 and Vienna, October 2012) or John Eliot Gardiner (Leipzig, February 2014) .

On the occasion of the 8th Robert Schumann Festival 2004, the dancer and choreographer Gregor Seyffert and the artist Gottfried Helnwein realized a multimedia implementation of the oratorio. The Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero was another collaborator. It was a scenic realization in which both the choir of the Städtischen Musikverein Düsseldorf, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra , dancers, actors and acrobats were involved. The concert hall was spatially changed by a large installation so that in addition to a 16 meter wide video projection surface and a light architecture, play areas were created on several levels. The choreographic performance moved between “earth” and “heaven”, which was symbolized by a luminous ring that was installed in the dome of the hall. The performance took place in the Düsseldorf Tonhalle on July 9, 2004, Gregor Seyffert danced the part of the Peri, the conductor was John Fiore .

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