The Last Judgment (Friedrich Schneider)

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Friedrich Schneider, steel engraving around 1855 by L. Sichling after a portrait by G. Völkerling (1852)

The Last Judgment , composed by Friedrich Schneider based on a text by August Apel , was one of the most important oratorios of the first half of the 19th century. It has decisively influenced the development of this genre. The public premiere took place on March 6, 1820 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus . The oratorio consists of an introduction and three parts with a total of 30 numbers. It was composed for a large mixed choir, which is to be divided into different partial choirs, as well as for at least four soloists ( SATB ). Since the choir is the main carrier of the plot, the oratorio contains only two arias (for T and B) and a longer ensemble. Other short solos can be performed by choir soloists.

Emergence

Title page of the first edition of the score for the oratorio Das Weltgericht
Dedication sheet for the first edition of the score for the oratorio Das Weltgericht

August Apel, today above all still known as the author of original text to Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischütz , wrote the libretto of the World Court with the intention of a model-like counterpoint to Louis Spohr's first oratorio The Last Judgment to create. Apel had heard the piece performed in Leipzig in 1812. He agreed with the critics that the piece had failed because of its weak text. In 1815 he heard a mass by Schneider and decided to offer the young composer his textbook. In a short contribution to the Intelligence newspaper for the general musical newspaper from March 1826, Schneider describes the further development of the creation: On March 10, 1816 he received the text book from Apel. The composition, begun in December 1818, was finished on February 21, 1819. The newspaper for the elegant world reports on a first non-public performance on June 3, 1819. The premiere took place on March 6, 1820. In April, Schneider announced the printing of the work in a subscription advertisement.

text

The textbook takes its thematic starting point in the biblical tradition of the Last Judgment in Matthew 24-25 and the Revelation of John. However, Apel does not reproduce the story told there, but only alludes to selected, well-known biblical images and formulations, which he supplements with elements of popular piety, mythology and figures from other parts of the Bible. From this he forms an independent dialogue in which numerous groups of people (hellish spirits, believers, conquerors, etc.) and individuals (Satan, Mary, Eve, Archangel) express their thoughts. The text does not contain purely narrative sections in the strict sense; the libretto consists of a series of expressive moments. The plot must be inferred indirectly through the utterances of the characters. Especially in the choirs, Apel juxtaposes contrasting types and their feelings and thoughts. This makes the text very small.

Originally, Apel had given the three parts of his libretto the headings “Death”, “Resurrection” and “Judgment”. The librettist locates the first part at three different locations: heaven, hell and earth. The textbook begins with the announcement of the Last Judgment by the angels. In the face of chaos, the spirits of hell triumph, but Satan interrupts them and describes how he tried to bring freedom to people “with creative power”. But he failed because of the natural weaknesses of people who - not ripe for freedom - have become sinners. As a result, both humans and Satan were deprived of salvation. In the number that follows, Apel lets the choir of believers meet a choir of conquerors. While the believers are portrayed as naive and pious, the conquerors embody Satan's failed idea of ​​freedom: “The proud hero” is free, suppresses the weaker and places himself above the law and even the gods. In the second part of the libretto, Apel concentrates on portraying people's reactions to the impending judgment and takes a look at their conflicting emotional states: The righteous are happy about the imminent resurrection, while fear and despair predominate in the unjust. The third part finally describes the actual dish. From a dramaturgical-analytical point of view, a threefold increase created by Apel can be seen: First of all, people ask themselves how they can be redeemed despite their sins and guilt. The tension is increased further and ultimately discharges at the climax in a condemnation judgment pronounced by the archangels. The real turning point, which means redemption for all, is heralded by the figure of Mary. It refers to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, which brings salvation to all people.

Apel illustrates the classical Christian doctrine of satisfaction , the central element of which is Jesus' atoning sacrifice, but represents a non-church, secular religiosity throughout. In particular, the structure of the figure of Satan, which is actually alien to the oratorio, was discussed and reinterpreted. Ronald Müller interprets the figure in the historical context of 1814, the time the libretto was written: The French Revolution had started 25 years earlier, the Battle of Leipzig was a year ago and the Congress of Vienna was just beginning, which triggered the restoration the political situation should be. The design of the figure of Satan is therefore particularly striking for the year 1814. While Rochlitz in his review of the premiere in 1820 understands Satan only as a “powerful, consistent rebel against the Almighty”, Müller recognizes parallels to Napoleon in the figure . Like Satan in the Last Judgment, the French consul and later emperor was first celebrated by contemporaries as the bringer of a freedom that quickly turned negative. The figure of Satan, the text suggests according to Müller, must be overthrown, just like Napoleon.

Apel's text is often criticized. In many respects it corresponds to the aesthetics of the oratorio as formulated by Gottfried Wilhelm Fink in 1827. Fink described the libretto of an oratorio as a form that almost completely dispenses with narrative elements and developing action and merely juxtaposes emotional and reflective moments. Establishing the connections is the job of the listener, which is why the librettist should choose familiar subjects. The often-criticized incoherence and confusion of Judgment -Librettos is ultimately a consequence reduced this idea, which leaves the listener making the connections in favor of the mere reflection and feel on impact targeting representation.

In order to preserve the overall dramaturgical context in view of the fragmented nature of the text and to create a large arc of tension, the composer Schneider was particularly challenged to use musical means to clarify the changes in scenes, roles and narrative contrasts prescribed by Apel and thus to the listener facilitate access to the text.

music

Schneider's composition of Apel's text makes the Last Judgment a key work of the first half of the 19th century. Many typical features of the oratorio of this period are found in the Last Judgment , many for the first time. According to the number in the score edited by Schneider himself, the piece has 30 numbers and an overture called the “introduction”. Looking more closely, however, a number of numbers summarize very different sections in terms of cast and character, so that the actual number of numbers could also be significantly higher. Schneider's counting is the most obvious sign of his intention to understand the oratorio not as a sequence of individual independent parts, but as a uniform large form. In this way, he innovatively picks up on a tendency for the oratorio that - which has long been discussed in opera - became a central idea of ​​musical aesthetics in the 19th century. In his composition, Schneider pays attention to composing transitions, such as B. Instrumental transitions or cadences that prepare the key of the following piece. In the introduction, Schneider introduces a six bars long, succinct, four-part motif that is performed as a soloist by the trombones. This motif recurs three times in the first and third parts, sung a cappella with a similar text by the four archangels. As a commemorative motif, it reminds of the eternity of the Kingdom of God at various points in the action and at the same time acts as a musical bracket for the large parts. Similarly, a further motif in the introduction refers to the choir of the believers (No. 5) in the first part and a third to the choir of the martyrs (No. 21) in the third part, as well as to a text similarly referring to martyrdom in No. 7 While the eternity motif is associated with trombones or a cappella singing, the melody of the believers is accompanied by strings, while the martyrs are accompanied by woodwinds. Setting the trend for the 19th century is Schneider's extreme emphasis on the choir as the carrier of the plot (which, however, was dictated by Apel's text). The piece contains only two arias and a larger ensemble; also recitatives are rare. Schneider thus corresponded to the idea of ​​his time of a tradition of the oratorio which, before the re-performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1829, mainly included the oratorios Handel and here v. a. defined the works with a large participation of the choir (especially Messiah ) as a starting point. But he also followed the contemporary aesthetic of the oratorio, which was critical of all echoes of opera. Finally, it also responded to the demand of a newly emerging market for literature for large amateur choirs. Schneider's composition is shaped by these three influences.

The example of Handel can be heard above all in the five fugues, three of which each complete a part and two of which can be found in particularly prominent places that praise God. The fugue in the choir of angels and people Hallelujah (No. 9) and the fugue in the chorus of the Erstandenen Ewig resound jubilees are double fugues, with the two themes both presented in the choir in the first fugue and the themes on choir and orchestra in the second fugue be distributed. Schneider's fugues are characterized by the almost continuous colla parte function of the orchestra. Some contain a stretto passage towards the end (No. 9, No. 30b) and all have homophonic sections with which the fugues end effectively. Aside from formal similarities with fugues from Handel's oratorios, thematic parallels can also be discovered: the first fugue theme from No. 9 is reminiscent of that of the Hallelujah from the Messiah . The similarity of text and content is characteristic of this example.

Apart from the fugues, the choirs are set largely homophonic. The voices are accompanied colla parte by instruments to make it easier for musical amateurs to perform. However, Schneider rarely makes use of the possibility of changing the sound of the choir by juxtaposing different vocal groups. His partial choirs are mostly composed for four parts for SATB .

Contemporary critics occasionally compared the Last Judgment to Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischütz, which premiered a year later . One reviewer even claimed to have heard of mutual dependencies, which Schneider fought against. A comparison of the choir of Hell's Spirits from the oratorio with the Wolfsschluchtszenen of the opera shows that Schneider strives for an expressive orchestration , but falls short of the colors of Weber's orchestra. In doing so, tailors succeed in making impressive passages such as B. the four-part trombone choir of the 'Ewigkeitsmotiv' or the solo singing with choir of mothers and children (No. 23), which is accompanied by three cellos, flute and bassoon. The harmony of the Last Judgment is also - typical of the oratorio of the time - much more conservative and still more indebted to classical models than pointing towards Romanticism.

The aria of Satan (No. 4) occupies a special position within the Last Judgment : besides the aria by Raphael, it is the only aria in this oratorio. But she is special in some aspects of her musical conception: Schneider does not write a bravura aria in the Italian style - as is sometimes assumed . The singing voice of Satan has large leaps in intervals, alternating with tone repetitions or smaller intervals , but no noteworthy decorations. With these stylistic devices Schneider makes Satan appear as an impressive figure. In the harmonic and musically formal context, there are further differences compared to the rest of the numbers in the oratorio: Schneider uses a decidedly chromatic harmony, some of which extends far into Romanticism . At the same time, the instrumental prelude consists of a regular set of classical models. This distinguishes it from the otherwise irregular formal design of the remaining numbers, based on combined groups of three and four (see e.g. the overture ). Because of these features, the aria has a clearly exposed place in the musical course of the Last Judgment , which contemporary reviewers have already noted and praised.

The great success with the contemporary audience (and the low success with the authors of the music stories) is mainly due to the fact that Schneider proves to be an extraordinarily skilled psychologically composer: The music of the Last Judgment does not attempt to transform the weight of the text into a work with musical means to supplement that conveys profundity and need for interpretation. Rather, it is aimed directly at impact, at an immediate emotional effect on the audience. In a dramaturgical manner, Schneider controls the audience's feelings. Geck points out that a pathetic, powerful number to be played maestoso is regularly followed by a calm, soulful number ( dolce ); the climaxes of each part of the oratorio form the final fugues.

Intentionally or unintentionally, Schneider awakens the “appearance of the known” (JAP Schulz) in many parts of his composition. Contemporary reviewers do not only mention reminiscences of Handel and Haydn . Rochlitz z. B. refers in his review of the premiere to the description of Satan's aria on Cherubini's early compositional style in his opera Lodoiska . A critic of the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung felt reminded of Spontini , Weber and Beethoven in 1851 .

reception

Schneider's Last Judgment was a success from the start. On April 15, he repeated the performance in the Leipzig University Church. In the same year, the Last Judgment was given in Berlin, Gera, Leipzig, Prague and Quedlinburg (under the direction of Louis Spohr ). In 1821 the Last Judgment was performed as the central work of the fourth Niederrheinischer Musikfest in Cologne. In the same year the oratorio was the focus of the first pre-festival of the Elbmusikfest. Martin Geck has almost 80 performances by 1840 . Schneider conducted many performances himself. In view of the number of reviews in the press, it can be assumed that in the 19th century - and especially in its first half - the work was one of the most frequently performed oratorios for a long time, initially only surpassed by the classics of the oratorio repertoire that had already become established in Schneider's time: Handel's Messiah , Haydn's Creation and Seasons and Graun's death of Jesus . Schneider himself also contributed to the rapid spread, printing a self-financed score just one year after the premiere and having it published by Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipzig. The subscriber directory reads like a who's who of contemporary music life. In addition to numerous leaders of music associations and choirs between Stockholm and Vienna, Amsterdam and Prague, there are a. the names of the composers Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (then 12 years old), Carl Friedrich Zelter , Johann Gottfriedschicht , Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner and Joseph AF Elsner, the co-founder of the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung , Johann Friedrich Rochlitz , and the Swiss music teacher and director of the Allgemeine Zurich Music Society, Hans Georg Nägeli . Shortly after its creation, it reached and influenced two composers, Spohr and Mendelssohn, who were of great importance for the development of the oratorio in the first half of the 19th century.

The Last Judgment corresponded in many ways to the ideas and expectations of its time. German authors saw the oratorio as the most important genre in defining national vocal music, the tradition of which they traced back to Bach and Handel . Particularly during the time of the Restoration , the choir and especially the oratorio were ascribed an identity-creating effect. In the first half of the 19th century, numerous mixed choirs developed in search of a representative repertoire. In addition, there were numerous music festivals , each of whose programs contained an oratorio as a central work. Schneider succeeded in meeting these needs and ideals exactly with his Last Judgment . He did not focus on virtuoso solo numbers, which many contemporary critics associated with the counter-image of Italian opera, but rather on effective, but nonetheless not overwhelming amateur singers. The critic of the premiere Rochlitz praises, for example, that Schneider composed the fugues in Haydn's and Handel's manner, but that he also used modern stylistic devices, such as B. an expressive instrumentation. Critics repeatedly emphasize the modern tonal language of the Choir of Hell Spirits from Part 1, which is compared several times with Weber's Freischütz .

Early on, however, one also finds criticism in discussions, which initially relates primarily to the libretto . In his review of the world premiere, Rochlitz already hinted at the problems of the textbook, which he certifies as having a "difficult form": The numerous partial choirs, which often embody very opposing characters, are difficult to differentiate because there is no clear individualization. Later reviewers even speak of a "disjointedness". “The reason for the unusual impression that the work evoked was the new direction that the composer was taking. It was a work that, compared to the classical works of Handel and Bach, was more on the surface of religious feeling, and was understood directly and easily. "

Richard Wagner wrote in 1834: “Isn't it an obvious misjudgment of the present when someone is now writing oratorios whose content and form no one believes anymore? Who believes in the lying stiffness of a Schneiderian fugue, precisely because it is now composed by Friedrich Schneider? What seems venerable to us in Bach and Handel because of its truth, must now necessarily become ridiculous to us in Fr. Schneider, because, once again, one does not believe him, since it is by no means his own conviction. We must seize the time and try to develop its new forms properly; and he will be the master who writes neither Italian nor French - but also German. "

The piece was forgotten in the 20th century. In recent years there has been a first recording as well as a modern Urtext edition by Pfefferkorn Musikverlag , which supplements the facsimile edition by Volker Kalisch and Thomas Kohlhase after the first edition in 1821.

The Last Judgment is the image of different areas of tension of its time. Musically it stands between classical and romantic , but the formal clarity and lightness of the classics is disturbed by a very outwardly carried romantic desire for meaning, which still lacks the means of expression that were developed at the same time by Weber for his Freischütz . With his bow to the tradition of Handel and Haydn's oratorios, Schneider contributed to the process of canonizing these works as highlights of German national music, but at the same time exposed himself to the accusation of a lack of independence. In the area of ​​tension between the claim to art and the broad impact, Schneider clearly relied on the latter, so that for this reason too he was not included in music histories. Even in the field of tension between religiosity and secular, political demands, he decided with the libretto Apels for a subject that can hardly be ascribed to timeless importance. The text contains the key slogans of the Vormärz period (“freedom”) in a libretto that is loaded with meaning until it is incomprehensible. When, however, in the twentieth century, with the decline of the choir associations, the maintenance of oratorios was transferred to church choirs occupied by lay people and the oratorio was usually performed again - as in the 18th century - on religious feast days in the church, the Last Judgment with its very secular religiosity lost the Basis of its success. Before that, the founding of the German Empire in 1871 had changed the meaning and the political function of maintaining oratorios and made new, different works necessary. After all, Wagner's operas took over from the oratorio the function of musical works that expressed the nation's cultural self-image.

The musicology of the 20th century described the Last Judgment as "music for use", which was particularly beneficial for the "amateur musicians". An early essay by Martin Geck , in which he subjects the functional mechanisms of the Last Judgment to a critical, sometimes harsh analysis and assumes that it is “trivial”, has shaped the assessment of Schneider's role in the oratorio of the 19th century .

In March 2011 the oratorio was reissued for the first time since it was first printed in 1821, by the Leipziger Pfefferkorn Musikverlag in a source-critical Urtext edition. A performance based on this took place on November 20, 2011 in Greifswald Cathedral St. Nikolai with Martina Rüping (soprano), the Greifswalder Cathedral Choir and the Philharmonic Orchestra Vorpommern under the direction of KMD Prof. Jochen A. Modeß.

literature

  • Gottfried Wilhelm Fink: About cantatas and oratorios in general, in: Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung 37 (12 Sept. 1827), Sp. 625–632 books.google and Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung 38 (19 Sept. 1827), Sp. 641– 649 books.google
  • Martin Geck: Friedrich Schneider's »Last Judgment«. Understanding the trivial in music, in: Studies on the trivial music of the 19th century. Edited by Carl Dahlhaus. Regensburg 1967, pp. 97-109.
  • Dieter Gutknecht , the ducal-Anhaltinian court conductor Dr. Friedrich Schneider (Weltgericht-Schneider - On Forgetting Music) in: Elisabeth Theresia Hilscher (ed.), Austrian Music in Austria: Contributions to the History of Music in Central Europe, Tutzing 1998
  • Helmut Lomnitzer: The musical work of Friedrich Schneider (1786-1853), especially the oratorios. Marburg 1961.
  • Ronald Müller, thoughts on a >> Last Judgment <> dramaturgy, in: Frank Kreißler (ed.), Between Wörlitz and Mosigkau, series of publications on the history of the city of Dessau and the surrounding area (57), lectures on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Friedrich Schneider's death, Dessau 2004.
  • Friedrich Rochlitz: The Last Judgment, in: General musical newspaper No. 11, March 15, 1820, Sp. 173-182 books.google
  • Howard E. Smither: A History of the Oratorio, Volume 4, Chapel Hill 2000, p. 127-137 books.google

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Schneider, Explanation, in: Intellektivenblatt for the general musical newspaper No. 4, March 1826 books.google
  2. ↑ Newspaper for the Elegant World No. 136 of July 15, 1819, Col. 1084 f. books.google .
  3. ↑ Friedrich Schneider, Subscription Advertisement, in: Intelligence sheet for the general musical newspaper No. 4, April 1820 books.google
  4. ↑ Ronald Müller (2004) 96.
  5. ^ Friedrich Rochlitz (1820), 177
  6. ↑ Ronald Müller (2004) 97
  7. ^ Gottfried Wilhelm Fink: About cantatas and oratorios in general. In: Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung 37 (1827), Sp. 628 f.
  8. ↑ Ronald Müller (2004) 98
  9. ↑ Stuttgart in January, in: Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung , Volume 28, No. 9, March 1, 1826, Sp. 147-9 books.google and Friedrich Schneider, explanation (footnote 1).
  10. ↑ Frankfurt, April 22nd [April 1821] in: Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung 23rd year 1821 No. 1 Col. 365-7. Bravourarie Satans Sp. 367 books.google
  11. ↑ a b Friedrich Rochlitz (1820)
  12. ^ Martin Geck (1967) 104
  13. ↑ Otto Lange, Berlin - Musikalische Revue, Neue Berliner Musikzeitung 25 (June 18, 1851) p. 194 f. books.google
  14. ↑ Dieter Gutknecht (1998) 352
  15. ^ Martin Geck: German Oratorios from 1800 to 1840. List of sources and performances. Wilhelmshaven 1927, 29.
  16. ^ Howard Smither (2000) 4
  17. ^ Friedrich Rochlitz (1820), 176.177.180.
  18. ↑ Stuttgart in January (footnote 9)
  19. ↑ a b Otto Lange (footnote 14) 194
  20. ^ Die deutsche Oper , in: Zeitung für die Elegant Welt No. 111 of June 10, 1834; here after Carl Friedrich Glasenapp : The life of Richard Wagner in 6 books. Volume 1 , Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1905, p. 203 http://www.zeno.org/nid/20007750315
  21. ↑ Friedrich Schneider: Das Weltgericht - facsimile of the original print together with a critical report. After preliminary work by Helmut Lomnitzer, edited by Volker Kalisch and Thomas Kohlhase, Munich 1981.
  22. ↑ Dieter Gutknecht (1998) 357
  23. ^ Martin Geck (1967) 109
  24. ↑ Score on the publisher's homepage ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pfefferkorn-verlag.com