3rd Symphony (Honegger)

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The symphony No. 3 H186 by the Swiss composer Arthur Honegger , also known under the title Symphonie liturgique , is a programmatic symphony composed in 1945/1946 with the sentence headings Dies Irae, De profundis clamavi and Dona nobis pacem.

Instrumentation and sentence names

Piccolo , 2 flutes , 2 oboes , English horn , 2 clarinets , bass clarinet , 2 bassoons , contrabassoon  - 4 horns , 3 trumpets , 3 trombones , tuba  - timpani , cymbals , bass drum , snare drum , tam-tam  - piano  - 1st and 2nd Violins , violas , cellos and double basses .

  1. 'Dies Irae' - Allegro marcato
  2. 'De profundis clamavi' - Adagio
  3. 'Dona nobis pacem' - Andante

music

The first movement is entitled Dies Irae, part of the sequence of the Holy Roman Mass , in German Day of Wrath . Honegger creates a sonorous vision of the Last Judgment . In the second movement, entitled De profundis clamavi, in German from the depths I cried , Honegger achieves new sounds through unusual instrumentation and modes of expression. Honegger based the chorale on Psalm 129 as one of the longest movements in his symphonies . The third movement, Dona nobis pacem, in German give us peace , turns into an adagio at the end, which symbolizes the end of the war. The piccolo and a violin solo conclude the symphony.

The performance lasts about 28 minutes.

Quote from Honegger

“My symphony is a drama that three people - real or symbolic - play: unhappiness, happiness and man. It's an eternal problem. I tried to renew it [...]. "

- Arthur Honegger : 1945.

Dedication and premiere

Charles Münch , the dedicatee, directed the premiere on August 17, 1946 in Zurich .

literature

  • Attila Csampai / Dietmar Holland (ed.): The concert guide. Orchestral music from 1700 to the present. 1st edition. Rowohlt Verlag, Hamburg 1987. ISBN 3-8052-0450-7 .
  • Klaus Schweizer: Reclam's concert guide. Orchestral music. 18th edition. Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH & Co., Stuttgart, 1998, 2006. ISBN 978-3-15-010602-0 .
  • Malcolm MacDonald (translation by Eckhart van den Hoogen): Honegger. Symphonies 1-5. EMI France 1979.

Web links