From a German soul

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Von deutscher Seele (Op. 28) is a romantic cantata based on texts by Joseph von Eichendorff for four solos, mixed choir, orchestra and organ by Hans Pfitzner . The premiere took place on January 27, 1922 in Berlin.

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Part I. Man and nature

"It probably works differently than you think"

Spruch 1 from Wandersprüche - Solo Quartet

  It probably works differently than you think:
  While you seem red and happy, Spring
  and sunshine have evaporated,
  The dear region has gone black;
  And no sooner have you
  cried, everything is laughing again, the sun is shining,
  it probably works differently than you think.

"What do you want on this station?"

Spruch 3 from Wandersprüche - Solo: Tenor

  What do you want to
  settle so broadly on this station ?
  How soon the postilion won't blow,
  you have to leave everything.

"Death as a Postillon"

orchestra

"What do you want on this station?"

Spruch 3 from Wandersprüche - bass, alto, soprano solo, choir

  What do you want to
  settle so broadly on this station ?
  How soon the postilion won't blow,
  you have to leave everything.

"Heart, in your sunny days"

Spruch 2 from Wandersprüche - tenor solo, solo quartet, choir

  Heart, in your sunny
  days do not hold back barren!
  Everywhere happy fellows meet
  the happy and his happiness.

  If the star sinks: wander alone
  Do you like to the end of the world? Do
  n't you rely on anyone
  but God, who is faithful.

"The storm is noisy around the house"

Spruch 5 from Wandersprüche - Solo Quartet

  The storm is noisy around the house,
  I'm not a fool and go out,
  But
  if I'm outside, I want to romp with him.

"Evening night"

Instrumental interludes - orchestra

"The lark greets the first ray"

Spruch 4 from Wandersprüche - soprano solo, solo quartet, choir

  The lark greets the first ray,
  That it ignites her breast,
  When sluggish night still creeps
  through the deep grounds everywhere .

  And you want,
  child of man, to succumb to time despairingly?
  What is your little earthly suffering?
  You have to skim it!

“When the rooster crows on the roof” song from Wanderlieder - solo quartet, choir

  When the rooster crows on the roof,
  the moon wipes out the lamp,
  And the stars leave the watch,
  God protect land and house!

"Eternally cheerful game of waves"

Spruch 6 from Wandersprüche - Alto Solo, Solo Quartet

  Eternally lively play of the waves!
  You have already lied to many,
  some never return.
  And yet the pounding of the waves wakes up
  again and again a fresh car,
  wrong and funny like luck.

"The wanderer, far from home"

Spruch 7 from Wandersprüche - bass and tenor solo

  The wanderer, far from home,
  When the ground is silent all around,
  The boatman in the loneliness of the sea,
  When the stars rise from the
  tide : The two shudder and read
  In a quiet night,
  What they had not thought,
  When it was still a happy day.

"Because now everything is quiet"

"Nachtgruß" from Spiritual Poems - Solo Quartet and Choir

  Because now everything is quiet
  and all people are asleep,
  my soul welcomes the eternal light,
  rests like a ship in the harbor.

  The false industry, the vanity,
  What no one can acquire,
  In which the day disperses the heart,
  Everything lies deeply buried.

  Another king, wonderfully rich,
  with royal senses, marvelously enters
  the silent kingdom,
  climbs the eternal battlements.

Part II. Life and Singing

Instrumental prelude

orchestra

"We have been hiking for hundreds of years now"

“Working day” from Sacred Chants - Choir

  We have been wandering for hundreds of years now.
  And yet we do not come to the point.
  The current surely rushes to a thousand
  and yet it does not come to the source.

"What I wanted is shattered"

“Der Umkehrende” from Spiritual Poems - Tenor Solo

  What I wanted is shattered,
  Lord, I'll leave the complaining,
  And the heart is still.
  But now give
  me strength to bear what I don't want

"Surrender"

Instrumental interlude - orchestra

"He chases there"

“Consolation” from Spiritual Poems - Choir

  He rushes to make the horses puff,
  He must run away in the dust;
  But the night catches up with both of them,
  Put the one next to the horse in the dream
  and the other in his coach.
  Who drives happier now?
  Who is watching or the stowaway at night?

"Same as on a dark ground"

Say 2 from singer life - bass solo

  As on a dark ground the bow of
  peace blooms,
  So through the evil hour
  the song goes reconciling.

The song part

"Imperial crown and peonies red"

"The old garden" from romances - soprano solo

  Imperial crown and red peonies,
  They must be enchanted,
  For father and mother have long been dead,
  What are they blooming here so alone?

  The fountain chats on
  from the old beautiful days,
  A woman sits there asleep,
  her curls covering her dress.

  She has a lute in her hand,
  As if she was speaking in her sleep,
  I feel as if I had known her otherwise.
  Quiet, go by and don't wake her!

  And when it
  gets dark along the valley, she gently brushes the strings,
  There's a wonderful sound
  through the garden all night.

"Of all good wings"

Spruch 1 from the singer life - choir

  Of all good wings,
  To break through time,
  The mightiest in the wrestling,
  That is a real sorrow.

"Since the world has come to rest"

"The nun and the knight" from romances - alto and tenor solo, choir

  Since the world has come to rest,
  my desire watches with stars;
  In the cool I have to listen,
  How the waves rustle below.

  “Far away the waves carry me that
  hit the land so sadly.   Do you still know the knight
  under your window grille,
lady? ”

  It is as if strange voices are
  swimming through the mild air;
  Again the wind took it,
  oh, my heart is so uneasy!

  "Over there lies your castle in ruins,
  mourning in the desolate halls.
  For the reason the forest greeted me, it
  was as if I was going to die."

  Old sounds pace blooming!
  As if from long sunken times,
  I still want melancholy to shine,
  And I want to cry from my heart.

  “There is lightning from afar over the forest,
  Where they fight for Christ's grave;
  That is where I want to turn my ship
  , everything will end there! ”

  A ship goes, a man stood inside,
  false night, confused the senses,
  world, goodbye! God want to keep those who
  still go astray in the dark.

"Probably out of sheer senses, singing"

Intermezzo from the singer's life - choir, soprano solo

  Probably out of sheer senses, singing
  Let's not really come to life;
  Without real life again
  Singing must come to an end;
  When the singing came to an end, may
  we no longer live either.

"Do you have wings"

Spruch 3 from the singer's life - soprano solo

  Do you have wings
  ? And the powerful word;
  Hold yourself high above life,
  otherwise it will go away above you.

"Fall asleep, my darling, fall asleep"

"The Messenger of Peace" from Zeitlieder - bass solo

  Fall   asleep, my darling, fall asleep, quietly
  through the flowers on the lattice,
the leaves rustle,
  the springs rustle in;
  Lowered on the snow-white arm, go to
  sleep, my darling, go to sleep,
  how you breathe sweetly and warmly!

  We come home from the war;
  In a stormy night and rain,
  When I lay in wait,
  How I thought your there!
  God stood by us in
  times of need, Now up there by the moonlight,
  sleep peacefully, the land is free!

Closing song: "When the waves are raging below"

“Schiffers Wort” from Sacred Poems - Choir and Solo Quartet

  When the waves rage below,
  human
  wit is disgraced , With fiery features above, the wave
  shepherd points you home.
  You shouldn't ask about anyone else, do
  n't look back at the country, take
  the wheel, let go!
  God's hand has rolled up
  these waves to sail
  and the stars to keep you safe .

layout

Despite the title, the main focus of the cantata is not on the national, but on the various moods such as thoughts of death ("evening and night"), nocturnal magic ("evening and night") or renunciation ("surrender").

Similar to Gustav Mahler , who integrated folk songs from the Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection into his symphonies , Pfitzner combined symphonic elements and the cantata form in Von deutscher Seele . The instrumental interludes are reminiscent of the “night pieces” of Mahler's 7th Symphony and at the same time of Claude Debussy's Nocturnes . In terms of sound, the end of the first stanza of “Der Friedensbote” reminds Mahler with an “emphatic melody line with sentimental harmonization and solo violin”.

Johann Peter Vogel pointed out formal parallels between the two parts of the work, which apart from the concluding song each contain ten sections with parallel harmonic development. Both parts begin in a minor and end in the major key that is a major third lower (D minor → B major or E minor → C major). The two second numbers each contain a large instrumental interlude (“Tod als Postillon” or “Ergebung”). After the fourth section, there is a change of theme ("evening and night" or "song part").

Part I. Humans and nature
1. “It probably works differently” in

  D minor
2. “What do you want on this station”
  orchestral interlude “Tod als Postillon” in
  F minor
3. “Heart, in your sunny days”
  A major
4. “The storm goes noisily around the house” in
  B flat minor
  
  (daily run)
5. Orchestra interlude
  “Evening and Night”
  B flat minor / B flat major
6. “The lark greets the first ray”
  A minor
7. “When the rooster crows on the roof “
  D, Es, As, E
8.“ Eternally lively play of the waves ”
  G major
9.“ The wanderer, far from home ”
  B minor
10.“ Because everything is still now ”
  B major

Part II. Living and singing
1. “We have been wandering for hundreds of years now”
  with orchestral prelude in
  E minor
2. “What I wanted is smashed”
  with orchestral aftermath “Surrender”
  in E flat minor / E flat major
3. “He's chasing away “
  D major
4.“ Same as on dark ground ”
  G major
  
song part
5.“ The old garden ”in

  G sharp minor
6.“ From all good wings ”
    B, A
7.“ The nun and the knight ”in
  A minor
8. “Probably because of the senses, singing” in
  G major
9. “Do you have wings?” Eb
  , D flat , c
10. “The Messenger of Peace” in
  C minor / C major

11. Closing song “When the waves are raging below” in
  D major

occupation

The orchestra needs the following instruments:

Work history

Pfitzner composed his cantata Von deutscher Seele in 1921 as a reaction to the lost First World War . The premiere took place on January 27, 1922 in Berlin. Selmar Meyrowitz was the musical director . It sang Berta Kiurina (soprano), Maria Olszewska (Alt), Albert Fischer (baritone), and Fritz Krauss (tenor).

According to Pfitzner's own statement, he chose the title without any political intentions from “purely artistic and generally logical points of view”. Concern of his publisher Fürstner that he could be interpreted as aggressive abroad, he rejected. He believed “that it only makes a good impression in any foreign country if you don't notice the fearful endeavor to be submissive and self-denying in Germans.” Other possible titles were Einkehr after a suggestion by the conductor Bruno Walter or Eichendorffiana . However, Pfitzner wanted to avoid the impression that the work was merely a homage or a disorganized collection. He finally got the inspiration for the final title from a work by his friend Ludwig Jacobowski , who died in 1900 and who shortly before his death published a collection of German folk songs under the title From German Soul . Pfitzner changed this title only slightly. Eichendorff's poems are indeed about the German soul, but this does not speak from them as from the folk songs. In the program booklet for the premiere, Pfitzner stated: "I chose it because I could not find a better and more comprehensive expression for what speaks in these poems of the pensive, the arrogant, the deepest, the tender, the powerful and the heroic of the German soul."

Pfitzner had a fondness for Eichendorff's poems. He used it for a total of 19 piano songs and one orchestral song ("Klage"). His cantata has no spiritual or festive character, but consists of a collection of sayings, poems and romantic songs by Joseph von Eichendorff . At first, Pfitzner just wanted to put together some of the sayings. However, since these turned out to be too short for a closed form, he combined them into blocks and combined them with free instrumental transitions. The originally planned piano part became a large orchestral score. There is no dramatic plot. According to his own statement, the work is “a series of colorful magical images, connected by a ribbon”. Pfitzner rearranged Eichendorff's sayings for his own compositional needs, occasionally dividing them up and also integrating longer poems. The “song part” at the end should also “offer the solo singers their arias [...]”. However, apart from minor error corrections, he did not change the texts themselves. On the contrary, he assured that he had not arbitrarily changed any syllable of a poem he had set to music.

Pfitzner's friend and biographer Walter Abendroth wrote about the work:

“The whole, complete Pfitzner is contained in this work: the popular and the lonely, spiritualized, the childlike and the philosophical, the worldly and cheerful (albeit always inward) and the otherworldly, remote from the world, the deepest and the playful, the brooding and the humorous, the amiable and the overwhelmingly great, the fantastic and the demonic; the lieder singer and the symphonic composer, the romantically lively melodist and the strict Gothic counterpoint, the master of horizontal and vertical movement, the harmonics who have ventured far into new territory, the thrifty and extravagant instrumentator, the musician of drawing and color. [...] One can say that if all the other works of the master were lost, his entire spiritual and artistic personality would live on in this one. "

- Walter Abendroth

The work quickly found its way into concert halls and also enjoyed international success. So she played Artur Bodanzky in October 1923 in New York. Compared to most of Pfitzner's other works, it has been performed quite frequently in recent times.

A performance by Ingo Metzmacher on October 3, 2007 on the occasion of the Day of German Unity sparked controversy . He was sharply criticized for this by Dieter Graumann , the then Vice-President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany . Metzmacher replied that Pfitzner's cantata Von deutscher Seele had already been written in 1921, that it “perhaps also reflected the inner turmoil and contradictions that Hans Pfitzner had and that perhaps also led to his misconduct.” A look at Pfitzner's music will be "Unbelievably disfigured" by the composer's utterances. He himself did not perform Pfitzner for years, “because I found it unbearable that someone should say something like that”. The criticism of the Central Council of Jews hit him, said Metzmacher. He has already written a letter to the Central Council and is looking for a conversation.

Recordings

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e f Johann Peter Vogel: Hans Pfitzner: Life, Works, Documents. Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-254-00239-3 .
  2. ↑ a b Habakuk Traber: "From a German soul". In: Program of the performance in the Berlin Philharmonic 2007.
  3. ↑ Program of the performance in the Berlin Philharmonic 2007 (PDF) , accessed on June 15, 2017.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Sabine Busch: From "German souls" and late romantics. In: Program of the performance in the Audimax of the Ruhr University Bochum on January 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Oswald Beaujean: January 27, 1922. The first performance of the cantata “Von deutscher Seele” . Audio contribution from January 27, 2016 on BR-Klassik .
  6. ^ Armin A. Wallas: Journals and anthologies of Expressionism in Austria: Analytical Bibliography and Register. Walter de Gruyter, 1995, p. 340 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  7. ↑ Quoted from the program of the performance in the Audimax of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum on January 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ I am a German soul. Interview with Ingo Metzmacher in der Zeit , accessed on January 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ Irritating choice: "From a German soul". Comment on hagalil.com , accessed January 24, 2015.
  10. ↑ Metzmacher: "Didn't want to offend anyone". Report from October 4, 2007 on Deutschlandradio , accessed on January 24, 2015.
  11. ^ Pfitzner: From German soul - Clemens Krauss at Allmusic (English). Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. ^ Hans Pfitzner: Urworte Orphisch; Of German soul; The dark realm - Eugen Jochum at Allmusic (English). Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  13. ↑ Pfitzner: Cantata “Von Deutscher Seele” op. 28 on andreas-praefcke.de, accessed on June 16, 2017.
  14. ↑ Pfitzner: From German soul; Schoeck: Buried Alive - Joseph Keilberth at Allmusic (English). Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  15. ↑ Rudolf Grossmaier: Otto Wiener: The unforgettable Hans Sachs. BoD 2004, p. 199 ( limited preview in the Google book search)
  16. ↑ Hans Pfitzner: From German soul - Heinrich Hollreiser at Allmusic (English). Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  17. ↑ Hans Pfitzner: Von Deutscher Seele - Martin Sieghart at Allmusic (English). Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  18. ↑ Hans Pfitzner: Of German Soul - Ingo Metzmacher, Berlin Radio Chorus, German Symphony Orchestra Berlin with Allmusic (English). Retrieved June 16, 2017.