The atonal music of arnold schoenberg, 19081923 by bryan. Texts by the symbolist poets stefan george and albert giraud were set to music by. Stefan schweizers the hanging gardens of babylon archyde. Jun, 2012 t he stefan george songs of the book of the hanging gardens and the precocious settings of peter altenbergs pithy texts, which berg composed under the influence of schoenbergs first atonal. Arnold schoenberg, stefan george the book of the hanging. In the biblical sense, eden refers to a paradise, a garden of bliss. His father, also stefan george, was an inn keeper and wine merchant and his mother eva nee schmitt was a homemaker. Nevertheless, many theories persisted regarding the structure and location of the gardens. Hanging gardens of babylon, ancient gardens considered one of the seven wonders of the world and thought to have been located near the royal palace in babylon.
Steve roden speak no more about the leaves 2003, cd discogs. Schoenberg set texts by stefan george in a style he called pantonality, and described his composition as radically new. Schoenberg s the book of hanging gardens is an atonal song cycle based on poems by stefan george that obsessively dissect a love affair in 15 feverish, labile verses. The transformation of schoenbergs style from 1899 to 1909 was rapid and dramatic. The work was premiered in vienna by the austrian singer martha winternitzdorda and the pianist etta werndorf, on january 14, 1910. The book of the hanging gardens the liedernet archive. Jan 24, 2019 arnold schoenbergs book of the hanging gardens transports us to the passionate and aristocratic world of poet stefan georges hanging gardens collection, where as love fades away so does. The book of the hanging gardens and other songs for voice.
Georges poems, also under the same title, track the failed love affair of. Als wir hinter dem beblumten tore christian gerhaher arnold schoenberg gerold huber ferne. Arnold schoenbergs book of the hanging gardens transports us to the passionate and aristocratic world of poet stefan george s hanging gardens collection, where. The book of the hanging gardens and other songs for. The book of the hanging gardens ensemble 2004 arnold schoenberg, stefan george twentieth century classics ensemble fred sherry string quartet robert craft jennifer lane christopher oldfather. Candles came to light the shrubbery, white forms to part the water. Books of eclogues and eulogies, of legends and lays, and of the hanging.
Feedback about the book of the hanging gardens, bbc radio 3, 15. As if to sum up the decades premonitory angst, the program concluded with 15 poems from the book of the hanging gardens, schoenbergs. The book of hanging gardens, which premiered in 1910, was schoenbergs first decisive foray into atonality not serialism, as the program notes erroneously claim. Songs by haydn and beethoven will provide some cushioning for a program featuring two expressionist song cycles long associated with female singers. Steve roden speak no more about the leaves 2003, cd. Georges poems, also under the same title, track the failed love affair of two adolescent youths in a garden, ending with the womans departure and the. As settings of texts by stefan george, these songs illustrate the large framework i call basic image. At the beginning of the process is verklarte nacht, a tone poem for string sextet, which ends in glistening d major p. Beneath the shelter of a dense background of leaves where delicate flakes of stars drift down, soft voices proclaim their sorrows, from their brown maws mythical beasts spew beams of water into the marble basins, from which little brooks hurry forth lamentingly. Jan 31, 1990 as if to sum up the decades premonitory angst, the program concluded with 15 poems from the book of the hanging gardens, schoenbergs unremittingly gloomy settings of stefan george s texts. George was born in 1868 in budesheim now part of bitburgprum in the grand duchy of hesse now part of rhinelandpalatinate.
Track one uses my voice readingsinging part of the text as the only sound material. The opening pairing perfectly illustrates the focus of the album. The book of the hanging gardens and other songs for voice and. Expressionist masterworks take manhattan the new yorker. The book of the hanging gardens and other songs for voice and piano. Schoenbergs the book of the hanging gardens and ivess the unanswered question. Linda hirst mezzo oliver davies piano contributors. Into the hanging gardens a pianists exploration of arnold. Arnold schoenberg, with atanley appelbaum translator.
The book of the hanging gardens bbc radio 3 27 july. Under the protection of dense clusters of leaves where delicate. This book is as much argument as history, of the authors theory that the hanging garden of babylon was not built by nebuchadnezzar in babylon where it has never been found but by sennacherib in nineveh, where likely remains exist. Complete summary of stefan george s the poetry of stefan george. Just two years earlier, schoenberg discovered his wife gertrudes affair with richard gerstl, an eminent painter and family friend. Essays and criticism on stefan george critical essays. Her conclusions did not help much with my research about the ancient city of babylon, but did open my eyes to the assyrian king sennecheribs queen, garden, and palace in nineveh. The book of the hanging gardens is a song setting of expressionistic poems by stefan george, and is the classic tale of boy meets girl in a garden, girl symbolizes garden, girl leaves garden and garden disintegrates. The book of the hanging gardens is a fifteen part song cycle composed by arnold schoenberg between 1908 and 1909, setting poems of stefan george. All 3 works were inspired by arnold schonbergs the book of the hanging gardens and in particular the poems by stefan george that schonberg used as lyrics. Nov 12, 2015 schoenbergs the book of hanging gardens is an atonal song cycle based on poems by stefan george that obsessively dissect a love affair in 15 feverish, labile verses.
The book of the hanging gardens bbc radio 3 27 july 1990. Following the typical gritty, dark edinburgh that ian rankin gives readers in previous books in the series, this one sees rebus digging himself deeper and deeper into trouble. Arnold schonberg set georges poetry in such works as his string quartet no. If you want to plant something but dont have enough space for that, there are some creative spacesaving gardening solutions like vertical planters or hanging gardens. Thus, in the book of the hanging gardens, each one of these selfcontained songs may be heard as its own distilled thought or mood, even a fleeting moment, and exemplifies one of schonbergs hallmark traits as a composer his distinctive sensibility for aphoristic expression. Schoenberg, modernism, and metaphysics chapter 8 the. Its fifteen songs settings of poems by stefan george follow the story of an affair between two youths in a garden. The cambridge companion to schoenberg edited by jennifer shaw may 2010.
The complete music recorded under the direction of robert craft. George s collection of poetry, the books of eclogues and eulogies, of legends and lays, and the hanging gardens, first appeared in 1895. The resurgence of vertical gardens this is the essential guide to vertical gardens. Arnold schoenberg pierrot lunairethe book of the hanging gardens used drive. By the beginning of the 21st century, the site of the hanging gardens had not yet been conclusively established. Georges poems, also under the same title, track the failed love affair of two adolescent youths in a garden, ending with the womans departure and. Where they came from, why they are necessary, what type of vertical gardens are there, where they can be used and how you can create your very own vertical garden to improve the environment, protect biodiversity.
I bought the book hoping to find out more about the hanging garden of babylon, because i was researching the subject for a book i was writing. Eva resch soprano, eric schneider piano eden genuin. Pianist jacob greenberg, a longtime member of the international contemporary ensemble, explores the intersections between debussy and the second viennese school in his latest album, the sprawling, twodisc hanging gardens, released on july 20 on the new focus recordings label. Schoenbergs the book of hanging gardens is an atonal song cycle based on poems by stefan george that obsessively dissect a love affair. T he stefan george songs of the book of the hanging gardens and the precocious settings of peter altenbergs pithy texts, which berg composed. Discover whats missing in your discography and shop for lyrichord releases. Book of hanging gardens, sung by christian gerhaher.
The hanging garden is a bit of a noholdsbarred police procedural. As frank maiersolgk writes, who contributed the last chapter of the book on the transitions to contemporary hortitecture, this is one of the examples in which the idea of a new pastoral urbanity has replaced the old idea of the exclusive wonder of the world as a vision. Schoenbergs the book of hanging gardens is an atonal song cycle based on poems by stefan george that obsessively dissect a love affair in 15 feverish, labile verses. The book of the hanging gardens and other songs for voice and piano schoenberg, arnold on. Instrumentation voice, piano external links schoenberg center wikipedia article the lied, art. Stefan anton george 18681933 language german average duration avg. In his book, stefan schweizer made a point of explaining why the hanging gardens could continue to exist as a fantastic place of longing even in the broad field of pop culture and rise to the blueprint of todays hortitecture. The atonal works are distinguished from the composers earlier compositions by their lack of traditional key, among many other innovative features, and stand apart in style and. George s poems, also under the same title, track the failed love affair of two adolescent youths in a garden, ending with the womans departure and the disintegration of the garden.