Altenberg Lieder
The Five Orchestral Songs (German: Fünf Orchesterlieder, nach Ansichtkarten-Texten von Peter Altenberg), Op. 4, for medium voice and orchestra, were composed by Alban Berg in 1911/12. Numbers 2 and 3 were premiered under the baton of Berg's teacher Arnold Schoenberg at the Vienna Musikverein on 31 March 1913,[1] known as the Skandalkonzert for the riot that erupted during Berg's songs. The texts are taken from picture-postcard texts (Ansichtskarten-Texten) by the contemporary Viennese poet Peter Altenberg (hence the more commonly used title Altenberg Lieder). The texts deal with the stormy but beautiful condition of the soul, and the palpable sensations of love and longing. Berg's setting is for a huge orchestra. The music is full of displaced ostinati and the conflicted, lyrical passion found in much of Berg's works.
Structure
The five songs are:[2]
- Seele, wie bist du schöner (Soul, how much more beautiful are you)
- Sahst du nach dem Gewitterregen den Wald? (Did you see the forest after the rainstorm?)
- Über die Grenzen des Alls (Beyond the boundaries of the universe)
- Nichts ist gekommen (Nothing has come)
- Hier ist Friede (Here is peace)
Instrumentation
The work is scored for medium voice (mezzo-soprano) and:[2]
- 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling English horn), 3 clarinets in B flat (3rd doubling clarinet in E flat), bass clarinet in B flat, 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon);
- 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in F, 4 trombones (1st doubling alto trombone), tuba (doubling contrabass tuba);
- timpani, percussion (3 players playing triangle, cymbals, tam-tam, side drum and bass drum), xylophone, glockenspiel, harp, celesta, piano, harmonium;
- strings: violins I and II, violas, violoncellos, double basses.
References
External links
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