Genesis Suite

The Genesis Suite (1945 ) is a joint composition in seven movements to recitations from the Urgeschichten the Bible ( Genesis 1 1-11). It was created on the initiative of the U.S. musician and composer Nathaniel Shilkret with the assistance of Arnold Schoenberg, Alexandre Tansman, Darius Milhaud, Mario Castelnuovo- Tedesco, Ernst Toch and Igor Stravinsky.

Overview

Formation

Nathaniel Shilkrets goal was the composition and recording of a Bible album because he hoped for high sales figures on the combination of Bible recitation and catchy music. The occupation of the inner movements was already established in February 1944, with Stravinsky was Shilkret at this time in negotiations, and for the input sentence, he made ​​contact with Béla Bartók. For Bartók jumped in September 1945, Schoenberg, so that the suite could come in November 1945 premiere.

For the composition further sets Shilkret had composers such as Paul Hindemith, Manuel de Falla and Richard Strauss in view, but the Genesis Suite was not a sequel.

Performances and recordings

The first performance of the Genesis Suite was on 18 November 1945 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre Los Angeles by the Janssen Symphony Orchestra conducted by Werner Janssen instead. She was admitted to the same cast and appeared in 1946 with recitations by Edward Arnold in Artist Records. Janssen conducted in 1947 further performances in Salt Lake City and Portland / Oregon. , The same year the recording from the radio station KFAC Los Angeles aired.

1951, the remaining copies to the first inventory were pulped and a remix with recitations by Ted Osborne was released by Capital Records. Remastered appeared this edition 2001 Angel Records / EMI.

The performance material of Genesis Suite was ( with the exception of the separately published posts by Schoenberg and Stravinsky ) since a fire in 1973 Shilkrets house as lost. A reconstruction of the 1998 retrieved score excerpts worried Patrick Russ commissioned by the Milken Archive of Jewish Music, and so Gerard Schwarz was able to record the 2000 restored version with the Ernst Senff Choir and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. She appeared with recitations by Barbara Feldon, Tovah Feldshuh, David Margulies, Isaiah Sheffer and Fritz Weaver 2004 Milken Archive / Naxos. Black saw the end of May 2008, for the first public performance of the reconstructed version in Seattle.

Effect

The Genesis Suite is a pastiche of different personal styles - from scores in Hollywood sound ( Shilkret, Castelnuovo- Tedesco ) to the avant-garde music ( Schoenberg, Stravinsky ) and by no means a uniform designed factory. Was likewise divided, the reaction of the audience.

Schoenberg's Prelude was even considered Shilkret as incomprehensible. To his wife he wrote after the premiere: " ... even you with all your experience will think you did the cat is just jumping all over the piano ... ". Another sore point was the "open circuit" of Stravinsky's Babel. From Arnold Schoenberg the snappy comment has been handed down: " it did not end, it just stopped. " But this may be a reflection of the rivalry of the composers - Shilkret any case was concerned not to let them meet in the samples as possible.

So Shilkret and Janssen decided to put the contribution of Schoenberg on the initial reception as Postlude the end. In the new edition, 1951, he came to the first place again, but received the (not derived from Schoenberg and factually completely incorrect ) Subtitles Earth what without DOCUMENT For Toch The Covenant has now been moved to the end, to end the suite conciliatory. The inclusion of the reconstructed version of 2004 brings the original order for the first time.

Especially in their variegation the Genesis suite is but a unique historical document of emigrants company in California's exile in the 1940s, Alexandre Tansman the downright designated as " Weimar contemporain ".

Literature and links

  • Paul W. Schwendenerstrasse: Program note. Genesis Suite. In: CD booklet Naxos 8.559442, p 3-9
  • Rob Barnett: review of the Naxos recording on musicweb -international.com
  • Bertram Minor: A.Schönberg, N.Shilket inter alia: " Genesis ". Suite ( 1945). bibliophon.de
  • Milkenarchive.org homepage of the Milken Archives:
Edward Arnold (actor) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (East Berlin) Pasticcio
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