Paradise and the Peri
Paradise and the Peri ( Op. 50) is a secular oratorio by Robert Schumann. It was built from February to June in 1843 and arrived on December 4, 1843 in Leipzig for the premiere.
Scoring and structure
Soloists ( soprano, mezzo- soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass), solo quartet of a rotating cast of the solos, three to six voices mixed chorus and orchestra. Three-piece construction with a total of 26 numbers. Duration about 90 minutes. The solo voices are doing both the roles selectively occurring used (Engel, youth, maiden, man, tyrant Ghazna and of course occurring in 9 numbers Peri ) and ( with the exception of soprano and bass) for the task of Testo ( narrator ) which traditionally is only with the tenor. Also, 5 of the 12 choirs are role- bound ( Choir of the Indians, the conqueror, the angel who Nilgenien, the houris ), whereby the cast of the usual SATB- division differs, eg Peculiar T B1 B2 or angel S1 S2 A1 A2. Assumed this conception, of voices and not roles ( characters ), gives the work a novel, highly epic and in the mood images (eg number 6 or 18) lyrical tendency at the expense of the dramatic (see below " seal " instead " oratorio " ), which is echoed in the action and conflict poverty. The orchestra consists of 2 flutes and piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones ( alto, tenor, bass), 1 Ophicleide, timpani, triangle, bass drum, harp and strings.
Libretto
The libretto of the oratorio was to the Orient epic Lalla Rookh (1817 ) by Thomas Moore of Emil Flechsig and translated and edited the composer. Schumann might have already known the story Moore as a child, because in 1822 a German translation was published by his father. After excitation by Schumann's friend Flechsig the oratorio text was written in 1841 and was completed on January 6, 1842. Schumann called the work at first " seal " and not oratory in order to emphasize the novelty of the compositional system.
Action
The Peri ( Persian for fairy, elf, the word is etymologically related to the English fairy ), child of a fallen angel and a mortal, tries to gain access to the paradise from which she was excluded because of their impure origin. Her first two offerings - the last drop of blood of a brave young freedom fighter against a tyrant and the last sigh of a dying in the arms of her carried off by the plague beloved Virgin - are not recognized by the heavenly guardians (angels). Only with the tears of a repentant criminal at the sight of a praying boy, who reminds him of the innocence of their childhood, the Peri finally achieved their goal.
Reception history
The text may have Schumann's contemporaries addressed mainly through the romantic and oriental appeal and by the idea of individual salvation. The premiere was a major success for Schumann; to 1855, the work was fifty performances.
Through a reinterpretation and change the text and the individual numbers the work in 1914 was described as " music for the funeral of our heroes droves " abused ( " blood of a brave, young warrior ' ). Also in this sense, it was a due to a call to the Reich Music Chamber of Max Gebhard revised version, which offset the theme of repentance at the beginning and the sacrificial death in order to achieve a heroic action at the end, 1943 under the direction of Kurt Barth listed the official celebrations in Schumann Schumann's birthplace Zwickau and reinterpreted politically by accompanying lectures. After decades hardly played, the oratorio today again more often and by leading conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt ( among others Vienna, March 2008 ), Simon Rattle (Berlin, February 2009, Vienna, October 2012) and John Eliot Gardiner (Leipzig, February, 2014) listed.
On the occasion of the 8th Robert Schumann Festival 2004 realized the dancer and choreographer Gregor Seyffert and the artist Gottfried Helnwein a multimedia implementation of the Oratory. The Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero was another employee. These were a scenic realization, were involved in both the choir of the Urban Music Association Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra, dancers, actors and acrobats. The concert hall had been changed by a large installation space such that have been created in addition to a 16 -meter-wide video screen and a light architecture, play areas on several levels. The choreographic performance ranged from the " earth " and " heaven ", which was symbolized by an illuminated ring that was installed in the dome of the hall. The premiere took place at the Düsseldorf Tonhalle on 9 July 2004 instead, Gregor Seyffert danced the part of Peri, conductor was John Fiore.