Carnaval (Schumann)
Encyclopedia
Carnaval, Op. 9, is a work by Robert Schumann
for piano solo, written in 1834-1835, and subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists of a collection of short pieces representing masked revelers at Carnival, a festival before Lent
. Schumann gives musical expression to himself, his friends and colleagues, and characters from improvised Italian comedy (commedia dell’arte).
For Schumann the four notes were encoded puzzles, and he predicted that "deciphering my masked ball will be a real game for you." The 21 pieces are connected by a recurring motif. In each section of Carnaval there appears either or both of two series of musical notes. These are musical cryptogram
s, as follows:
The first two spell the German name for the town of Asch (this is now Aš
in the Czech Republic
), in which Schumann's then fiancée, Ernestine von Fricken, was born as well as representing the German word Fasching or carnival. Asch is also German for "Ash," as in Ash Wednesday
, the first day of Lent. It also encodes a version of the composer's name, Robert Alexander Schumann. The grouping S-C-H-A encodes the composer's name again with the musical letters appearing in Schumann, in their correct order.
Carnaval had its origin in a set of variations on a Sehnsuchtswalzer by Franz Schubert
, whose music Schumann had only discovered in 1827. The catalyst for writing the variations may have been a work for piano and orchestra in the form of variations on the same Schubert theme, by Schumann's close friend Ludwig Schuncke
. Schumann felt that Schuncke's heroic treatment was an inappropriate reflection of the tender nature of the Schubert piece, so he set out to approach his Variations in a more intimate way. He worked on his variations in 1833 and 1834. The work was never completed, however, and Schuncke died in December 1834, but Schumann did re-use the opening 24 measures for the opening of Carnaval. Andreas Boyde has since reconstructed the original set of Variations from Schumann's manuscript.
In Carnaval, Schumann goes further musically than in Papillons
, Op. 2, for in it he himself conceives the story of which it was the musical illustration. Each piece has a title, and the work as a whole is a musical representation of an elaborate and imaginative masked ball during carnival season. Carnaval remains famous for its resplendent chordal passages and its use of rhythmic displacement, and has long been a staple of the pianist's repertoire.
Schumann dedicated the work to the violinist Karol Lipiński
.
Both Schumann and his wife, Clara
, considered his solo piano works too difficult for the general public. Frédéric Chopin
is reported to have said that Carnaval was not music at all. Consequently, the works for solo piano were rarely performed in public during Schumann's lifetime, although Franz Liszt
performed selections from Carnaval in Leipzig in 1840. However, today, despite its immense technical and emotional difficulty, it is one of Schumann's most often performed works.
Heinz Dill has mentioned Schumann's use of musical quotes and codes in this work. Eric Sams has discussed literary allusions in the work, such as to novels of Jean-Paul.
1. Préambule (A-flat; Quasi maestoso)
2. Pierrot (E-flat; Moderato)
3. Arlequin (B-flat; Vivo)
4. Valse noble (B-flat; Un poco maestoso)
5. Eusebius (E-flat; Adagio)
6. Florestan (G minor; Passionato)
7. Coquette (B-flat; Vivo)
8. Réplique (B-flat-G minor; L'istesso tempo)
--. Sphinxes
9. Papillons (B-flat: Prestissimo)
10. A.S.C.H. - S.C.H.A: Lettres Dansantes (E-flat; Presto)
11. Chiarina (C minor; Passionato)
12. Chopin (A-flat; Agitato)
13. Estrella (F minor; Con affetto)
14. Reconnaissance (A-flat; Animato)
15. Pantalon et Colombine (F minor; Presto)
16. Valse allemande (A-flat; Molto vivace)
--. Intermezzo: Paganini (F minor; Presto)
17. Aveu (F minor-A flat; Passionato)
18. Promenade (D-flat; Con moto)
19. Pause (A-flat; Vivo)
20. Marche des "Davidsbündler" contre les Philistins (A-flat; Non allegro)
, with orchestrations by Alexander Glazunov
, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
, Anatoly Lyadov and Alexander Tcherepnin
.
Among others who have orchestrated Carnaval are Maurice Ravel
(1914).
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
for piano solo, written in 1834-1835, and subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists of a collection of short pieces representing masked revelers at Carnival, a festival before Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
. Schumann gives musical expression to himself, his friends and colleagues, and characters from improvised Italian comedy (commedia dell’arte).
For Schumann the four notes were encoded puzzles, and he predicted that "deciphering my masked ball will be a real game for you." The 21 pieces are connected by a recurring motif. In each section of Carnaval there appears either or both of two series of musical notes. These are musical cryptogram
Musical cryptogram
A musical cryptogram is a cryptogrammatic sequence of musical notes, a sequence which can be taken to refer to an extra-musical text by some 'logical' relationship, usually between note names and letters. The most common and best known examples result from composers using ciphered versions of their...
s, as follows:
- A, E-flat, C, B - signified in German as A-S-C-H
- A-flat, C, B - signified in German as As-C-H
- E-flat, C, B, A - signified in German as S-C-H-A.
The first two spell the German name for the town of Asch (this is now Aš
Aš
Aš is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-History:Previously uninhabited hills and swamps, the town of Asch was founded in the early 11th century by German colonists. Slavic settlements in the area are not known. The dialect spoken in the town was that of the Upper Palatinate,...
in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
), in which Schumann's then fiancée, Ernestine von Fricken, was born as well as representing the German word Fasching or carnival. Asch is also German for "Ash," as in Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
, the first day of Lent. It also encodes a version of the composer's name, Robert Alexander Schumann. The grouping S-C-H-A encodes the composer's name again with the musical letters appearing in Schumann, in their correct order.
Carnaval had its origin in a set of variations on a Sehnsuchtswalzer by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
, whose music Schumann had only discovered in 1827. The catalyst for writing the variations may have been a work for piano and orchestra in the form of variations on the same Schubert theme, by Schumann's close friend Ludwig Schuncke
Ludwig Schuncke
Ludwig Schuncke was a German pianist and composer, and close friend of Robert Schumann. His early promise was eclipsed by his death from tuberculosis at the age of 23....
. Schumann felt that Schuncke's heroic treatment was an inappropriate reflection of the tender nature of the Schubert piece, so he set out to approach his Variations in a more intimate way. He worked on his variations in 1833 and 1834. The work was never completed, however, and Schuncke died in December 1834, but Schumann did re-use the opening 24 measures for the opening of Carnaval. Andreas Boyde has since reconstructed the original set of Variations from Schumann's manuscript.
In Carnaval, Schumann goes further musically than in Papillons
Papillons
Papillons, Op. 2, is a suite of piano pieces written in 1831 by Robert Schumann. Meaning 'butterflies', Papillons is meant to represent a masked ball and was inspired by the novel Flegeljahre by Jean Paul....
, Op. 2, for in it he himself conceives the story of which it was the musical illustration. Each piece has a title, and the work as a whole is a musical representation of an elaborate and imaginative masked ball during carnival season. Carnaval remains famous for its resplendent chordal passages and its use of rhythmic displacement, and has long been a staple of the pianist's repertoire.
Schumann dedicated the work to the violinist Karol Lipiński
Karol Lipinski
Karol Józef Lipiński was a Polish virtuoso violinist and composer.-Life:Lipiński was born in Radzyń Podlaski. In 1810 he became the first violin and two years later the conductor of the opera orchestra at Lwów . In 1817 he went to Italy in the hope of hearing Niccolò Paganini...
.
Both Schumann and his wife, Clara
Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era...
, considered his solo piano works too difficult for the general public. Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
is reported to have said that Carnaval was not music at all. Consequently, the works for solo piano were rarely performed in public during Schumann's lifetime, although Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
performed selections from Carnaval in Leipzig in 1840. However, today, despite its immense technical and emotional difficulty, it is one of Schumann's most often performed works.
Heinz Dill has mentioned Schumann's use of musical quotes and codes in this work. Eric Sams has discussed literary allusions in the work, such as to novels of Jean-Paul.
Movements
Although the work has 22 sections, only 20 of them are numbered. Schumann did not number Sphinxes (which comes between the 8th and 9th numbered sections) and Intermezzo: Paganini (between the 16th and 17th).1. Préambule (A-flat; Quasi maestoso)
- The Préambule is one of the few pieces in the set not explicitly organized around the A-S-C-H idea. It was taken from the incomplete Variations on a Theme of SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
(reconstructed in 2000 by Andreas BoydeAndreas Boyde- Biography :Andreas Boyde was born in Oschatz, Saxony.He has appeared in recital as well as soloist with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra,...
). The theme was Schubert's Trauerwalzer, Op. 9/2, D. 365.
2. Pierrot (E-flat; Moderato)
- This is a depiction of PierrotPierrotPierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a hypocorism of Pierre , via the suffix -ot. His character in postmodern popular culture—in...
, a character from the Commedia dell'arteCommedia dell'arteCommedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
, commonly represented in costume at a ball.
3. Arlequin (B-flat; Vivo)
- This is a depiction of HarlequinHarlequinHarlequin or Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French, and Arlequín in Spanish is the most popularly known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte and its descendant, the Harlequinade.-Origins:...
, another character from the Commedia dell'arte.
4. Valse noble (B-flat; Un poco maestoso)
5. Eusebius (E-flat; Adagio)
- Depicting the composer's calm, deliberate side.
6. Florestan (G minor; Passionato)
- Depicting the composer's fiery, impetuous side. Schumann quotesMusical quotationMusical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work , or from a different composer's work ....
the main waltz theme from his earlier work PapillonsPapillonsPapillons, Op. 2, is a suite of piano pieces written in 1831 by Robert Schumann. Meaning 'butterflies', Papillons is meant to represent a masked ball and was inspired by the novel Flegeljahre by Jean Paul....
, Op. 2, in this movement.
7. Coquette (B-flat; Vivo)
- Depicting a flirtatious girl.
8. Réplique (B-flat-G minor; L'istesso tempo)
- A 'reply' to the coquette
--. Sphinxes
- This consists of three sections of one bar each, with no key, tempo or dynamic indications. The notes are in the configurations S-C-H-A, As-C-H and A-S-C-H. It is generally omitted in performance and recording, although Sergei RachmaninoffSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
, Vladimir HorowitzVladimir HorowitzVladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
, Alfred CortotAlfred CortotAlfred Denis Cortot was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. He is one of the most renowned 20th-century classical musicians, especially valued for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann.-Early life and education:Born in Nyon, Vaud, in the...
, and Walter GiesekingWalter GiesekingWalter Wilhelm Gieseking was a French-born German pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Lyon, France, the son of a German doctor and lepidopterist, Gieseking first started playing the piano at the age of four, but without formal instruction...
included it in their recordings.
9. Papillons (B-flat: Prestissimo)
- This piece is unrelated to his earlier workPapillonsPapillons, Op. 2, is a suite of piano pieces written in 1831 by Robert Schumann. Meaning 'butterflies', Papillons is meant to represent a masked ball and was inspired by the novel Flegeljahre by Jean Paul....
of that name.
10. A.S.C.H. - S.C.H.A: Lettres Dansantes (E-flat; Presto)
- Despite the title, the pattern used is As-C-H.
11. Chiarina (C minor; Passionato)
- A depiction of Clara WieckClara SchumannClara Schumann was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era...
.
12. Chopin (A-flat; Agitato)
- An evocation of his friend Frédéric ChopinFrédéric ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
13. Estrella (F minor; Con affetto)
- Depicting Ernestine von Fricken.
14. Reconnaissance (A-flat; Animato)
- Likely depicting Schumann and Ernestine recognizing each other at the ball.
15. Pantalon et Colombine (F minor; Presto)
- The characters PantalonePantalonePantalone, or Pantalone del bisognosi, Italian for 'Pantalone of the needy', is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia del arte...
and ColumbinaColumbinaColumbine is a fictional character in the Commedia dell'Arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot...
from the Commedia dell'arte.
16. Valse allemande (A-flat; Molto vivace)
--. Intermezzo: Paganini (F minor; Presto)
- An evocation of Niccolò PaganiniNiccolò PaganiniNiccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
; it leads into a reprise of the Valse allemande
17. Aveu (F minor-A flat; Passionato)
- Depicting a confession of love.
18. Promenade (D-flat; Con moto)
19. Pause (A-flat; Vivo)
- An almost identical reprise of a passage from the opening Préambule, leading without pause into ...
20. Marche des "Davidsbündler" contre les Philistins (A-flat; Non allegro)
- QuotationsMusical quotationMusical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work , or from a different composer's work ....
from a number of the previous sections fleetingly reappear; the Grossvater TanzGrossvater TanzThe Grossvater Tanz is a German dance tune from the 17th century. It is generally considered a traditional folk tune...
, identified by Schumann in the score as a "Theme from the 17th Century" and intended to represent those holding to old-fashioned, outdated and inartistic ideals (ie (PhilistinesPhilistinesPhilistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
), quoted from his earlier work PapillonsPapillonsPapillons, Op. 2, is a suite of piano pieces written in 1831 by Robert Schumann. Meaning 'butterflies', Papillons is meant to represent a masked ball and was inspired by the novel Flegeljahre by Jean Paul....
, Op. 2; the piece ends Prestissimo.
Orchestrations
In 1910, Carnaval was choreographed for a ballet for a production by Sergei DiaghilevSergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
, with orchestrations by Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
, Anatoly Lyadov and Alexander Tcherepnin
Alexander Tcherepnin
Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin and his son, Ivan Tcherepnin were also composers, as are two of his grandsons, Sergei and Stefan. His son Serge was involved in the roots of electronic music and instruments...
.
Among others who have orchestrated Carnaval are Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
(1914).
External links
- Royal Ballet Gala Performances, 45rpm 200g 9LP
- Recording of original piano solo arrangement by Boris GiltburgBoris GiltburgBoris Giltburg is an Israeli-Russian classical pianist . - Biography and career :Giltburg was born in Moscow, Russia, and began studying piano with his mother at the age of five...