Trauermusik
Encyclopedia
Trauermusik is a suite
for viola and orchestra, written on 21 January 1936 by Paul Hindemith
at very short notice in honour of King George V of the United Kingdom
, who died the previous night. The title means "Mourning Music" or "Funeral Music" in English, but the work is always known by its German title.
travelled to London
, intending to play his viola concerto Der Schwanendreher
, with Adrian Boult
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
in Queen's Hall
, on 22 January. This was to be the British premiere of the work.
However, just before midnight on 20 January, King George V
died. The following day, from 11 am to 5 pm, Hindemith sat in an office made available to him by the BBC and wrote Trauermusik in homage to the late king. It, too, was written for viola and orchestra and was performed that evening in a live broadcast from a BBC radio studio, with Boult conducting and the composer as soloist. The Schwanendreher premiere was cancelled.
. Hindemith was unaware at the time, but the tune was very familiar in England as the "Old 100th
", to the words "All creatures that on Earth do dwell".
The piece also contains quotations
from Symphony: Mathis der Maler and Der Schwanendreher. Trauermusik immediately entered the repertoire of violists, as well as cellists
and even violin
ists.
The Swiss philanthropist and music patron Werner Reinhart
, to whom Hindemith had dedicated his Clarinet Quintet in 1923, later told Gertrud Hindemith "there was something Mozartian
" about her husband’s writing Trauermusik in half a day, and premiering it the same day. "I know no one else today who could do that", he said.
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
for viola and orchestra, written on 21 January 1936 by Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
at very short notice in honour of King George V of the United Kingdom
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, who died the previous night. The title means "Mourning Music" or "Funeral Music" in English, but the work is always known by its German title.
Background
On 19 January 1936, Paul HindemithPaul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, intending to play his viola concerto Der Schwanendreher
Der Schwanendreher
Paul Hindemith's Der Schwanendreher is a concerto for viola and orchestra. Der Schwanendreher occupies a place at the core of the viola concerto repertoire, along with the concertos by Walton and Bartók. It was composed in 1935 and premiered by the composer himself at a performance in Amsterdam on...
, with Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
in Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
, on 22 January. This was to be the British premiere of the work.
However, just before midnight on 20 January, King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
died. The following day, from 11 am to 5 pm, Hindemith sat in an office made available to him by the BBC and wrote Trauermusik in homage to the late king. It, too, was written for viola and orchestra and was performed that evening in a live broadcast from a BBC radio studio, with Boult conducting and the composer as soloist. The Schwanendreher premiere was cancelled.
The music
Trauermusik consists of four very short movements. The first movement is marked Langsam. The second movement (Ruhig bewegt) is less than a minute in length and the third is only slightly longer. The last movement is the heart of the work and in it, Hindemith quotes the chorale "Vor deinen Thron Tret ich hiermit" ("Here I stand before Thy throne"), well known in Germany via the harmonisation by Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. Hindemith was unaware at the time, but the tune was very familiar in England as the "Old 100th
Old 100th
"Old 100th" or "Old Hundredth" is a hymn tune from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David , and is one of the best known melodies in all Christian musical traditions...
", to the words "All creatures that on Earth do dwell".
The piece also contains quotations
Musical quotation
Musical 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 Symphony: Mathis der Maler and Der Schwanendreher. Trauermusik immediately entered the repertoire of violists, as well as cellists
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and even violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ists.
The Swiss philanthropist and music patron Werner Reinhart
Werner Reinhart
Werner Reinhart was a Swiss industrialist, philanthropist, amateur clarinetist, and patron of composers and writers, particularly Igor Stravinsky and Rainer Maria Rilke...
, to whom Hindemith had dedicated his Clarinet Quintet in 1923, later told Gertrud Hindemith "there was something Mozartian
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
" about her husband’s writing Trauermusik in half a day, and premiering it the same day. "I know no one else today who could do that", he said.
External links
- Michael SteinbergMichael Steinberg (music critic)Michael Steinberg was an American music critic, musicologist, and writer. Born in Breslau, Germany , Steinberg left Germany as one of the Kindertransport child refugees...
, ‘’The Concerto’’ - The Land of Lost Content
- Stevenson, Joseph. [ "Trauermusik"], AllMusic.com.