Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds 'Pierrot lunaire', ("three times seven poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire'"), commonly known as Pierrot Lunaire ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the moonlight"), Op. 21, is a song cycle by Arnold Schoenberg. It is a setting of twenty-one selected poems from Otto Erich Hartleben's German translation of Albert Giraud's cycle of French poems of the same name. The work's premiere was at the Berlin Choralion-saal on October 16 1912, with Albertine Zehme as the vocalist. A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in sequence as a single entity. ... Schoenberg redirects here. ... Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Otto Erich Hartleben (born June 3, 1864 in Clausthal, Germany – died February 11, 1905 in Salò, Italy) was a German poet and dramatist. ... Albert Giraud (1860-1929) was a Belgian poet writing in the French language. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... See also: 1911 in music, other events of 1912, 1913 in music and the list of years in music. // Events February 28 - In a concert in Copenhagen, Carl Nielsen conducts the premiere of his (the Sinfonia espansiva) and his Violin Concerto June 26 - Gustav Mahlers Symphony No. ...

The soprano soloist sings the poems in the Sprechstimme style, which complements the mood of the poems aurally. The work is atonal, but not twelve-tone as Schoenberg did not begin experimenting with twelve-tone music until later in his career. Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sprechgesang (German for speech song) or Sprechstimme (speech voice) is a technique of vocal production halfway between singing and speaking. ... Atonality in a general sense describes music that departs from the system of tonal hierarchies that are said to characterized the sound of classical European music from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. ... Serialism is a rubric applied to diverse systems of composing music in which various elements of a piece are ordered according to a pre-determined set or sets of musical pitches (sometimes called rows), and variations on them. ...

History

The work originated in a commission by Zehme for a cycle for voice and piano, setting a series of poems by the Belgian writer Albert Giraud. The verses had been first published in 1884, and later translated into German by Otto Erich Hartleben. Schoenberg began on March 12 and completed the work on July 9, 1912, having expanded the forces to an ensemble consisting of flute (doubling on a piccolo), clarinet (doubling on bass clarinet), violin (doubling on viola), cello, and piano. After forty rehearsals, Schoenberg and Zehme (in Columbine dress) gave the premiere at the Berlin Choralion-saal on October 16, 1912. Reaction was predictably mixed, with Anton Webern reporting at the premiere whistling, laughing, but in the end "it was an unqualified success".^[1] There was some criticism of blasphemy in the texts, to which Schoenberg responded, "If they were musical, not a single one would give a damn about the words. Instead, they would go away whistling the tunes".^[2] The show took to the road throughout Germany and Austria later in 1912. Albert Giraud (1860-1929) was a Belgian poet writing in the French language. ... Otto Erich Hartleben (born June 3, 1864 in Clausthal, Germany – died February 11, 1905 in Salò, Italy) was a German poet and dramatist. ... is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who gather to perform music. ... The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The piccolo is a small flute. ... Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The viola (French, alto; German Bratsche) is a bowed string instrument. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a bowed stringed instrument, the lowest-sounding member of the violin family. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... This article is about the theatrical character. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 – September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. ...

Structure

"Pierrot Lunaire" consists of three groups of seven poems. In the first group, Pierrot sings of love, sex and religion; in the second, of violence, crime, and blasphemy; and in the third of his return home to Bergamo, with his past haunting him. Watteaus sad commedia dellarte player of Pierrot, ca 1718–19, traditionally identified as Gilles (Louvre) Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime. ... Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up blasphemy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Small street (via della Noca) leading to città alta. ...

1. Mondestrunken (Moon-drunk)
2. Colombine
3. Der Dandy (The Dandy)
4. Eine blasse Wäscherin (A Faded Laundress)
5. Valse de Chopin
6. Madonna
7. Der kranke Mond (The Sick Moon)
8. Nacht (Passacaglia) (Night)
9. Gebet an Pierrot (Prayer to Pierrot)
10. Raub (Theft)
11. Rote Messe (Red Mass)
12. Galgenlied (Gallows Song)
13. Enthauptung (Beheading)
14. Die Kreuze (The Crosses)
15. Heimweh (Homesick)
16. Gemeinheit! (Mean Trick!)
17. Parodie (Parody)
18. Der Mondfleck (The Moonfleck)
19. Serenade
20. Heimfahrt (Barcarole) (Journey Home)
21. O Alter Duft (O Old Perfume)

Schoenberg, who was fascinated by numerology, also makes great use of seven-note motifs throughout the work, while the ensemble (with conductor) comprises seven people. The piece is his opus 21, contains 21 poems, and was begun on March 12, 1912. Other key numbers in the work are three and thirteen: each poem consists of thirteen lines (two four-line verses followed by a five-line verse), while the first line of each poem occurs three times (being repeated as lines seven and thirteen). Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. ... In music, a motif is a perceivable or salient reoccurring fragment or succession of notes that may used to construct the entirety or parts of complete melodies, themes. ... Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Music

Pierrot Lunaire uses a variety of older forms, including canon, fugue, rondo, passacaglia and free counterpoint. The poetry is a German version of a rondeau of the old French type with a double refrain. Each poem consists of three stanzas of 4 + 4 + 5 lines, with line 1 a Refrain (A) repeated as line 7 and line 13, and line 2 a second Refrain (B) repeated for line 8. The term musical form refers to two related concepts: the type of composition (for example, a musical work can have the form of a symphony, a concerto, or other generic type -- see Multi-movement forms below) the structure of a particular piece (for example, a piece can be written in... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts or voices (referred to as voices, regardless of whether the work is vocal or instrumental). ... a rondo is played between episode which are played by non solo people Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also in reference to a character-type that... In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: pasacalle, German: passacalia; Italian: passacaglio, passagallo, passacagli, passacaglie) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. ... In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony. ... A refrain (from the Old French refraindre to repeat, likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the chorus of a song. ... In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. ...

The instrumentation of each song is varied so that no two successive numbers have the same combination of timbres. The entire ensemble plays together only during the last poem. Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble) or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium. ... In music, timbre, also timber (from Fr. ...

The atonal, expressionistic settings of the text, with their echoes of German cabaret, bring the poems vividly to life. Sprechstimme, literally "speech-voice" in German, meaning speak-singing, is a style in which the vocalist uses the specified rhythms and pitches, but does not sustain the pitches, allowing them to drop or rise, in the manner of speech. On White II by Wassily Kandinsky, 1923. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Analysis

Pierrot Lunaire is a work that contains many paradoxes: the instrumentalists, for example, are soloists and an orchestra at the same time; Pierrot is both the hero and the fool, acting in a drama that is also a concert piece, performing cabaret as high art and vice versa with song that is also speech; and his is a male role sung by a woman, who shifts between the first and third persons. Look up paradox in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In music, solo means to play or sing alone. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Heroine (female hero) redirects here. ... “Stupid” redirects here. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... A classical music concert in the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne 2005 A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. ... High Art (1998) is an independent movie directed by Lisa Cholodenko and starring Ally Sheedy and Radha Mitchell. ... Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to the participant role of a referent, such as the speaker, the addressee, and others. ...

Recordings

In 1940 Schoenberg recorded the work with Erika Stiedry-Wagner as the soloist. Other distinguished artists to record the cycle include Phyllis Bryn-Julson (in 1991 and again in 1992), Jan DeGaetani (1970), Yvonne Minton (1977), Karin Ott (1990-94), Helga Pilarczyk (1961), Christine Schäfer (1997), Anja Silja (with Robert Craft conducting, 1999) and actress Barbara Sukowa (1994). Jan (Janice) DeGaetani (b. ... Yvonne Minton (born December 4, 1938) is an Australian opera singer. ... Christine Schäfer (born May 3, 1965) is a German soprano. ... Anja Silja, German soprano, born April 17, 1940 in Berlin. ... Robert Lawson Craft (October 20th, 1923 - ) is an American conductor and writer on music best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which has resulted in a number of recordings and books. ... Barbara Sukowa (born February 2, 1950 in Bremen, Germany) is a German actress. ...

The pop star Björk, known for her interest in avant-garde music, performed Pierrot Lunaire at the 1996 Verbier Festival with Kent Nagano conducting. According to the singer in a 2004 interview, "Kent Nagano wanted to make a recording of it, but I really felt that I would be invading the territory of people who sing this for a lifetime."[1] Only small recorded excerpts (possibly bootlegs) of her performance have become available. Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( ) (born November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic singer-songwriter and composer, as well as an occasional actress. ... The Verbier Festival is an international music festival that takes place annually in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland. ... Kent Nagano is the current music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. ... An assortment of bootleg recordings A bootleg recording (or simply bootleg or boot) is an audio and/or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist, or under other legal authority. ...

The jazz singer Cleo Laine recorded Pierrot Lunaire in 1974. Her version was nominated for a classical Grammy Award. Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth DBE, (born Clementina Dinah Campbell on October 28, 1927 in Middlesex, England) is a scat and jazz singer and an actor. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Notes

1. ^ Quoted in Winiarz.
2. ^ Quoted in Hazlewood.

References

• [Becker, John]. Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire: A Groundbreaker April 12, 2005 (unsigned undergraduate research paper).
• Hazlewood, Charles. Discovering Music, BBC Radio 3 June 24, 2006.[2]
• Winiarz, John. Schoenberg - Pierrot Lunaire: an Atonal Landmark April 1, 2000 accessed July 23 2006.

is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bibliography

• Dunsby, Jonathan. Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire. Cambridge University Press. 1992.

External links

• Manuscript of the score at the Arnold Schönberg center
• Luna Nova New Music Ensemble: Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire A Study Guide featuring a complete performance
• Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien ® austrian ensemble for contemporary music