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03/10 SIKORSKI MUSIC PUBLISHERS • WWW.SIKORSKI.DE • [email protected] magazine Magical Music and Musical Fairytales Magical Music and Musical Fairytales Music-Theatrical Fairytales Fairytales for Narrator and Music Fairytales as Orchestral Works without Narrator

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Page 1: magazine Magical Music Musical and Fairytales - Hans · PDF filemagazine Magical Music Musical and Fairytales Music-Theatrical Fairytales Fairytales for Narrator and Music Fairytales

03/10 SIKORSKI MUSIC PUBLISHERS • WWW.SIKORSKI.DE • [email protected]

magazine

Magical MusicandMusical Fairytales

Magical MusicandMusical Fairytales

Music-Theatrical Fairytales

Fairytales for Narrator and Music

Fairytales as Orchestral Works without Narrator

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IMPRESSUMQuartalsmagazin der SIKORSKI MUSIKVERLAGE erscheint mind. 4x im Jahr - kostenfrei

VERLAGInternationale Musikverlage Hans SikorskiBriefanschrift: 20139 Hamburg,Paketanschrift: Johnsallee 23, 20148 Hamburg,Tel: 040 / 41 41 00-0,Telefax: 040 / 44 94 68,www.sikorski.de, [email protected]

Fotonachweis: Titel: MBphoto/istock / Illustrationen: E.V.B. / Gebrüder Grimm: Dr. Meierhofer / Hauff: Wikipedia / Fatme: Ulrike Steinke / Kleiner Prinz: Antoine deSaint-Exupéry / Bubbles: Axel Zajaczek / Jan Müller-Wieland: Iko Freese / SlawaUlanowski: Archiv Sikorski / Herbert Baumann: Archiv Sikorski / Rolf Zuckowski: StefanMalzkorn / Lera Auerbach: Christian Steiner / Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Archiv Sikorski /Norbert Schultze: Archiv Sikorski / Sergej Prokofjew: Sergej Prokofjew Foundation /Krzysztof Meyer: Christine Langensiepen / Sofia Gubaidulina: Archiv Sikorski / MoritzEggert: Manuela Hartling

Hinweis: Wo möglich haben wir die Inhaber aller Urheberrechte der Illustrationenausfindig gemacht. Sollte dies im Einzelfall nicht ausreichend gelungen oder es zuFehlern gekommen sein, bitten wir die Urheber, sich bei uns zu melden, damit wirberechtigten Forderungen umgehend nachkommen können.

REDAKTIONHelmut Peters

ARTWORKzajaczek.com

editorial

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CO

NTEN

TS

Dear Reader,

In a fairytale there are strict rules

which determine the course of the

narrative; nonetheless, the fate of

the hero of the tale is determined

only by the supernatural,

inexplicable and even the

unexpected. The music is also

dominated by mathematical rules

but, just like the fairytale, it

constantly goes beyond the

boundaries of reality. Music begins

where the word ends,

as the romanticist E.T.A. Hoffmann

once said.

Music and fairytales have a number

of points in common. Many

locations of fairytales – nature,

old castles or the huts of poor

people – can be illustrated by

music. But many moods can also be

expressed by music and the

obsolete breaks in the stories can

be overcome through music.

The genre of musical fairytales or

fairytale-like music, however, is

hardly limited to the area of music

for children. In this issue of our

Sikorski Magazine, you will find the

entire range of the ways in which

contemporary composers have

come to terms with this immortal

genre of world literature,

once referred to as “true poetry”

by the Swiss fairytale researcher

Max Lüthi.

Dagmar Sikorski

Dr. Axel Sikorski

03 Intro:

We All Need Fairytales

04 Music-Theatrical Fairytales

14 Fairytales for Narrator and Music

17 Fairytales as Orchestral Works without Narrator

Quoted from:Max Lüthi: Das europäische Volksmärchen, Form und Wesen, DALP Taschenbücher, Francke Verlag, 1968 (The European Folktale, Form and Essence)

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Compared to other literary genres,the fairytale has a role of its veryown, indeed a very idiosyncratic one.It does not only fascinate the childrenof each new generation, but alsoexerts a magical attraction on adults,time and again. The Swiss fairytaleresearcher Max Lüthi even believedthat he could name phases in the lifeof each person in which his relations-hip to the fairytale was consolidated,or even, with some adults, leading toa rejection or passionate devotion upuntil the end of one’s life. The special quality of the fairytale is,on the one hand, the way in which itis interwoven with the fantastical,and on the other hand, the extraordi-nary form and narrative method ofthe genre. Some fairytales areancient, going back to a prehistorysteeped in mythology. It was theFrenchman Charles Perrault who in1696/97 first made the fairytale agenre with a claim to literary aspirati-ons, publishing individual tales in ela-borately illustrated editions. AfterMusäus published the “folk tale” inGerman Rococo, Christoph MartinWieland composed entire fairytaleepics anew and the Brothers Grimmmanifested the deep love ofRomanticism for the fairytale withtheir collection of Children’s andDomestic Tales in 1818, authors ran-ging from E.T.A. Hoffmann toWilhelm Hauff and Hans ChristianAndersen to Theodor Storm createdindividual, artistic forms of the fairytale. The fairytale has always remained yunintentionally, the wondrous withthe natural, the near with the fara-

way, the comprehensible with theincomprehensible, as if all this were amatter of course. One should not,however, look for the secret of thefairytale in its motifs alones – thesearch for riches, travelling or theomnipresent struggle against theoverpowering – but especially in theway in which these motifs are used.Fairytale-like events are not necessa-rily arranged in a logical succession,but follow their own rules. Again andagain, we encounter the three-stepapproach – three brothers, for exam-ple, who set off into the world, orthree tasks which must be solved.And this tendency towards magicnumbers like three or seven (sevenravens, seven Swabians, etc.) is dee-ply rooted in superstition and/or reli-gious contexts. No classical fairytale loses itself indetails. On the contrary, its narrativestyle is extensive. “The folk tale isutterly free of in-depth structure, inevery sense,” writes Lüthi. “Its cha-racters are figures without physicali-ty, without an inner world, without anenvironment; they have no relations-hip to the past or to posterity, or totime at all.” Musicians of all periodshave been fascinated by and enthu-siastic over the firmly establishedplot frequently found in fairytalesand described here, on the onehand, and by the strange suspendedstate of characters and situations onthe other hand. Strictly speaking anddespite its proximity to the spirit ofFreemasonry, Mozart’s “MagicFlute” is already a fairytale opera inthe classical sense. “Undine,” com-posed by E.T.A. Hoffmann based on

de la Motte-Fouqué’s mermaid fairy-tale can be viewed, in retrospect, asthe very first Romantic opera. Lateron, Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairyta-le opera “Hänsel and Gretel” basedon the Brothers Grimm enjoyed anuninterrupted success extending tothe present day. The twentieth cen-tury added the fairytale opera “TheLittle Elf of Christ” by Hans Pfitzner. Humperdinck’s classic “Hänsel andGretel” had a lasting influence on thegenre of the fairytale opera with itspolyphony reminiscent of Wagnerand masterly art of instrumentation,but especially through its incorpora-tion of folksongs and children’ssongs in a through-composed music-dramatic work. Contemporary com-posers have approached the subjectof the fairytale opera under comple-tely different conditions. They eithertreat the text, scenic events andmusic on equal terms, inserting lie-der and songs (as did Jens-PeterOstendorf in his fairytale opera “TheFake Prince”) or they create through-composed forms which consciouslyavoid echoes of romanticism or ofchild-like qualities, creating unfamili-ar sound-worlds by means of newcompositional techniques (as didKrzysztof Meyer in his “EnchantedBrothers”).Taking selected works from our cata-logues as examples, we wish to pro-vide a glimpse into the wide varietyof fairytale adaptations in the twen-tieth century and in the current musicof our time. These include balletmusic, operas, musicals, works forspeaker and ensembles and purelyorchestral works.

“The effect made by a fairytale’s clear, purposeful plot, with its colourful, sharply

rawn characters and the pure, expansive presentation of the storyline, is also of the

greatest inner acuity .(Max Lüthi)

We All Need FAIRYTALESA FAIRYTALE HAS ITS TRUTH AND MUST HAVE IT,

OTHERWISE IT WOULD NOT BE A FAIRYTALE. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

INTRO

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THE BROTHERS GRIMM“Rumpelstilzchen”- BALLET MUSIC BYHERBERT BAUMANN- MUSICAL FAIRYTALE FORNARRATOR AND ORCHESTRABY HERBERT BAUMANNBerlin-born Herbert Baumann is a trueinstitution in theatrical music; during thecourse of his career, he has providedabout 500 plays with music. As formerdirector of incidental music at theDeutscher Theater Berlin, he has had agreat deal of practical experience. Thushe has come to write ballet music, thefirst work of which was “Alice inWonderland” composed in 1984, towhich we shall return later. Baumann wrote his second ballet,“Rumpelstilzchen,” in response to acommission from Helge Thoma,Director of the Augsburg State Theatresand it achieved genuine success withthe public. The Augsburg premiere tookplace on 9 November 1986. Further pro-ductions followed, and the work has bynow been performed more than 170times. “Herbert Baumann had the cou-rage to write a markedly dance-like,melodic, beautiful-sounding musicstrong in moods, illuminating the givensituation with taste and also allowingfolksong motifs to come bubbling to thesurface at the appropriate places [...],”wrote the “Schwäbische Neue Presse.” The ballet owes its charm not least tothe skilfully ironical-comic adaptation ofthe original story to modern living con-ditions. The original plot, limited moreor less to three persons, is coloured bythe addition of further characters: theking is replaced by a dream-dancer of aprince. The royal addiction to gold istransformed into a monetary emergency

for the kingdom, which is why he mustby all means marry a rich princess. Threeladies willing to marry are found – ofRussian, Arabian and Spanish originsrespectively, musically representedthrough exotic-distorted rhythms andsounds. The Finale evens uses hoppingdishes and dancing food, such as thewedding cake, the entrance of which islovingly accompanied by the children’ssong “Backe, backe Kuchen.” Leitmotifslead the young audience through theballet - never in an exaggerated way, butalways clearly and comprehensiblythrough melodies full of instrumentalcolour and rhythmic spirit. In the year 2000 Baumann adapted hisballet music into a Suite for Narrator andOrchestra.

“Puss in Boots”FAIRYTALE OPERA FORCHILDREN IN 2 ACTS BASEDON CHARLES PERRAULTAND THE BROTHERS GRIMM BY CÉSAR CUI

A miller bequeaths his three sons a mill,a donkey and a cat. The youngest of thethree inherits the cat and thinks he hasdrawn the short straw. But the clever,speaking animal wants to make himselfuseful provided he is given a pair ofboots. After that, the cat in the bootsslyly catches a young rabbit which hebrings to the King as a gift from theMarquis de Carabas, as he calls hismaster. The next day, the cat takes hismaster to bathe in the river at the spotwhere the King goes walking with hisbeautiful daughter and thinks that all hismaster’s clothes have been stolen.Under these pretences, the miller’s son

comes to own magnificent clothes. Totop off his well-planned, clever tricks,the cat eats the fearsome monster afterthe latter has transformed himself into amouse in order to prove his powers.Thus the miller’s son or the Marquis vonCarabas comes to own a splendid castleand marries the Princess in the end.The St. Petersburg composer CésarAntonovich Cui, one of the group “TheMighty Handful” (The Mighty Five) for-med around Balakirev since 1857 andwhose ideas he also vehemently suppor-ted as a critic, composed four children’soperas altogether, including “The SnowPrince” (1904) and “Little Red RidingHood” (1911). During the same year as“Little Red Riding Hood” he wrote “Pussin Boots” based on Charles Perrault andthe Brothers Grimm. Cui’s musicallanguage owes much to RobertSchumann, Hector Berlioz and FranzLiszt while, among Russian composers,he was particularly close to AlexanderDargomyzhski, the creator of the operas“The Stone Guest” and “Russalka.”Russian national colouring is much lessfrequent in Cui’s music than in that ofBorodin, Rimsky-Korsakov orMussorgsky.

“Little Red RidingHood’s Lullaby”DUET / CHILDREN’S OPERASCENE FOR SOPRANO,MEZZO SOPRANO ANDCHAMBER ENSEMBLE BY JAN MÜLLER-WIELAND

Jan Müller-Wieland is one of four com-posers of the children’s opera project“Klonk 3 – Red Riding Hood Run, Run“,

MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

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MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

which received its premiere on 17 May2007 at the Osnabrück State Theatre.The result, according to the organisers,is a chamber opera for three singers inconstantly changing roles, in which fan-tastic games bustle humorously in theland between wakefulness and sleep wit-hin the framework of one of the mostfamous fairytales. Different facets of theRed Riding Hood story are reflected likea kaleidoscope. The musical mini-dramas of the fourcomposers can be performed as indivi-dual works or in combined form underthe title RED RIDING HOOD, RUN. JanMüller-Wieland’s contribution is a scenewith the title “Red Riding Hood’sLullaby.” After the world premiere at theemma-theater of the OsnabrückTheatre, the production went on toMunich.

“Cinderella”BALLET IN 3 ACTS BYNIKOLAI VOLKOV. MUSIC BY SERGEI PROKOFIEVThe sensational success of the Sovietpremiere of “Romeo and Juliet” wasdecisive for the composition of SergeiProkofiev’s second large ballet. TheKirov Theatre in Leningrad asked thecomposer for music to the famous fai-rytale, which had become known roundthe world especially through theFrench fairytale collection of CharlesPerrault and later through the adaptati-on by the Brothers Grimm. Prokofievworked particularly intensively on thisballet during the first months of theyear 1941. It was premiered in 1945with Galina Ulanova in the title role.“What I especially wanted to set to musicin ‘Cinderella’ is the romantic love of

Cinderella and the Prince, its buddingand development, the hindrances duringits course and its fulfilment,” Prokofievonce said. His Cinderella music is also lessillustrative than incredibly lyrical, drawingupon the aesthetic that the composerhad already attempted so successfully inShakespeare’s romantic drama “Romeoand Juliet.” Before the poor girl and herprince find each other, Prokofiev at timesuses a melancholy, gloomy melodiclanguage. He sometimes concentratesthe ensemble parts with larger dancegroups into a leaden heaviness. The fairy-tale scenery with all its colourful figuresbecomes a dreamlike world accompany-ing the events out of which the love ofthe protagonists is brought into relief allthe more impressively.

“Snow White andthe RussianPrince”BALLET FOR CHILDREN BY SLAVA ULANOVSKI BASEDON THE FAIRYTALE OF THEBROTHERS GRIMM (WITH THE USE OF MUSIC BYTHE FOLLOWING COMPOSERS:LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN,CARL CZERNY, HENRY PURCELL,LEONHARD SCHADY, SLAVA ULANOVSKI ANDRUSSIAN FOLKLORE)This is probably the most frequentlyadapted fairytale of the Brothers Grimmin a choreographic narration based on alibretto by Sophie Fürstenau. The ensem-ble has been considerably enlarged with

gardening maids, fisherwomen and Gypsywomen and the Prince is from Russia.Otherwise, the story of the hassled girlwith the skin as white as snow, hair asblack as ebony and lips as red as bloodtakes its familiar course. In line with thegreat Russian ballet tradition, there is awhole series of brilliant dances for theensemble and the soloists.

“Mister Meow”FAIRYTALE MUSICAL IN 4 SCENES BY FRITZ RÜGAMER. MUSIC BY OTTO-ERICH SCHILLING

This is a wonderful parody of the famousfairytale of “Puss in Boots” providedwith the following notes by Otto-ErichSchilling: “Mister Meow requests thatthe gentlemen and theatrical board ofdirectors read, produce and performthis fairytale musical which, due to its simplicity, any theatre could acceptas a fairytale of the 20th century. MisterMeow desires a delightful mixture ofmodernity and the magic of a fairytale in the decorations and costumes wit-hout any cheap modern clothes! Jockel,Seppel and Sabine are our present-dayenlightened, fresh youths within the framework of a fairytale. Ino is the sympathetic, carefree ‘young rowdy’who also sometimes lies on purpose fora good cause. Jammerlapp,Kullerinchen and Ulrike belong to theprevious generation, wherebyJammerlapp is a stubborn subordinate,while Kullerinchen and Ulrike of the fol-lowing generation are more open.‘Wamsetoll’ is a genuine fairytale cha-racter who can only be a joy to anycomedian.”

THE BROTHERS GRIMM

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MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

“The Little Mermaid”BALLET BASED ON A FAIRYTALE BY HANS CHRISTIANANDERSEN. MUSIC BY LERA AUERBACH The fairytale of the Little Mermaid is one of the best known works of HansChristian Andersen. It is about the unhappy love of the mermaid Arielle forPrince William, whom she saves from drowning and in whom she then fallshopelessly in love. This love goes so far that she ultimately sacrifices heridentity for the Prince, who, tragically, does not return her love. The Hindemith Prize winner Lera Auerbach, in cooperation with choreogra-pher John Neumeier, has captured the mythical-magical connection bet-ween the worlds of water and earth, making it sound with the help of poly-stylistic stylistic means: tender, lyrical phrases for the water fairy are juxta-posed with escalatory rhythmical elements and thus frame the so many-sideddifferences between the paradise-like underwater world and the down-to-earth earthly world. Auerbach uses unusual instruments like the Theremin,for example, the ethereal buzzing of which symbolises the voice of the mer-maid under water. The music alternates between melancholy and hope. “TheLittle Mermaid” received its world premiere on 15 April 2005 inCopenhagen. In 2007 the ballet was performed in Hamburg in a slightly shor-tened and tightened version.

“The Snow Queen”BALLET IN 2 ACTS BASED ON HANS CHRISTIANANDERSEN’S FAIRYTALE OF THE SAME NAME. MUSIC BY TIGRAN MANSSURIANLittle Gerda has a friend in Kai who is as dear to her as her own brother. Sheplays and dreams with him until a terrible misfortune separates the two fromeach other. With wild decisiveness and unapproachable hardness, the SnowQueen abducts little Kai from real life. She steals from him the warm hear-tedness that she does not have and forces him to live in her kingdom, fulfil-ling unsolvable tasks there. If it had not been for Gerda, Kai would not havebeen able to return. The girl, strong and fearless, set out on a journey intothe icy realm of the Snow Queen. This was Hans Christian Andersen’s mostgrisly and thrilling fairytale that he had so far written at the time. The famous“Snow Queen” is also one of the longest fairytales of the Danish author,almost resembling a novel. So far, Manssurian’s ballet has only been pre-miered by the Armenian National Ballet at its guest performance inWiesbaden.

Production 2010:20.03.2010 SAN FRANCISCO BALLET US premiereAuerbach/Neumeier, Ballet

“The Little Mermaid”(Adoption of the HamburgProduction)Revival in 2011

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MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

WILHELM HAUFF

“The FakePrince”CHILDREN’S OPERA IN 9 SCENES BY ULRIKE WENDTAND FLORIAN ZWIPF BASED ON THE FAIRYTALEBY WILHELM HAUFF. MUSIC BY JENS-PETER OSTENDORF

The tailor Labakan would have liked tobe a prince and decides to change hisrole in life. His costuming is the cause ofsome confusion at the palace, for eventhe Sultan-Mother no longer recognisesher own son. In her desperation, sheturns to her servant lady Melechsalah,who suggests a test: the one who sewsthe most beautiful caftan will be revea-led as the tailor. The test takes placewith the approval of the Sultan. Labakandelivers a magnificent example of hisart, while the real Prince Omar throwshis sewing equipment at the feet of theSultan. In his doubt, the Sultan takes theadvice of the fairy Adolzaide, who alsosuggests a test: both subjects are tochoose between two boxes. Labakan

will find a needle in the box labelled“Happiness and Riches” that he selects,but Omar will find a sceptre in the boxlabelled “Fame and Honour.” The realprince has been found and Labakan ishounded out of the court.

“The Cold Heart”OPERA BASED ON WILHELM HAUFF BY NORBERT SCHULTZE

The poor charcoal-burner Peter giveshis mother his last ducats to help paythe rental debts. But now he cannot goto the dance with his sweetheartLisbeth, who then follows the otherboys. Peter falls asleep by the king pinetree and dreams that the treasurerwants to fulfil three wishes for him.Since his first two wishes are foolish, theforest spirit denies him the third one.But Peter can now dance better than thedance-floor king and has just as muchmoney as the rich Ezekiel. When the lat-ter loses all his money to Peter, howe-ver, Peter’s pockets are also empty.Hollander Michel now appears to savethe situation and promises him lastingwealth if he exchanges his heart for astone. Peter agrees to this. He becomesthe richest wood merchant in the wholedistrict. All the trees except the kingpine tree have been chopped down.Peter refuses to chop down this treedown, since one would have to die atthe third blow and he is afraid to diewithout a heart. Nor can the treasurerhelp him. Only with cunning can Peterregain his heart. The Hollander Michelpromises it to him, if he chops down thetree. When Peter strikes the third blow,he awakens. Lisbeth and the boys comeback. She gives Peter a stone in theform of a heart. He sells it to Ezekiel for19 ducats and can now pay for hismother’s cottage.Norbert Schultze created music for thissubject which is clearly reminiscent of

early romantic opera. Memorably rich inmelodies, he creates a colourful atmos-phere of times past, illustrating thestory and its many-sided characters insound with highly imaginative orchestra-tion. A murmuring tam-tam expressingimpending disaster and sombre, scurry-ing clarinet or bassoon figurations con-tribute to an intense atmosphere.

“The Salvation of Fatme”COMIC OPERA FOR YOUNGPEOPLE IN 4 ACTS BYWALTER TRELLE BASED ONWILHELM HAUFF’SFAIRYTALE OF THE SAMENAME BY HANS BITTNERFatme, daughter of the rich merchant ElHamid, is robbed by pirates and sold asa slave to the rich Bassa of Thinli-Kossfor his harem. With the help of essenti-ally good-natured Orbassan, the ring-leader of the desert thieves, Fatme’sbrother Mustapha succeeds in freeingher and the other female slaves as well.After adventurous and also humorousentanglements, three happily unitedcouples ultimately triumph over theresigned Bassa.

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FOLKTALESFROM ALLOVER THE

WORLD

FOLKTALESFROM ALLOVER THE

WORLD

“The Singing Tree”OPERA IN 2 ACTS BY BO CARPELAN. MUSIC BY ERIK BERGMAN

This is a fairytale about the love of thePrince of the Underworld for the Princess ofLight. Prince Hatt, hidden in the roots of anash tree, confesses his love for the daughterof the King of Light in a song, but hismother, a witch, arranges things so that thelovers can only meet in the dark. ThePrincess of Light cannot resist the wish tosee her beloved. She creates light in thedarkness and is caught by the witch, whobanishes her in the world of daylight wit-hout further ado. The loving Princess sear-ches for a path to the underworld and pro-mises at a new encounter with the queen ofthe underworld the light as a means topower. The witch, however, burns when shesees the light. While dying, she strikes thePrincess blind.Contemporary Finnish opera has meanwhileacquired an outstanding position on inter-national stages. The Finnish composerJouni Kaipainen postulated the thesis thatBergman’s first opera is a “grand synthe-sis,” more or less a compositional summaryof previously founded expressive means.“Bergman’s most personal area is alwaysthe discovery of the endless possibilities ofthe human voice and its unbiased use, forwhich his decade-long activities as a choralconductor gave him the best prerequisites.It was also only a question of time beforethe Finnish avant-gardist would turn toopera.”Unlike the beloved Rusalka or Un-dinematerial, Bergman’s opera takes placeexclusively in the world of magical beings;there is no contact with the realm of humanbeings. The protagonists are archetypessituated between good and evil, intricatelyenmeshed in the tragedy of the mysticalpower struggle. Bergman’s music illustratesthis archaic magical realm not so much withthe help of motivic classifications as withlyric mood painting full of colours and exci-ting drama. The score of the “Singing Tree”is highly complex and works with refinedpolyphonic sound-fields, unusual vocalisesand melismas. This music is romantic in themodern sense in that it confronts the lyri-cism of the material with incredibly grippingemotionality and vivid imagery.

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“The LittleHump-BackedHorse”BALLET IN 4 ACTS (8 SCENES)AND AN EPILOGUE BY VASSILI VAINONEN ANDPAVEL MALYAREVSKI BASED ON MOTIVES OF THEFAIRYTALE OF THE SAMENAME BY PYOTR YERSHOV.MUSIC BY RODION SHCHEDRINThe story of the little hump-backedhorse is one of the best-loved Russianfairytales, to which the adaptation of thesubject by Pyotr Yershov has surelymade a significant contribution. “TheLittle Hump-Backed Horse,” publishedin 1831 and reprinted countless timessince, has become a favourite book ofRussian children. It belongs to the esta-blished repertoire of theatre and film inRussia and artists have also repeatedlyturned to this subject. The composerRodion Shchedrin, who now lives inMunich, whose ballet “Anna Karenina”has already become a classic in Russianballet music, created the ballet music tothis tale in collaboration with VassiliVainonen and Pavel Malyarevski.In order to get to the bottom of thenocturnal destruction of his wheatfields, an old farmer has his sons Danilaand Gavrila guard the wheat at night.Out of fear, they get drunk and fallasleep. Ivan, the farmer’s youngest son,who has secretly followed them, obser-ves a beautiful mare who is tramplingdown the wheat. He catches her butsets her free again when she promiseshim two horses with golden manes anda hump-backed colt. His two brotherssteal the beautiful horses and sell themto the Tsar. Ivan keeps the hump-bak-ked horse. But since he also defends hisright to the other horse, the Tsaremploys him as a stable boy. He thengives him various tasks to fulfil: Ivanmust first bring the beautiful Princessfrom the glass mountain, for the Tsarwishes to marry her. The he receives thetask of obtaining the Princess’s ringfrom the magic lake. He is able to fulfilall the tasks with the help of the hump-

backed horse. In the end, the Princessasks the Tsar to have Ivan immerse him-self in the magical spring. When Ivanemerges from the water more beautifulthan before, the Tsar follows him to thespring, but emerges as a black, uglybeing. Laughed at by the Princess, he curses. Ivan and the Princess marryhappily.

“The EnchantedBrothers”FAIRYTALE OPERA, OP. 72BASED ON YEVGENI SCHWARZ BY KRZYSZTOF MEYERKrzysztof Meyer’s opera “The EnchantedBrothers” fulfils many expectations thatone generally has of a fairytale opera.Although Meyer uses Slavic folk musicand melodic motifs from children’ssongs, he does not create children’stheatre from them but instead an operafor children and adults. The work wascomposed in 1988/89 and was premie-red with great success in Peznan inMarch 1990.The play by Yevgeni Schwarz is basedon a classical European fairytale that hasbecome popular in many modifications,particularly in the East. A mother losestwo of her adolescent sons after theyhave set out into the world and notreturned. In her desperation, she startslooking for them, leaving her youngestson behind. She soon comes to thenotorious house on stilts and enters intothe service of the evil witch who has casta spell on the sons. Two neighbouringmaple trees murmur at the mother, claiming to be her sons Theo andGeorg, and shedding tears in the formof morning dew. To get her sons back,the mother must fulfil difficult tasks forthe witch and is supported in this by thebear, cat and dog. When the youngestson then joins them, there is nothingmore standing in the way of victoryagainst evil. Because the witch assignsthe mother the task of building a pad-lock for the house on stilts, she is herselflocked in and must reveal the secret ofbreaking the spell. With the help of“water of life,” the brothers are trans-formed back into boys while the witchremains locked in her hut.

“Bright Nights”OPERABY HELMUT KRAUSSERBASED ON MOTIVEN FROM“TALES FROM THEARABIAN NIGHTS” AND “MYSTERIES” BY KNUT HAMSUN. MUSIC BYMORITZ EGGERT

The well-known composer MoritzEggert, always making spectacularappearances with his football orato-rio “Out of the Depth of the Room”and his opera commissioned by theSalzburg Festival entitled “From theTender Pole,” made a new revision ofhis opera “Bright Nights,” premieredin 1997, for a premiere at the HagenTheatre in the summer of 2006. Thedramaturge of the Hagen Theatre haswritten the following about theopera:“In their first joint stage work, Eggertand his librettist, the renowned nove-list Helmut Krausser (bestsellers:‘Melodies,’ ‘Thanatos’ and the MariaCallas novelette ‘The GreatBagarozy’), narrate three colourfulepisodes from the brilliant ‘Tales ofthe Arabian Nights.’ These internalparts, at times poetic and probing, attimes tantalising and bizarre, areframed by a refined general plotwhich takes up narrative motifs byKnut Hamsun. The opera owes its titleto the chapter ‘Bright Nights’ from‘Mysteries’ by the Nobel Prize winnerfor literature. ‘I wanted to write anopera,’ explains Eggert, ‘that speaksto the listener and spectator, whichtells him something about himselfand human imagination. An opera inwhich the composer does not have toexplain beforehand what he wantedto express in it. My opera is aboutstory-telling. It is about beautyfunctioning and not functioning. It isabout language, and the language ofmusic is above all melody.’”

MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

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TALESOF THEARABIANNIGHTS

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“Alice in Wonderland”- MUSICAL FOR CHILDREN BY

HELMUT POLIXA FREELY ADAPTED FROM THE TALES “ALICE IN WONDERLAND” AND “THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS” BYLEWIS CARROLL. MUSIC BY JENS-PETER OSTENDORF

- BALLET BY HERBERT BAUMANN BASED ONBOOKS OF LEWIS CARROLL

It is not so easy to explain how one comes to Wonderland.When staging Jens-Peter Ostendorf’s music theatre based onLewis Carroll, each Alice and each theatre must find their ownway, for a series of turbulent adventures is in store for the litt-le girl. Alice meets strange figures in Wonderland and is con-fronted with situations which she, always gaining in confi-dence, learns to master. In the beginning there is the strongGoggehoggel who looks likes a dinosaur, with whom the litt-le girl fights and struggles. Here, Alice is still at a disadvanta-ge. And there are Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, whomcatch the girl in order to bring her to the Queen. But she canno longer intimidate Alice.The poet Lewis Carroll fled into a world of fantasy and dreamsfrom his gruelling existence as a college teacher who had toput up with insubordinate and unruly pupils. He has Aliceundergo a journey through Wonderland accompanied by theWhite Rabbit. The experienced music-theatrical composerJens-Peter Ostendorf succeeds in creating a complex form ofmusical theatre reflecting his close relationship with spokentheatre, with musical-orientated songs and just a three-pieceinstrumental ensemble reflecting the scenic events with aplethora of sounds, noises and effects. After all, he was occu-pied with composing and arranging incidental music atHamburg’s Thalia Theatre for nine years. Herbert Baumann finally created his first great ballet musicfrom the world-famous subject in 1984. Variegated instru-mental numbers which congenially accompany the story carryoff the listener into a musical-poetic dream world.

MAGICAL TALES

OSCAR WILDE“The Nightingale and the Rose”CHAMBER OPERA IN ONE ACT BASED ON A TALE BY OSCAR WILDE. MUSIC BY JAN MÜLLER-WIELAND

Oscar Wilde’s stories which move one to tears, the tragedyand melancholy of his characters, his motifs orientatedequally towards death and love and the mutual dissolutionof these terms almost cry out for a musical setting, designand commentary. That this is happening with the composi-tional means of our time makes this operatic project all themore exciting. Jan Müller-Wieland’s opera calls for seven singers, stringquartet, piano and percussion. “These are very sensuousinstruments” says the composer, and are therefore fittingfor a tale that he also refers to as very sensuous. The studentin Jan Müller-Wieland’s stage work of 1996 is in a similarsituation to that of Faust: he has read everything that clevermen have written, but he lacks the experience of love. Itappears unattainable for him, for the girl with whom he hasfallen in love promised to dance with him only if he bringsher a red rose. But roses have not grown in his garden foryears. It does not occur to him to make a pact with the devil,but he receives unexpected help from outside without noti-cing it. A nightingale, who still believes in true love, sings toa bare bouquet of roses of the student’s love. There is onlyone possibility: whilst singing at night, the nightingale mustpress one of its thorns so hard against its breast that a redrose with its heart’s blood can grow on the bouquet. Thenightingale sacrifices itself in vain: the rose that grows as aresult of paying the price of death is spurned by the girl, forshe prefers the jewels that she gets from another admirer.“How foolish is love,” thinks the student in the end, “it is nothalf as useful as logic.”

“The Ghost ofCanterville”- OPERA IN 3 ACTS BY ALEXANDER KNAIFEL- ROMANTIC SCENES FOR SOPRANO,BASS, NARRATOR AND CHAMBERORCHESTRA BY ALEXANDER KNAIFEL

The American ambassador Otis has purchased CantervilleCastle. Despite all warnings regarding the ghost living there,the entire family moves in. The Otis family treat the ghostutterly without respect: they treat (in vain) the mysteriousblood stain in the library with spot remover. To dampen thenoise of his rattling chains, they recommend lubricating oilto the enervated ghost, and the twins throw cushions at him.Instead of his scaring the Americans, they turn the tables onthe ghost and carry on their shenanigans with him. WhenVirginia meets the ghost on the rear stairway behind herroom, she feels deep sympathy for him – and wants to helphim. While the entire family desperately looks for her,Virginia is able to free the ghost from his restless existencedue to an old prophecy.

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“Russalka”OPERA IN 4 ACTS (6 SCENES)BY ALEXANDERDARGOMYZHSKY BASED ONALEXANDER PUSHKIN’SPOEM OF THE SAME NAME

The miller’s daughter Natasha maintainsbonds of love with a Prince. When shebecomes pregnant, however, he leavesher and gets married befitting his socialstatus. Natasha’s father, greedy formoney, beseeches his daughter to con-sole herself with the offered settlement,but the desperate girl throws herself intoa river. The Prince’s wedding is distur-bed by the singing of a mermaid, who isNatasha transformed; he cannot forgetthis singing. The Princess senses thethreat and complains of her husband’sunrest and his tendency to be lonely. Hefeels irresistibly drawn to the scene ofhis former love. He thinks he hears fema-le voices on the river bank. He unexpec-tedly meets the miller, who hasmeanwhile gone insane, and whoreports of Natasha’s fate in confusedhints. In her underwater palace at the bottomof the Dneipr, the river mermaidRussalka (Natasha) assigns her twelve-year-old daughter Russalochka the taskof luring the Prince to the river. The girlmeets him, informs him that he is her fat-her and that Natasha is waiting for him.In the search for her husband, thePrincess must witness the Prince beingpushed into the river by the miller anddrawn down into its depths by the twomermaids. Subjects based on the world of waterspirits have fascinated romantic compo-sers in particular, at the latest since de laMotte-Fouqué wrote his tale “Undine.”In Russia, where the fairytale opera hasblossomed in many forms, AlexanderDargomyzhsky (1813-1869), a composerof the so-called “Mighty Handful,” dedi-cated himself to this theme. He basedhis work on the Russalka poem byAlexander Pushkin written in 1832,which unfortunately remained a frag-ment. Pushkin turns the customary motifon his head. It is not the wish to becomea human being out of love and to turnone’s back on the spirit world, but thefate of a dishonoured girl who looks fordeath in the water and still cannot breakoff with earthly life.

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MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

“The Little Ring”MUSICAL FAIRYTALE IN 2ACTS FOR CHILDREN ANDADULTS BASED ON A TEXTBY BIRGIT MÜLLER-WIELAND. MUSIC BY JAN MÜLLER-WIELANDThe composer and Professor ofComposition Jan Müller-Wieland rela-tes that the Regensburg Singing andMusic School asked him in the summerof 2008 if he would write an opera tocelebrate the occasion of their centen-nial. It was to be composed for children(their pupils) and a few adults (a fewteachers to lend support). “Since I hadmeanwhile assimilated sufficient crafts-manship and experience, I thought Icould handle the technical limitationsand work within them empathically –not at all an easy task. Put another way:by concentrating on the point ‘childrenmaking music with my notes’ I did notfeel at all limited.” The original idea was to more or lessretell Wagner’s gigantic trilogy “TheRing of the Nibelungs.” “Hardly withviolence,” as Müller-Wieland com-ments, “without consecration or anideal world, but as an odyssey of a littlering that gives love and trust to a youth-ful couple.” Müller-Wieland’s music tothis idea contains not a single note ofWagner. Nature, the animals and thefinal fire are all represented by largechildren’s choirs. Older music-schoolpupils sing the parts of a sleepy King,his brother Sly Fox, a somewhat crazyQueen and her sister (an AppleGoddess). Alpha-Strich, on the otherhand, is a child actor; his name can beunderstood as a pun relating to theSchwarzalben and ring-thief Alberich.He is the leader of the robots. Theseare both semi-dwarfs and semi-machi-nes. In the second act (after a break)Alpha-Strich is bringing up anotherboy-actor. He is called Siggi anddoesn’t know who or where his parentsare. Siggi finally falls in love with thecheeky girl-actress Schönwilde. Threemermaids (Walla, Wella, Walle), aforest-bird and an apple tree are repre-sented by five girls’ voices. They form anatural world which ultimately helps theyoung people – despite technology andthe belief in technical progress – to findhappiness.

“The Little Prince”OPERABY NIKOLAUS SCHAPFLBASED ON ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY

The “Little Prince” is by now a verygreat Prince indeed and has been onefor some time. When Antoine de Saint-Exupéry invented the mysterious storyof the Little Prince, he had no idea ofthe effect that it would have all over theworld. The utterances of the little fellowappearing out of nowhere are wise; hismanner is endearing and somehow onehas the impression that an inner voicefrom one’s self is speaking through theLittle Prince. It is thus a completely natural idea totransform this profoundly poetic storyinto music, into sounds that wouldreflect and provide associations with thedeep philosophy of its thoughts.Nikolaus Schapfl’s opera, premiered in2006 at the Badisches State Theatre inKarlsruhe, shows, in parts, typical cha-racteristics of grand opera – seen fromthe point of view of a contemporarycomposer – and also containsapproaches reminiscent of film music.Through his skilfully orchestrated longlines, Schapfl surprises the listener withintimate, reserved inward views almostreminiscent of chamber music. The com-poser has taken up the dialogues ofSaint-Exupéry almost literally. In themanner of programme music, manysmall details are reflected by the orche-stra, e.g. the indignant expression ofthe Little Prince looking at the sheepdrawn by the pilot, or the shimmeringdelirium of the drinker. “Everything isthere in this colourful music,” was theverdict of a commentator writing aboutone of the preliminary versions in thenewspaper Wiener Zeitung.

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“The Nose”OPERA IN 3 ACTS (10 SCENES) AND AN EPILOGUE BY YEVGENI SAMYATIN, GEORGI LONIN, ALEXANDER PREIS AND DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH BASED ON THE NOVELETTE OF THE SAME NAME BY NIKOLAI GOGOL. MUSIC BY DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICHGERMAN BY HELMUT WAGNER ANDKARL HEINZ FÜSSL

Council assessor Kovalyov awakes to find himself without anose. The nose is found by an almost constantly drunk bar-ber in his bread; he immediately gets rid of it by throwing itinto the river. Kovalyov, looking for his nose, encounters itin the form of a state councillor in the church, where it esca-pes him. Kovalyov tries in vain to place an ad in the newspa-per: the only result is laughter. Meanwhile, the police arealso looking for the nose. It comes by in order to catch adeparting coach. A fight takes place, in which the noseshrinks down to its original size. The police officer can nowreturn it to the relieved Kovalyov. Overjoyed, he wants toreturn it to his place, but it proves impossible to fasten theseparated body part to his face. Meanwhile, the entire cityis busy looking for the nose. Then Kovalyov awakens fromhis tortuous nightmare and is relieved to find his nose onthe right place. “Pure mischief is done on earth,” Gogol once said. “I try torepresent this mischief to the best of my ability.”Shostakovich once insisted that he did not consider “TheNose” to be a comic story, but rather a horrible story. “Iwould add that the music does not intentionally have a ‘par-odistic’ colouration. No! Despite all the comedy that occurson the stage, the music is not comic. I consider this justified,because Gogol presents all the comic occurrences in aserious tone. That is where the strength and quality ofGogol’s humour lies. He doesn’t crack any ‘jokes.’ Themusic also tries not to crack any ‘jokes.’” (DmitriShostakovich).

MUSIC-THEATRICAL FAIRYTALES

MAGICAL TALES

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“The Little Day”On the Light Beam to the Earth and Back. The pianoalbum to the CD/MC of the same name.SIK 1391

Double-CD (Radio Play Version and Songs)SIK 1391 A

The TextbookSIK 1392

The Band Set SIK 1394

The Orchestral Playbacks / CDSIK 1394 A

The Midi-FilesSIK 1394 B

“Not only do the persons of the fairytale possess no inner world, neitherdo they have an environment. The person of the saga lives and works inhis home village. The fairytale tells us nothing about the city or village inwhich its hero grew up.

“The Soldier’s Tale”MELODRAMA BY CHARLESFERDINAND RAMUZ FOR SPEAKERAND SEPTET. MUSIC BY IGOR STRAVINSKY

A soldier wanders home during his leave from thefront. While resting, the devil appears to him, disgui-sed as an old man, and convinces him to trade his vio-lin for a book about magic. Whoever possesses thebook will become rich. In addition to that, the devilpromises the starving soldier ample food, luring himto come with him for three days and teach him theviolin. When the soldier returns to his home town afterthese three days, he is faced with the fact that it wasnot three days, but three years that have passed. Noone knows him any more. Now he has only his magicbook, thanks to which he becomes a rich merchant,but not a happy one. Then the devil reappears, thistime as a lady peddler, offering him his old violin,among other things. The soldier seizes the violin but itremains silent. He casts it aside in desperation andtears up the magic book, for now he is really a poordevil, betrayed and sold. He follows a call to a royal court in order to heal thesick Princess there. This is only possible with the vio-lin, however, which the devil triumphantly holds in hishand. There follows a struggle between the soldierand the devil in the form of a card game. The soldierdefeats the prince of darkness and wins back his vio-lin. Now fully cured, the Princess is to be his wife. Thedevil, the loser at this point, casts another spell on thesoldier: the soldier may not go beyond the boundariesof the kingdom. If he does so, he will become a slaveto the devil. The longing for and memories of hishomeland drive the soldier to nevertheless cross theboundary. The devil stands here in the pose of the vic-tor. The devil, who has regained possession of the vio-lin, drives him from the stage into hell with a wild tri-umphal march. Stravinsky’s bizarre, poly-rhythmical music in theunusual instrumentation of clarinet, bassoon, cornet,trombone, violin, double bass and percussion illustra-tes these scenes, building up strong contrasts andplaying with the listener’s expectations.

”“The Little Day”A SINGSPIEL BASED ON A FAIRYTALE BY WOLFRAM EICKEBY WOLFRAM EICKE / HANS NIEHAUS / ROLF ZUCKOWSKI

Behind the stars in the shining realm of light there lives a little day. Alldays live there as light-beings before they come to earth and they returnthere in the evening. The little day has to wait a long time until it is his turn. He listens, dee-ply impressed, when others tell of the earth: glorious deeds, inventions,catastrophes, historical events ...“The Little Day” is convinced that something special will happen duringhis journey to the earth, something that will make him unforgettable.And finally it’s time... This delightful present-day tale received the rating“Good Music for Children – recommended by the Union of GermanMusic Schools” as well as the children’s prize of the papageno children’sjury of the WDR “POLDI 2001.”The album for voice and piano contains all the songs and interludes in their original keys and is thus well-suited for learning and performing aswell as for playing for oneself. The moderately difficult adaptations areprovided with chord symbols, thus making it possible to accompany withkeyboard and guitar.

(Max Lüthi)

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BY MARTIN BÄRENZBASED ON CARLO COLLODI - VERSION FOR SPEAKER AND ENSEMBLE

Who doesn’t know the story of the woo-den puppet Pinocchio who desired not-hing more ardently than to be a realboy? Carlo Collodi’s story of themeanwhile world-famous marionette isan artistic tale, but reveals many traits ofthe classical fairytale. There is themedieval atmosphere of the location,the presence of a magic fairy with dark-blue hair, a talking cricket and muchmore. Collodi made a small, adventure-some didactic play out of the movingstory about a talking piece of wood thatcontained a body and didn’t know howto cope with it – a story that shouldencourage all children to be honest andpractice moderation. It all began with the master carpenterCherry who found a log that started totalk. Since he feels uneasy about thematter, he gives it to his friend, thewoodcarver Geppetto. Geppetto isenthusiastic over the block of wood andimmediately starts to carve a woodenpuppet. Instead of going to school, Pinocchioprefers a puppet theatre. He laterencounters the sly fox and the evil cat,whom he tells of the thalers he earnedby chance in the puppet theatre. Theysuggest that he bury the money, where it will automatically increase.Fortunately, the fairy with the dark-bluehair always has an eye on the scallywag.She urgently warns him to stay on theright path and sends him home to hisfather. With the help of a dove and a talking cricket, Pinocchio starts to return to his father, but the latter hasmeanwhile been worrying aboutPinocchio and has built a boat withwhich to look for him. Pinocchio hurriesafter his father, but when he arrives atthe sea he sees only how Geppetto hasbeen caught in a great wave. The composer and cellist Martin Bärenzwas born in 1956 in Fürth. An importantaspect of his work is the series of family concerts organised by him since2007, at which a large number of melo-dramas for children have been premiered.

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THE BROTHERSGRIMM“Rumpelstilzchen”- A MUSICAL FAIRYTALE FORSPEAKER AND ORCHESTRABY WOLFGANG SÖRING(BASED ON THE BROTHERSGRIMM)- MUSICAL FAIRYTALE FORSPEAKER AND ORCHESTRABY HERBERT BAUMANNThe fairytale about the evil dwarf wholaid claim to the Queen’s baby is one ofthe truly archaic tales from the Grimmcollections. Except for the dwarf himself,the protagonists have no names. Theyare acting types with fixed role charac-ters. The fairytale of Rumpelstilzchen isfound all over the world in many modifi-cations. In order to be able to keep herchild, the Queen must guess the name ofthe evil gnome within three days. Bychance, the poor woman is able to listento him during his activity and thus to findout the secret; Rumpelstilzchen thensinks into the ground out of pure fury. Wolfgang Söring’s music, rich in image-ry, goes far beyond the illustration of theactual fairytale and provides much roomfor individual interpretations. In addition to his ballet music“Rumpelstilzchen,” Herbert Baumannhas also prepared a version for speakerand orchestra.

LA AVENTUREDI PINOCCHIO:STORIA DI UNBURATTINONEW IN THEPROGRAMME

“Pinocchio”- CHILDREN’S MELODRAMAFOR SPEAKER ANDORCHESTRA

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WILHELMHAUFF“Caliph Stork”FAIRYTALE FOR SPEAKERAND ORCHESTRA BYTORSTEN LINDNER BASEDON WILHELM HAUFF

Torsten Lindner wrote “Caliph Stork” in1983 at the age of fourteen. He got theidea for it when he received a picturebook of fairytales as a present. He wasinspired by the desire to bring togetherhis romantic idols Wagner, Mahler andWeber with his interest in pentatonicand oriental scales. Wolfgang-AndreasSchultz, today Professor at the HamburgAcademy of Music, took the protégéunder his wing and supported him withpraise and criticism. “Caliph Stork”received its world premiere during thecourse of the children’s concerts at theGreat Hall of the Musikhalle in Hamburg,performed by the Hamburg SymphonyOrchestra under the direction ofWilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg.In this fairytale, Wilhelm Hauff tells ofCaliph Chasid of Baghdad and his GrandVizier who bought a powder from a gro-cer with which they could turn themsel-ves into animals. However, they bothbroke the rule of not being allowed tolaugh. They had to remain storks becau-se they had forgotten the magic wordsby laughing. The Caliph notices, howe-ver, that they have been taken in by hisold enemy, the magician Kashnur. Theyset out on a journey on which they jointhe owl Lusa. This owl claims to be aprincess on whom the magician has casta spell, and can only be turned back intoa princess if someone proposes marria-ge to her. Under the condition the oneof the two must propose to her – despi-te her ugliness as an owl – she showsthem the secret meeting place of themagician and his cohorts. Those presenttell of their misdeeds and the two storksare able to pick up the magic word thatthey need – “Mutabor.” Transformedback into human beings, the Caliph andhis two companions return to Baghdad,where the officiating son of the magician

FAIRYTALES FOR NARRATOR AND MUSIC

has been overthrown and now himselftransformed into a stork. The magician ishanged and Chasid is once again Caliphof Baghdad. The beautiful Lusa remainsby his side.

“PETER AND THE WOLF”“Peter and the Wolf ”MUSICAL FAIRYTALE FORSPEAKER AND ORCHESTRABY SERGEI PROKOFIEV

There is hardly a piece in the history ofmusic that represents the field of musicfor children more impressively than SergeiProkofiev’s masterwork “Peter and theWolf,” composed in 1936. This compositi-on for narrator and orchestra is theunchallenged favourite at children’s con-certs and on the recording market, andone may certainly maintain that an entiregenre during the following decades wasmarked by Prokofiev’s compositionalideas and vivid language. Composerssuch as Harald Genzmer, Francis Poulenc,Wolfgang Söring, Jens-Peter Ostendorf,Mark Lothar and Stanley Weiner havefound their own ways, but can in no waydeny the influence of Prokofiev and hisideas. Sergei Prokofiev composed “Peter andthe Wolf” during the period when his bal-let “Romeo and Juliet” and the ViolinConcerto No. 2 were composed. At thattime, the unmistakeable Prokofiev stylewas consolidated with his dark, lyrical pas-sages and the ever-appearing motorrhythms. The transparent chamber-musictexture of his children’s piece “Peter andthe Wolf” is a bit different from his largesymphonic works and operas from thisperiod and the years preceding it. In par-ticular, Prokofiev’s expressive ambitionsreminiscent more of Stravinsky representa more typical way of handling large formsthan those of the late romantic ones of hisopera “The Love of Three Oranges,“Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 and 4 and the lastthree piano concertos. These are concen-

trated into miniatures in “Peter and theWolf.” In his preface to “Peter and the Wolf,” thecomposer emphasised the pedagogicalaspect of his work: “Each acting persona-ge in this tale is represented in the orche-stra by one or several instrument: the litt-le bird by the flute, the duck by the oboe,the cat by the clarinet in a low register(staccato), the Grandfather by the basso-on, the wolf by chords on the horns, Peterby the strings, the shooting of the huntersby tympani and a bass drum. It is appro-priate to show the children these instru-ments before the performance and playthe leitmotifs for them. In this way, theylearn to distinguish a large number oforchestral instruments without any effortduring the performance.”

Editions of “Peter and the Wolf” bySergei Prokofiev

Peter and the Wolf for Speakerand Mixed Choir a cappellaSIK 1633for Speaker and Mixed Choir acappella. CD (Original Recording)SIK 1633 AEasy Adaptation for PianoSIK 1634Study Score (with German Text)SIK 2291Piano Reduction (with German Text)SIK 2292Suite for PianoSIK 2295for Woodwind QuintetInstrumentation/Parts: Fl., Ob., Clar., Hn., Bsn.SIK 2397 (Score / Set of Parts) Piano Reduction (with English,French and Spanish Text)SIK 6899 for Children with Nine Easy PianoPieces SIK 6922 (with English Text)

Prokofiev, Sergei / Saint-Saens, CamillePeter and the Wolf / Carnival of the AnimalsWith Rolf Zuckowski as Narrator. SIK 8077 A (CD) SIK 8077 B (MC)

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FAIRYTALES FOR NARRATOR AND MUSIC

“The Story of the Lazy Bear” A MUSICAL TALE FOR SPEAKER, BASS TUBA AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 87 BY MARK LOTHARTEXT: ROLF BADENHAUSEN

A long time ago, not all wild animals and tame house pets has thetails which suited them. They had to really take pains, for in thespring and especially in the summer they were so much bitten byflies and mosquitoes that they could hardly defend themselves. Onlythe lion, the King of Beasts, had a beautiful long tail with a tassel, asbefitted his appearance and dignity. When he learnt of the sufferingof his subjects, he tried to think of a way how he could help them.He sent for a selection of the most beautiful tails from all differentcountries and announced that each animal could select the tail hepreferred. Well, King Lion’s good intentions were most praisewort-hy, but they were not observed by every animal. The lazy bear lay inhis cave, growling. Of course, he did not get a tail. RolfBadenhausen thought up this whimsical story which Mark Lotharimaginatively and colourfully set for orchestral instruments. The soloinstrument is a bass tuba, as befits a growling bear.

“Dying for Beginners”A MUSICAL CHILDREN’S PLAY FORSINGER/NARRATOR AND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRABY LINARD BARDILL AND FORTUNAT FRÖLICH

It is dull in Blue Wonderland, for the grumbling bear Beltrametti istaking his winter’s nap and the dwarf Gimli is writing the BlueWonderland Chronicle. It is deadly boring. “Dying can’t be asboring as what I’m going through right now,” said the rabbit to him-self. “It would be better for me to die a little, then at least I’d havesomething to do.” He then lay with his stomach over the branch ofa large pine tree and died, as rabbits do. Then a chicken came alongand, finding dying somehow cool, asked if he could do it too, andthen finally the grumbling bear appeared. ... The story is told withsongs and orchestral music. The orchestra plays the journey intoBlue Wonderland on the dragon Spucko. It is a wild, stormy flight.Then the music tells how a rabbit could die like that- or a chicken,or a bear. The composer Fortunat Frölich, who also arrangedBardill’s “Mondlieder” (Moon Songs) for classical chamber orche-stra, gets just about everything possible out of the orchestra, fromHollywood soundtrack to experimental New Music. It is an adventu-rous journey into the world of music rich in images for children andadults alike.

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“It is as if the fairytale

characters werepaper figures

from which onecould cut

something awayat will without

causing anyessential changeto take place.”

(Max Lüthi)

“It is as if the fairytale

characters werepaper figures

from which onecould cut

something awayat will without

causing anyessential changeto take place.”

(Max Lüthi)

“It is as if the fairytale

characters werepaper figures

from which onecould cut

something awayat will without

causing anyessential changeto take place.”

(Max Lüthi)

“The Story of the Lazy Bear” A MUSICAL TALE FOR SPEAKER, BASS TUBA AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 87 BY MARK LOTHARTEXT: ROLF BADENHAUSEN

A long time ago, not all wild animals and tame house pets has thetails which suited them. They had to really take pains, for in thespring and especially in the summer they were so much bitten byflies and mosquitoes that they could hardly defend themselves. Onlythe lion, the King of Beasts, had a beautiful long tail with a tassel, asbefitted his appearance and dignity. When he learnt of the sufferingof his subjects, he tried to think of a way how he could help them.He sent for a selection of the most beautiful tails from all differentcountries and announced that each animal could select the tail hepreferred. Well, King Lion’s good intentions were most praisewort-hy, but they were not observed by every animal. The lazy bear lay inhis cave, growling. Of course, he did not get a tail. RolfBadenhausen thought up this whimsical story which Mark Lotharimaginatively and colourfully set for orchestral instruments. The soloinstrument is a bass tuba, as befits a growling bear.

“Dying for Beginners”A MUSICAL CHILDREN’S PLAY FORSINGER/NARRATOR AND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRABY LINARD BARDILL AND FORTUNAT FRÖLICH

It is dull in Blue Wonderland, for the grumbling bear Beltrametti istaking his winter’s nap and the dwarf Gimli is writing the BlueWonderland Chronicle. It is deadly boring. “Dying can’t be asboring as what I’m going through right now,” said the rabbit to him-self. “It would be better for me to die a little, then at least I’d havesomething to do.” He then lay with his stomach over the branch ofa large pine tree and died, as rabbits do. Then a chicken came alongand, finding dying somehow cool, asked if he could do it too, andthen finally the grumbling bear appeared. ... The story is told withsongs and orchestral music. The orchestra plays the journey intoBlue Wonderland on the dragon Spucko. It is a wild, stormy flight.Then the music tells how a rabbit could die like that- or a chicken,or a bear. The composer Fortunat Frölich, who also arrangedBardill’s “Mondlieder” (Moon Songs) for classical chamber orche-stra, gets just about everything possible out of the orchestra, fromHollywood soundtrack to experimental New Music. It is an adventu-rous journey into the world of music rich in images for children andadults alike.

Page 17: magazine Magical Music Musical and Fairytales - Hans · PDF filemagazine Magical Music Musical and Fairytales Music-Theatrical Fairytales Fairytales for Narrator and Music Fairytales

FAIRYTALES ASORCHESTRAL WORKSWITHOUT NARRATOR“Fairytale Poem”for Orchestra by Sofia Gubaidulina“Fairytale Poem” composed in 1971 in themusic to a radio broadcast for children basedon the fairytale “The Little Chalk” by theCzech author Mazourek. “I liked the fairytaleso much and it seemed to me so symbolic forthe fate of an artist that a very personal relation-ship to this work arose for me,” explains SofiaGubaidulina. The music, written with greatjoy, can also be performed independently wit-hout spoken text. The main character in thisfairytale is a small piece of chalk used for wri-ting on school blackboards. The chalk dreamsof drawing wonderful castles, beautiful gar-den with pavilions and the sea. But it is forced,day in and day out, to write dull words, num-bers and geometrical figures on the blackbo-ard. In so doing, it becomes smaller and smal-ler, in contrast to the children who grow eachday. The piece of chalk gradually despairs,giving up all hope of ever being allowed todraw the sun or the sea. Soon it becomes sosmall that it can no longer be used in theclassroom and is thrown away. After this hap-pens, the chalk finds itself in total darknessand thinks it has died. This ostensible deadlydarkness, however, proves to be a boy’s trou-ser pocket. The child’s hand takes the chalkout into the daylight and starts drawing cast-les, gardens with pavilions and the sea withthe sun on the asphalt. The chalk is so happythat it hardly notices how it dis-integrates whilst drawing this beautiful world. Many instrumental works of Sofia Gubaidulinahave a programmatic approach, as does theFairytale Poem. The urgency of the tale, thespecial musical language of Gubaidulina andthe clear structure of the work also make itpossible for children to quickly find an intuiti-ve way of approaching the sound-spaces ofthe New Music.

FAIRYTALES AS ORCHESTRAL WORKS WITHOUT NARRATOR

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FAIRYTALES ASORCHESTRAL WORKSWITHOUT NARRATOR