Proms Chamber Music 7 (27.8.12): Debussy & Schoenberg

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Monday 27 August
1.00pm – c. 2.00pm
Cadogan Hall

Debussy: Sonata for flute, viola and harp (16 mins)
Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire (33 mins)

Christine Schäfer (Sprechstimme)
Martyn Brabbins conductor
Nash Ensemble

Today's Proms Chamber Music recital is given by the Nash Ensemble performing one of this season's featured composers, Debussy, with his Expressionistic Sonata for flute, viola and harp. That's followed by Schoenberg's extraordinary melodrama Pierrot lunaire, in which a murderous Pierrot's story is told by 'sprechgesang'. This half-speech half-sung style is something of a trademark for soprano Christine Schäfer, who joins the Nash Ensemble.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There's been little comment on these concerts this year, but surely an outing of Pierrot Lunaire is worth a listen?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There's been little comment on these concerts this year, but surely an outing of Pierrot Lunaire is worth a listen?

... as is Debussy's superb, elusive masterpiece - one of my "Desert Island" works.

[Serial_Apologist]

I went to this - a virtually full house, for Schoenberg - and only just got in at the last moment!

I would have liked a bit more delicacy and springiness in the Debussy, whose first two movements were taken more slowly than I'm used to: the flute and viola tones were rather thick, while, on the other hand, bottom notes in the harp part, so important in the few places where they add much-needed resonance, were, I thought, too lighly plucked.

"Pierrot Lunaire" was my gateway into Schoenberg's atonal music, and remains one of my favourite pieces since first hearing it at age 19. The Nash performance was I felt well judged on the whole, bringing the work's allusiveness and harmonic/sonic richness out magnificently, if a tad underwhelmingly in "Nacht", "Rote Messe" and "Die Kreuze", less emotionally disembowelling in the best sense than had been the case in the one or two recordings which have come my way, (this being my first live exposure). Ms Schaeffer approached the part as though it were Marie's in "Wozzeck" - this is not grand opera, vibrato is out of place, and I was not sure if I was glad that the vocal part was almost inaudible at times from where I was, in the gallery. (An acquaintance said she was pretty low volume in the auditorium: is there a case to be made for miking?). Most touching was "Der kranke Mond" - the voice/solo flute duet which influenced Ravel in "L'Enfant" and Boulez in "Le Martyr". In his pre-performance talk Brabbins referred (iirc) to two places in the score where the vocalist is instructed to actually sing the part conventionally, without saying which, but the only point at which this was apparent (to me) was at the start of the final song, "O alter Duft", where she duplicated the piano's falling melodic line briefly - something I have heard no other soprano do: is it justified in the score, anyone know?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

In his pre-performance talk Brabbins referred (iirc) to two places in the score where the vocalist is instructed to actually sing the part conventionally, without saying which, but the only point at which this was apparent (to me) was at the start of the final song, "O alter Duft", where she duplicated the piano's falling melodic line briefly - something I have heard no other soprano do: is it justified in the score, anyone know?

I don't know of this instruction, and a quick glance through the score shows the Rezitation part to have the crossed stems that indicate non-singing.

But the first five notes in the voice part of the last poem are in unison with those in the piano (the only time, I think, that there is such a texture).

[Serial_Apologist]

I don't know of this instruction, and a quick glance through the score shows the Rezitation part to have the crossed stems that indicate non-singing.

But the first five notes in the voice part of the last poem are in unison with those in the piano (the only time, I think, that there is such a texture).

Thanks v much for that info, ferney - puts a quite different complexion on the recordings I've heard.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Oops, yes there is at least one such sung moment: on page one! (The first TWO NOTES of bar 10!) (These notes aren't doubled by any instruments, though.)

The composer's Preface also refers to "specially marked isolated moments".

[heliocentric]

Sprechgesang is a big can of worms... I liked Christine Schäfer's approach in the recording conducted by Boulez, and I think all other things being equal I prefer it slightly balanced towards the sung voice, one reason being that it tends to be somewhat higher in tessitura than most people's spoken voices (the title role of Lulu being an extreme case). Many performers "solve" this problem by basically ignoring the notated pitches but personally I prefer the more "unnatural" approach, given that Schoenberg's piece is so stylised anyway.

This looks like a beautiful idea for a programme though. I look forward to giving it a listen tomorrow.

[edashtav]

Diet of Worms

Sprechgesang is a big can of worms... .
...
Many performers "solve" this problem by basically ignoring the notated pitches but personally I prefer the more "unnatural" approach, given that Schoenberg's piece is so stylised anyway.

This looks like a beautiful idea for a programme though. I look forward to giving it a listen tomorrow.

How do you respond to Eliezer Rapoport's thoughts on this matter, helio? (Do visit http://www.biu.ac.il/hu/mu/min-ad/06/Sprchgsng.pdf )

[heliocentric]

How do you respond to Eliezer Rapoport's thoughts on this matter, helio?

Thanks for that interesting article.

On page 13 it's noted that the spoken voice of the male speaker ("LSt") has been transposed up by an octave in order to ease the comparison between these transcriptions and Schoenberg's vocal line. Rapoport remarks: "It could be suggested here that Schoenberg possibly transcribed his own voice, and raised it by an octave for the female singing-speaking vocal role." That seems on the face of it to be a reasonable hypothesis. The thing is, though, female speaking voices are on average considerably less than an octave higher than male speaking voices (the ratio between the vibrating length of the vocal fold in men and women is on average 1.6:1 and not 2:1); so if that's really the way Schoenberg thought about it the tessitura of his Sprechgesang line lies above that of the average female speaking voice. In other words, as I said, most vocalists approaching Pierrot lunaire will have to decide whether to sacrifice the notated pitches for the contour, or to adopt something more like their singing voice to handle the higher register (and therefore to make it sound more "sung").

[edashtav]

The thing is, though, female speaking voices are on average considerably less than an octave higher than male speaking voices (the ratio between the vibrating length of the vocal fold in men and women is on average 1.6:1 and not 2:1); so if that's really the way Schoenberg thought about it the tessitura of his Sprechgesang line lies above that of the average female speaking voice. .

I like your application of science to this thorny issue. You may have hit on a good reason for "early" Sprechgesang scores being so difficult to bring off.

[heliocentric]

I'm looking forward to reading Jane Manning's recently-published book Voicing Pierrot, which would probably tell anyone everything they need to know about such matters. It also contains a "Music Minus One"-type CD of the instrumental parts of Pierrot Lunaire to aid practising at home...

[bluestateprommer]

Caught this on iPlayer, and a fine PCM, in keeping with all the others this season. I have to admit that the Debussy Sonata here falls down for me on the very last bar, but that's the music, not the performance. Likewise, for the Schoenberg, Frl. Schäfer was very fine and intense, a few word slips aside (at least according to the on-line version of the text that I found - I don't have a recording of Pierrot Lunaire). It was also nice to hear Martyn Brabbins give a few words of introduction with CBH.

I went to this - a virtually full house, for Schoenberg - and only just got in at the last moment!

Very heartening to know that the house was essentially packed out. I guess that overall, it's a very knowing and select crowd that goes to the Cadogan Hall Proms, since the repertoire for the PCM's and PSM's tends to be less splashy than what tends to fill the RAH.

[Roslynmuse]

I have to admit that the Debussy Sonata here falls down for me on the very last bar, but that's the music, not the performance.

Me too! It's utterly wonderful otherwise...

[Serial_Apologist]

Ms Shafer was more audible on the broadcast than in the hall - most impressed, now that I can actually hear her!