Das Marienleben Explained
| German: Das Marienleben |
| Type: | Song cycle |
| Composer: | Paul Hindemith |
| Translation: | The Life of Mary |
| Text: | 15 poems by Rainer Maria Rilke |
| Language: | German |
| Based On: | Life of Mary |
| Composed: | , revised 1948 |
| Movements: | 15 |
| Scoring: | Soprano and piano (some also with orchestra) |
German: Das Marienleben (The Life of Mary) is a song cycle by German composer Paul Hindemith. The cycle, written for piano and soprano, sets to music a collection of 15 poems by Rainer Maria Rilke that tells the story of the life of Mary.[1] The cycle was featured in the 1923 Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar.[2] Thirteen years after its 1923 premiere in Frankfurt, Hindemith began extensively revising and reworking the piece, eventually producing a second version which premiered in Hanover in 1948.[3]
Hindemith also orchestrated six of the songs: four in 1938 and two more in 1948.[3]
Structure
The work consists of fifteen movements:
- Geburt Mariä (Birth of Mary)
- Die Darstellung (The Presentation)
- Mariä Verkündigung (Annunciation to Mary)
- Mariä Heimsuchung (Visitation of Mary)
- Argwohn Josephs (Joseph's Suspicion)
- Verkündigung über den Hirten (Annunciation to the shepherds)
- Geburt Christi (Birth of Christ)
- Rast auf der Flucht in Ägypten (Rest on the Flight into Egypt)
- Von der Hochzeit (Of the wedding)
- Vor der Passion (Before the Passion)
- Pietà (Pieta)
- Stillung Mariä mit dem Auferstandenen (Consolation of Mary with the resurrected)
- Vom Tode Mariä I (Of the Death of Mary I)
- Vom Tode Mariä II (Of the Death of Mary II)
- Vom Tode Mariä III (Of the Death of Mary III)
A typical performance lasts around an hour and a half.
Literature
- Wilhelm Sinkovicz: German: Paul Hindemiths Liederzyklus "Marienleben" und seine beiden Fassungen als Beispiel für den Stilwandel der Musik in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Thesis. Vienna 1993.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Staff. Rovi. Das Marienleben, song cycle for soprano & piano, Op. 27. AllMusic. 15 October 2013.
- Book: Droste, Magdalena . Bauhaus: 1919-1933 . Taschen: Bibliotheca Universalis . 2022 . 1990 . 978-3-8365-6554-7 . 2019 . Berlin, Germany . 234 . en . Michael . Jane.
- Encyclopedia: Kennedy. Michael. Marienleben, Das. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 3. 1990. Oxford University Press. 398. 0193113201.
