Kurt Weill
The New Orpheus
Short instrumentation: 2 2 2 2 - 0 2 2 0 - timp, perc(2), hp, vla(12), vc(12), cb(8)
Duration: 18'
Text von: Ivan Goll
Herausgeber: Andreas Eichhorn
Dedication: für Lotte Leonard
Solos:
violin
soprano
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
1st oboe
2nd oboe
1st clarinet in Bb
2nd clarinet in Bb
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
1st trombone
2nd trombone
timpani
percussion(2)
harp
viola I(6)
viola II(6)
violoncello I(6)
violoncello II(6)
contrabass(8)
Weill - Der neue Orpheus for soprano, solo violin and orchestra
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Kurt Weill
Weill: Der neue Orpheus (The New Orpheus) for soprano, solo violin and piano - op. 16Orchestration: for soprano, solo violin and piano
Type: Klavierauszug
Language: Deutsch
Kurt Weill
Weill: Der neue Orpheus for soprano, solo violin and orchestra - op. 16Orchestration: for soprano, solo violin and orchestra
Type: Studienpartitur
Language: Deutsch
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Work introduction
Kurt Weill’s cantata Der Neue Orpheus (1927), on a text by Ivan Goll, is an expressionistic, freely tonal work which mixes the very different stylistic worlds of operatic aria and chanson. At the same time it also includes parodistic echoes of popular and traditional elements – for example, impressionistic features at the beginning of the vocal part, or down-to-earth, acerbic moments bordering on cabaret grotesquerie. The music of Gustav Mahler is referred to both in the music as well as in the text itself. The text narrates the tragic story of a singer who sets off for the grey walls of modern cities in order to rescue Euridice and with her, humanity. Seven variations depict the distortion of our musical life and experience of music. Euridice is a prostitute, redemption impossible – and Orpheus shoots himself.