Max Bruch - Das Lied von der Glocke, Op. 45 (1878) Part II
Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, teacher, and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin repertoire.
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Das Lied von der Glocke, Op. 45 (1877–1878-4-21)
Librettist: Friedrich Schiller
Part II
14. Solo (0:00)
15. Recitative (1:52)
16. Chor (4:26)
17. Aria (6:44)
18. Solo (11:32)
19. Intermezzo (12:54)
20. Recitative (16:47)
22. Terzett (24:13)
23. Recitative (29:50)
24. Scene (31:13)
25. Recitative (28:02)
26. Schluszquartet mit Chor (41:03)
Ute Selbig, soprano
Elisabeth Graf, alto
Matthias Bleidorn, tenor
Andre Eckert, bass
Singakedemie Dresden and Dresdner Philharmonie conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann
On 8 January 1879 Max Bruch sent his publisher Simrock the following thoughts on the dedication of his most recent, still unpublished oratorio: «Among the leading musicians of today there is not one to whom I would wish to dedicate this work ... Brahms never responded to the dedication of my First Symphony and Die Glocke shall not be given to any of the dii minorum gentium. Nor do I wish to dedicate the work to a prince, for I have no desire for golden snuffboxes, titles, or ribbons. What is left? My only choice - at once the best one and, it is my firm belief, the sole right one - is to consecrate Die Glocke to the memory of an extraordinary man to whom the nation, and the whole of humanity, owes this truly incomparable poem. ... My reverence for Schiller is boundless; and I have always sought an opportunity to lend potent expression to my feelings of veneration. »
The score of Das Lied von der Glocke does indeed bear a posthumous dedication to the great German writer. Perhaps, to quote Schiller himself, here «one heart found another, » for Bruch, a composer «immured» in the traditions and ideas of the nineteenth century, found his visions fully realized in Schiller’s poem of 1799. Yet, as far as its form is concerned, Schiller’s Glocke is not necessarily predestined for a musical setting, and few composers had ventured to attempt one. Only Andreas Romberg (1767-1821) had stepped forward with his Glocke, a setting much like Bruch’s in point of form that became quite popular among amateurs and was even frequently heard in performance.
Bruch started work on Die Glocke in Bonn in the early part of 1877. Part II was largely sketched in Bergisch Gladbach. The composition draft was finished before the year was out; and on 8 January Bruch began to write out the score in fair copy, completing it in time for Easter on 21 April 1878.
The critics certified the success of Bruch’s labors, praising in particular the dramatic force of the choral passages and the adroit tone-painting of the music. Indeed, with this work Bruch pulled every stop in his compositional arsenal. Besides typically melodious passages, there are sections of contrapuntal artifice and distant modulations. Nor did he fail to indulge his fondness for folk music: the movement Holder Friede even quotes four bars of the famous Christmas carol, Silent Night.
All in all, Bruch’s Glocke consists of two parts and a total of twenty-seven numbers. Even if several follow without a break, the numbers invariably fall into the traditional categories of recitative, arioso, ensemble, and chorus.
Bruch himself was certain that he had set new standards with this work. An oratorio on the same subject by Bernhard Scholz, his predecessor as conductor of the Breslau Orchestra, prompted these words from him in a letter of 1887 to Simrock: «Schiller’s poem is, to be sure, in public domain, and hence fair game for musicians; and anyone can set it, for it cannot defend itself. Before me there were such minor figures as Romberg, Nicolai, and their ilk; but now my music for Die Glocke has been in existence for years ... It is, I feel, safe to say that I have given musical form to Schiller’s poem for many years to come. It therefore takes an unusual degree of hubris, impudence, and self-deception to attack me on my native ground as Herr Scholz has done. »