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{{Short description|Suite of incidental music by Felix Mendelssohn to Sophocles' play}}
⚫
'''''Antigone''''' ([[Opus number|Op.]] 55; [[Mendelssohn-Werkverzeichnis|MWV]] M 12) is a suite of [[incidental music]] written in 1841 by [[Felix Mendelssohn]] to accompany the [[Greek tragedy|tragedy]] ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]'' by [[Sophocles]], staged by [[Ludwig Tieck]]. The text is based on [[Johann Jakob Christian Donner]]'s German translation of the text, with additional assistance from [[August Böckh]].
{{Infobox musical composition
| name = ''Antigone''
| type = [[Incidental music]]
| composer = [[Felix Mendelssohn]]
| image = Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy by Eduard Magnus.jpg
| image_upright =
| caption = The composer in 1845, portrayed by {{nowrap|[[Eduard Magnus]]}}
| dedication = [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]]
| opus = 55
| text = from [[Johann Jakob Christian Donner]]'s translation
| language = German
| based_on = ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]''
| performed = {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1841|10|28|df=y}}|location=[[Potsdam]]}}
| published = 1841
| movements = 8
| duration =
| scoring = {{hlist | [[narrator]]s | [[tenor]] and [[Bass (voice type)|bass]] [[Solo (music)|soloists]] | two men's [[choir]]s | [[orchestra]] }}
}}
⚫
'''''Antigone''''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 55, [[Mendelssohn-Werkverzeichnis|MWV]] M 12, is a suite of [[incidental music]] written in 1841 by [[Felix Mendelssohn]] to accompany the [[Greek tragedy|tragedy]] ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]'' by [[Sophocles]], staged by [[Ludwig Tieck]]. The text is based on [[Johann Jakob Christian Donner]]'s German translation of the text, with additional assistance from [[August Böckh]].


The music is scored for narrator, tenor and bass soloists, two men's choirs and orchestra. It includes an [[overture]] and seven choruses. The choruses are set in the style of [[Greek chorus]], with [[strophe]]s and [[antistrophe]]s sung [[antiphonal]]ly by the two choirs, with additional passages of [[recitative]].
The music is scored for [[narrator]]s, [[tenor]] and [[Bass (voice type)|bass]] [[Solo (music)|soloists]], two men's [[choir]]s and [[orchestra]]. It includes an [[overture]] and seven choruses. The choruses are set in the style of [[Greek chorus]], with [[strophe]]s and [[antistrophe]]s sung [[antiphonal]]ly by the two choirs, with additional passages of [[recitative]].


The first performance took place at the [[New Palace (Potsdam)|New Palace]], [[Potsdam]] on 28 October 1841. A public performance followed a week later at the [[Berlin State Opera]] on 6 November 1841. The music was published that year by Kistner in [[Leipzig]], with a dedication to his patron, King [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]].
The first performance took place at the [[New Palace (Potsdam)|New Palace]], [[Potsdam]] on 28 October 1841. A public performance followed a week later at the [[Berlin State Opera]] on 6 November 1841. The music was published that year by Kistner in [[Leipzig]], with a [[dedication (art)|dedication]] to his patron, King [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]].


==Background==
==Background==
Mendelssohn had been appointed as court composer to Frederick William IV, who had ascended the throne in June the previous year. The king had encountered Donner's translation of the play and passed it on to Tieck, the ''{{lang|de|Vorleser}}'' (stage reader) of the court.<ref name="S145">[[Michael Steinberg (music critic)|Michael P. Steinberg]], "The Incidental Politics to Mendelssohn's ''Antigone'', in ''Mendelssohn and His World'', edited by R. Larry Todd, 137–157 (Princeton University Press, 2012): 145.</ref> Mendelssohn composed the music quickly. Tieck first mentioned the idea on September 9, 1841, and the first full stage rehearsal was six weeks later. <ref name=Jebb>{{cite book|last=Jebb|first=Richard C.|title=Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Parth III: The Antigone|page=xli–xlii|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1900|place=Cambridge}} Available as [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0023%3Atext%3Dintro%3Apart%3Dintroduction%3Asection%3D18 Section 18] through the Perseus Digital Library</ref>
Mendelssohn had been appointed as court composer to Frederick William IV, who had ascended the throne in June the previous year. The king had encountered Donner's translation of the play and passed it on to Tieck, the ''{{lang|de|Vorleser}}'' (stage reader) of the court.<ref name="S145">[[Michael Steinberg (music critic)|Michael P. Steinberg]], "The Incidental Politics to Mendelssohn's ''Antigone''", in ''Mendelssohn and His World'', edited by R. Larry Todd, 137–157 (Princeton University Press, 2012): 145.</ref> Mendelssohn composed the music quickly. Tieck first mentioned the idea on September 9, 1841, and the first full stage rehearsal was six weeks later.<ref name=Jebb>{{cite book|last=Jebb|first=Richard C.|title=Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Parth III: The Antigone|page=xli–xlii|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1900|place=Cambridge}} Available as [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0023%3Atext%3Dintro%3Apart%3Dintroduction%3Asection%3D18 Section 18] through the Perseus Digital Library</ref>


Sophocles' play includes an initial choral [[ode]] and five [[stasimon|stasima]]. Mendelssohn added an additional ode at the end, drawing on the final dialogue between the chorus and [[Creon]] for the text.<ref>Steinberg, 151.</ref>
Sophocles' play includes an initial choral [[ode]] and five [[stasimon|stasima]]. Mendelssohn added an additional ode at the end, drawing on the final dialogue between the chorus and [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]] for the text.<ref>Steinberg, 151.</ref>
:Overture (C minor)
:Overture (C minor)
# "{{lang|de|Strahl des Helios, schönstes Licht}}" ([[C major]])
# "{{lang|de|Strahl des Helios, schönstes Licht}}" ([[C major]])
Line 15: Line 34:
# "{{lang|de|O Eros, Allsieger im Kampf}}" ([[G major]])
# "{{lang|de|O Eros, Allsieger im Kampf}}" ([[G major]])
# "{{lang|de|Noch toset des Sturmes Gewalt}}" ([[E minor]])
# "{{lang|de|Noch toset des Sturmes Gewalt}}" ([[E minor]])
# ''{{lang|de|Bacchus-Chor'': "Vielnamiger! Wonn' und Stolz der Kadmos-Jungfrau}}" ([[D major]])
# ''{{lang|de|Bacchus-Chor}}'': "Vielnamiger! Wonn' und Stolz der Kadmos-Jungfrau" ([[D major]])
# "{{lang|de|Hier kommt er ja selbst}}" (E♭ major)
# "{{lang|de|Hier kommt er ja selbst}}" ([[E flat major]])


==Analysis==
==Analysis==
The text setting, while of Donner's German translation, works well with the original Greek as well, suggesting that Mendelssohn must also have been attentive to the Greek text.<ref name="Jebb"/> Initially, Mendelssohn had attempted to imitate what he believed ancient Greek music to sound like, using mainly unison recitative and using only instruments that would have been known to the Greeks, but abandoned the idea.<ref name=Geary>{{cite journal|last1=Geary|first1=Jason|title=Reinventing the Past: Mendelssohn's ''Antigone'' and the Creation of an Ancient Greek Musical Language|journal=Journal of Musicology|volume=23|issue=2|pages=187–226|year=2006}}</ref>
The text setting, while of Donner's German translation, works well with the original Greek as well, suggesting that Mendelssohn must also have been attentive to the Greek text.<ref name="Jebb"/> Initially, Mendelssohn had attempted to imitate what he believed ancient Greek music to sound like, using mainly unison recitative and using only instruments that would have been known to the Greeks, but abandoned the idea.<ref name=Geary>{{cite journal|last1=Geary|first1=Jason|title=Reinventing the Past: Mendelssohn's ''Antigone'' and the Creation of an Ancient Greek Musical Language|journal=Journal of Musicology|volume=23|issue=2|pages=187–226|year=2006|doi=10.1525/jm.2006.23.2.187}}</ref>


[[Michael Steinberg (music critic)|Michael Steinberg]] has cautioned about the complexity of interpreting ''Antigone'', given that the production was not strictly speaking Mendelssohn's plan, but a group effort involving the king, Tieck, Donner, as well as Mendelssohn.<ref>Steinberg, 138.</ref> He further noted that Tieck staged the play in a way that reflected his interpretation of the play as presaging Christianity, which had complex resonances with Mendelssohn's Jewish background.<ref name="S145" />
[[Michael Steinberg (music critic)|Michael Steinberg]] has cautioned about the complexity of interpreting ''Antigone'', given that the production was not strictly speaking Mendelssohn's plan, but a group effort involving the king, Tieck, Donner, as well as Mendelssohn.<ref>Steinberg, 138.</ref> He further noted that Tieck staged the play in a way that reflected his interpretation of the play as presaging Christianity, which had complex resonances with Mendelssohn's Jewish background.<ref name="S145" />
Line 26: Line 45:
The music enjoyed immediate success in Germany.<ref name="Jebb" />
The music enjoyed immediate success in Germany.<ref name="Jebb" />


The play with the music was performed at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, London, on 2 January 1845, conducted by [[George Alexander Macfarren]], with less success. The awkward appearance of the chorus in this staging was satirized in the January 18 issue of ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]''.<ref name="Jebb" />
The play with the music was performed at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, London, on 2 January 1845, conducted by [[George Alexander Macfarren]], with less success. The awkward appearance of the chorus in this staging was satirized in the January 18 issue of ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]''.<ref name="Jebb" /> [[Thomas de Quincey]], writing after the same production was given in Edinburgh, was also critical of Mendelssohn's music, saying that "in quest of a thing called Greek music" he was guilty of "voluntarily abandoning the resources of his own genius".<ref name=Quincey>{{cite book |last=Quincey|first=Thomas de|date=1863|chapter=The Antigone of Sophocles|title=Logic of Political Economy and other papers|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Adam and Charles Black|pages=227–228|author-link=Thomas de Quincey}}</ref>


Mendelssohn himself was pleased with his music and it remained meaningful to him until the end of his life. At his funeral in 1847, an excerpt of it was played.<ref>Steinberg, pp. 153–154.</ref>
Mendelssohn himself was pleased with his music and it remained meaningful to him until the end of his life. At his funeral in 1847, an excerpt of it was played.<ref>Steinberg, pp. 153–154.</ref>
Line 37: Line 56:
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External link==
==External links==
*{{IMSLP2|work=Antigone, Op.55 (Mendelssohn, Felix)}}
*{{IMSLP2|work=Antigone, Op.55 (Mendelssohn, Felix)}}
*[http://bildsuche.digitale-sammlungen.de/index.html?c=viewer&lv=1&bandnummer=bsb00036676&pimage=00001&suchbegriff=&l=en Manuscript] at the [[Bavarian State Library]]
*[http://bildsuche.digitale-sammlungen.de/index.html?c=viewer&lv=1&bandnummer=bsb00036676&pimage=00001&suchbegriff=&l=en Manuscript] at the [[Bavarian State Library]]


{{Felix Mendelssohn}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Classical music}}
{{Portal bar|Classical music}}


[[Category:Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn]]
[[Category:Incidental music by Felix Mendelssohn]]
[[Category:1841 compositions]]
[[Category:1841 compositions]]
[[Category:Incidental music]]
[[Category:Works based on Antigone (Sophocles play)]]
[[Category:Adaptations of works by Sophocles]]
[[Category:Music dedicated to benefactors or patrons]]
[[Category:Music with dedications]]
[[Category:Music based on works by Sophocles]]

Latest revision as of 11:40, 28 February 2024

Antigone
Incidental music by Felix Mendelssohn
The composer in 1845, portrayed by Eduard Magnus
Opus55
Textfrom Johann Jakob Christian Donner's translation
LanguageGerman
Based onAntigone
DedicationFrederick William IV of Prussia
Performed28 October 1841 (1841-10-28): Potsdam
Published1841
Movements8
Scoring

Antigone, Op. 55, MWV M 12, is a suite of incidental music written in 1841 by Felix Mendelssohn to accompany the tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, staged by Ludwig Tieck. The text is based on Johann Jakob Christian Donner's German translation of the text, with additional assistance from August Böckh.

The music is scored for narrators, tenor and bass soloists, two men's choirs and orchestra. It includes an overture and seven choruses. The choruses are set in the style of Greek chorus, with strophes and antistrophes sung antiphonally by the two choirs, with additional passages of recitative.

The first performance took place at the New Palace, Potsdam on 28 October 1841. A public performance followed a week later at the Berlin State Opera on 6 November 1841. The music was published that year by Kistner in Leipzig, with a dedication to his patron, King Frederick William IV of Prussia.

Background

[edit]

Mendelssohn had been appointed as court composer to Frederick William IV, who had ascended the throne in June the previous year. The king had encountered Donner's translation of the play and passed it on to Tieck, the Vorleser (stage reader) of the court.[1] Mendelssohn composed the music quickly. Tieck first mentioned the idea on September 9, 1841, and the first full stage rehearsal was six weeks later.[2]

Sophocles' play includes an initial choral ode and five stasima. Mendelssohn added an additional ode at the end, drawing on the final dialogue between the chorus and Creon for the text.[3]

Overture (C minor)
  1. "Strahl des Helios, schönstes Licht" (C major)
  2. "Vieles Gewaltige lebt" (A major)
  3. "Ihr Seligen, deren Geschick nie kostet' Unheil!" (F major)
  4. "O Eros, Allsieger im Kampf" (G major)
  5. "Noch toset des Sturmes Gewalt" (E minor)
  6. Bacchus-Chor: "Vielnamiger! Wonn' und Stolz der Kadmos-Jungfrau" (D major)
  7. "Hier kommt er ja selbst" (E flat major)

Analysis

[edit]

The text setting, while of Donner's German translation, works well with the original Greek as well, suggesting that Mendelssohn must also have been attentive to the Greek text.[2] Initially, Mendelssohn had attempted to imitate what he believed ancient Greek music to sound like, using mainly unison recitative and using only instruments that would have been known to the Greeks, but abandoned the idea.[4]

Michael Steinberg has cautioned about the complexity of interpreting Antigone, given that the production was not strictly speaking Mendelssohn's plan, but a group effort involving the king, Tieck, Donner, as well as Mendelssohn.[5] He further noted that Tieck staged the play in a way that reflected his interpretation of the play as presaging Christianity, which had complex resonances with Mendelssohn's Jewish background.[1]

Reception

[edit]

The music enjoyed immediate success in Germany.[2]

The play with the music was performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 2 January 1845, conducted by George Alexander Macfarren, with less success. The awkward appearance of the chorus in this staging was satirized in the January 18 issue of Punch.[2] Thomas de Quincey, writing after the same production was given in Edinburgh, was also critical of Mendelssohn's music, saying that "in quest of a thing called Greek music" he was guilty of "voluntarily abandoning the resources of his own genius".[6]

Mendelssohn himself was pleased with his music and it remained meaningful to him until the end of his life. At his funeral in 1847, an excerpt of it was played.[7]

Selected recordings

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Michael P. Steinberg, "The Incidental Politics to Mendelssohn's Antigone", in Mendelssohn and His World, edited by R. Larry Todd, 137–157 (Princeton University Press, 2012): 145.
  2. ^ a b c d Jebb, Richard C. (1900). Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Parth III: The Antigone. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. xli–xlii. Available as Section 18 through the Perseus Digital Library
  3. ^ Steinberg, 151.
  4. ^ Geary, Jason (2006). "Reinventing the Past: Mendelssohn's Antigone and the Creation of an Ancient Greek Musical Language". Journal of Musicology. 23 (2): 187–226. doi:10.1525/jm.2006.23.2.187.
  5. ^ Steinberg, 138.
  6. ^ Quincey, Thomas de (1863). "The Antigone of Sophocles". Logic of Political Economy and other papers. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black. pp. 227–228.
  7. ^ Steinberg, pp. 153–154.
[edit]
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