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{{Short description|Orchestral composition by John Adams}}
'''''Harmonielehre''''' is a 1985 composition by [[United States|American]] composer [[John Coolidge Adams|John Adams]]. The composition's title, [[German language|German]] for "study of harmony," also the title of a book by [[Arnold Schoenberg]], hints at the work's combination of Schoenberg's harmonic principles with those of [[minimalism]].
{{About||the book by Arnold Schoenberg|Arnold Schoenberg#Writings|the book by Heinrich Schenker|Harmony (Schenker)}}
{{Italic title}}
'''''Harmonielehre''''' is a 40-minute orchestral composition by the American composer [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]], composed in 1985. In his memoir, Adams wrote that the piece "was a statement of belief in the power of [[tonality]] at a time when I was uncertain about its future"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Adams|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961365919|title=Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life|publisher=Faber and Faber|year=2008|isbn=978-0-571-23116-4|location=London|pages=129|oclc=961365919}}</ref> and that it was "a one-of-kind{{Sic|}} once-only essay in the wedding of [[Fin de siècle|fin-de-siècle]] [[chromatic harmony]] with the rhythmic and formal procedures of [[Minimalism (music)|Minimalism]]".<ref>Adams p. 130.</ref>


The composition's title, German for "study of harmony", is a reference to [[Arnold Schoenberg|Arnold Schoenberg's]] 1911 [[music theory]] textbook of the same name, a study of tonal harmony.<ref name="earbox harmonielehre">{{cite web|url=http://www.earbox.com/harmonielehre/|title=John Adams on Harmonielehre|work=Earbox|publisher=John Adams|accessdate=2015-10-23}}</ref> Other theory texts titled ''Harmonielehre'' include those by [[Heinrich Schenker]] (1906) and [[Hugo Riemann]] (1893).
⚫
Adams has stated that the piece was inspired by a dream he had in which he was driving across the [[San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge]] and saw an oil tanker on the surface of the water abruptly turn upright and take off like a [[Saturn V]] rocket. This dream and the following composition of the piece ended a [[writer's block]] Adams had been experiencing for a year, and the movements reflect his situation, representing, respectively, liberation (I), spiritual sickness (II), and grace (III).

⚫
Adams has said that the piece was inspired by a dream he had in which he was driving across the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] and saw an oil tanker on the surface of the water abruptly turn upright and take off like a [[Saturn V]] rocket.<ref>[http://www.earbox.com/W-harmonielehre.html Harmonielehre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517061538/http://www.earbox.com/W-harmonielehre.html |date=2010-05-17 }} John Adams. Retrieved 2010-07-15</ref> This dream and the composition of ''Harmonielehre'' shortly thereafter ended a [[writer's block]] Adams had been experiencing for 18 months.<ref>Adams, John. ''Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life,'' Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008, pp. 128-129.</ref>

==Movements==


The composition is in three movements:
The composition is in three movements:


{{Ordered list|start=1|type=upper-roman|First Movement}}
* '''I.''' The first movement, which is unnamed, begins with the rapid repetition of chords in E minor in standard minimalist fashion. However, about halfway through the movement the [[cello]]s begin to play an expressive melody that is eventually taken up by the entire orchestra, and it could not be farther from the minimalist aesthetic in its long-breathedness and expressivity.


::The first movement begins with the powerful repetition of chords in E minor in [[Minimalist music|minimalist]] fashion. These chords form a recurring theme throughout the movement, interspersed with motoric episodes that use Schoenberg's harmonic progressions as chordal "gates" (a name coined by Adams to describe juxtapositions of harmonic areas in his music).<ref>[http://www.earbox.com/W-phrygiangates.html Phrygian Gates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607143228/http://www.earbox.com/W-phrygiangates.html |date=2011-06-07 }} John Adams. Retrieved 2011-04-15</ref> At the center of the arch-like 17-minute movement arises what [[Tom Service]] has called an "achingly expressive lyrical theme."<ref name="theguardian.com">[https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/mar/11/symphony-guide-john-adams-harmonielehre-tom-service"] "Symphony guide: John Adams's Harmonielehre," ''The Guardian'', 11 March 2014, accessed January 19, 2018.</ref>
⚫
* '''II. The Anfortas Wound.''' The brooding second movement, based on the legend of the [[Fisher King]], also shuns minimalistic processes, favoring bleak [[Jean Sibelius|Sibelius]]-like soundscapes, building inexorably slowly to twin climaxes of brutal dissonance, the second of which is drawn from the climactic sonority of the first movement of [[Gustav Mahler]]'s unfinished [[Symphony No. 10 (Mahler)|Tenth Symphony]]. Like the unhealed wounds of the legendary [[Anfortas]] that provided the inspiration for this movement and reflect Adams' situation before the composition, the music's tensions are never truly resolved.


{{Ordered list|start=2|type=upper-roman|The Anfortas Wound}}
* '''III. Meister Eckhardt and Quackie.''' The third movement, according to Adams, is inspired by a dream that he had about his daughter Emily, whom he and his wife had nicknamed "Quackie." In the dream, young Emily rides through outer space upon the shoulders of 14th-century mystic [[Meister Eckhart]].<ref>[http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2420&State_2874=2&WorkId_2874=23704]</ref> In this movement, components of minimalism return with the return of repetitive rhythms and short snippets of melody. The work ends with a triumphant affirmation of tonality on the chord of E-flat.


⚫
::The brooding second movement, based on the legend of the [[Fisher King]], shuns minimalist processes, favoring bleak [[Jean Sibelius|Sibelius]]-like soundscapes, building inexorably slowly to twin climaxes of brutal dissonance, the second of which is drawn from the climactic sonority of the first movement of [[Gustav Mahler]]'s unfinished [[Symphony No. 10 (Mahler)|Tenth Symphony]].
The work was first premiered by the [[San Francisco Symphony]]. A performance of the piece typically takes about 40 minutes.

{{Ordered list|start=3|type=upper-roman|[[Meister Eckhardt]] and Quackie}}

::The third movement, according to Adams, is inspired by a dream that he had about his infant daughter Emily, whom he and his wife had briefly nicknamed "Quackie".<ref name="earbox harmonielehre"/>


==Instrumentation==
==Instrumentation==
The piece is scored for the following orchestra:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Adams|first=John|date=1998-09-23|title=Harmonielehre|url=https://www.earbox.com/harmonielehre/|access-date=2020-08-24|website=Earbox - John Adams|language=en-US}}</ref>
4 [[flutes]] (2, 3, 4 double [[piccolos]]), 3 [[oboes]] (3 doubles [[english horn]]), 4 [[clarinets]] in B flat (all double clarinets in A, while 3 and 4 double [[bass clarinet]]s), 3 [[bassoons]], [[contrabassoon]], 4 [[Horn (instrument)|horns]] in F, 4 [[trumpets]] in C, 3 [[trombones]], 2 [[tubas]], [[timpani]], 4 percussionists handling 2 [[marimbas]], [[vibraphone]] (bowed and struck), [[xylophone]], [[tubular bells]], [[crotales]] (bowed and struck), [[glockenspiel]], 2 [[suspended cymbal]]s (high and low), [[sizzle cymbal]], small [[crash cymbals]], [[bell tree]], 2 [[tamtams]] (2 actually referred to as "Medium Gong" in the second movement), 2 [[triangles]] (different pitches), [[bass drum]], 2 [[harps]], [[piano]], [[celesta]] and [[string section|strings]].
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
;[[Woodwind instrument|Woodwinds]]
:{{Hanging indent |text=4 [[Western concert flute| flutes]] (2nd, 3rd, and 4th doubling [[piccolos]])}}
:{{Hanging indent |text=3 [[oboes]] (3rd doubling [[english horn]])}}
:{{Hanging indent |text=4 [[clarinets]] in B{{music|flat}} and A (3rd and 4th doubling [[bass clarinet]])}}
:3 [[bassoons]]
:[[contrabassoon]]

;[[Brass instrument|Brass]]
:4 [[French horn|horns]] in F
:4 [[trumpets]] in C
:3 [[trombones]]
:2 [[tuba]]s

{{col-3}}
;[[Percussion instrument|Percussion]]
:[[timpani]]
:4 percussionists:
::2 [[marimba]]s
::[[vibraphone]] (bowed and struck)
::[[xylophone]]
::[[tubular bell]]s
::[[crotales]] (bowed and struck)
::[[glockenspiel]]
::2 [[suspended cymbal]]s (high and low)
::[[sizzle cymbal]]
::small [[crash cymbals]]
::[[bell tree]]
::{{Hanging indent |text=2 [[tamtam]]s (2nd actually referred to as "Medium Gong" in the second movement)}}
::{{Hanging indent |text=2 [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangles]] (different pitches)}}
::[[bass drum]]

{{col-3}}
;[[Keyboard instrument|Keyboards]]
:[[piano]]
:[[celesta]]

;[[String instrument|Strings]]
:2 [[harp]]s
:[[string section]]
{{col-end}}

== Recordings ==

* [[Edo de Waart]] / [[San Francisco Symphony]] ([[Nonesuch Records|Nonesuch]], 1985)
* [[Simon Rattle]] / [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]] (EMI, 1994)
* [[David Robertson (conductor)|David Robertson]] / [[Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra]] (Arch Media, 2008)
* [[Michael Tilson Thomas]] / [[San Francisco Symphony]] (SFS Media, 2012)
* [[Peter Oundjian]] / [[Royal Scottish National Orchestra]] ([[Chandos Records|Chandos]], 2013)
* [[Kent Nagano]] / [[Montreal Symphony Orchestra]] ([[Decca Gold|DECCA]], 2019)
* [[Giancarlo Guerrero]] / [[Nashville Symphony]] ([[Naxos]], 2021)

==Uses==

''Harmonielehre'' appears in the [[True Detective]] TV series Church in Ruins (S02e06).<ref>{{Citation|title=True Detective Soundtrack|accessdate=2019-01-22|url=https://www.tunefind.com/show/true-detective/season-2/23818}}</ref> It also appears in the Modern Era soundtrack of the computer game [[Civilization IV]],<ref>{{Citation|last=Grahckheuhl|title=Civilization 4 Soundtrack: Harmonielehre: Part I|date=2017-12-13|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P5JVAuKcGE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/9P5JVAuKcGE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> along with several other pieces by Adams. It also appears on the ''[[I Am Love (film)|I Am Love]]'' soundtrack.<ref>{{Citation|last=IMDB|title=I Am Love trailer|date=2010-10-18|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226236/videoplayer/vi1774061337?ref_=tt_ov_vi|accessdate=2016-10-18}}</ref> The work was selected for inclusion in ''[[The Guardian]]'''s list of "50 Greatest Symphonies".<ref name="theguardian.com"/> Dubstep musician duo [[Nero (band)|Nero]] samples the beginning of the first movement in the second track of its 2011 album [[Welcome Reality]], "Doomsday".


==References==
==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{John Adams (composer)}}
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[[Category:Compositions by John Coolidge Adams]]
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Minimalistic compositions|Adams, John]]


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[[Category:Compositions by John Adams (composer)]]
[[sv:Harmonielehre]]
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[[Category:1985 compositions]]
[[Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra]]

Latest revision as of 20:14, 30 April 2024

For the book by Arnold Schoenberg, see Arnold Schoenberg § Writings. For the book by Heinrich Schenker, see Harmony (Schenker).

Harmonielehre is a 40-minute orchestral composition by the American composer John Adams, composed in 1985. In his memoir, Adams wrote that the piece "was a statement of belief in the power of tonality at a time when I was uncertain about its future"[1] and that it was "a one-of-kind [sic] once-only essay in the wedding of fin-de-siècle chromatic harmony with the rhythmic and formal procedures of Minimalism".[2]

The composition's title, German for "study of harmony", is a reference to Arnold Schoenberg's 1911 music theory textbook of the same name, a study of tonal harmony.[3] Other theory texts titled Harmonielehre include those by Heinrich Schenker (1906) and Hugo Riemann (1893).

Adams has said that the piece was inspired by a dream he had in which he was driving across the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and saw an oil tanker on the surface of the water abruptly turn upright and take off like a Saturn V rocket.[4] This dream and the composition of Harmonielehre shortly thereafter ended a writer's block Adams had been experiencing for 18 months.[5]

Movements

[edit]

The composition is in three movements:

  1. First Movement
The first movement begins with the powerful repetition of chords in E minor in minimalist fashion. These chords form a recurring theme throughout the movement, interspersed with motoric episodes that use Schoenberg's harmonic progressions as chordal "gates" (a name coined by Adams to describe juxtapositions of harmonic areas in his music).[6] At the center of the arch-like 17-minute movement arises what Tom Service has called an "achingly expressive lyrical theme."[7]
  1. The Anfortas Wound
The brooding second movement, based on the legend of the Fisher King, shuns minimalist processes, favoring bleak Sibelius-like soundscapes, building inexorably slowly to twin climaxes of brutal dissonance, the second of which is drawn from the climactic sonority of the first movement of Gustav Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony.
  1. Meister Eckhardt and Quackie
The third movement, according to Adams, is inspired by a dream that he had about his infant daughter Emily, whom he and his wife had briefly nicknamed "Quackie".[3]

Instrumentation

[edit]

The piece is scored for the following orchestra:[8]

Recordings

[edit]

Uses

[edit]

Harmonielehre appears in the True Detective TV series Church in Ruins (S02e06).[9] It also appears in the Modern Era soundtrack of the computer game Civilization IV,[10] along with several other pieces by Adams. It also appears on the I Am Love soundtrack.[11] The work was selected for inclusion in The Guardian's list of "50 Greatest Symphonies".[7] Dubstep musician duo Nero samples the beginning of the first movement in the second track of its 2011 album Welcome Reality, "Doomsday".

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Adams, John (2008). Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life. London: Faber and Faber. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-571-23116-4. OCLC 961365919.
  2. ^ Adams p. 130.
  3. ^ a b "John Adams on Harmonielehre". Earbox. John Adams. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  4. ^ Harmonielehre Archived 2010-05-17 at the Wayback Machine John Adams. Retrieved 2010-07-15
  5. ^ Adams, John. Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008, pp. 128-129.
  6. ^ Phrygian Gates Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine John Adams. Retrieved 2011-04-15
  7. ^ a b " "Symphony guide: John Adams's Harmonielehre," The Guardian, 11 March 2014, accessed January 19, 2018.
  8. ^ Adams, John (1998-09-23). "Harmonielehre". Earbox - John Adams. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  9. ^ True Detective Soundtrack, retrieved 2019-01-22
  10. ^ Grahckheuhl (2017-12-13), Civilization 4 Soundtrack: Harmonielehre: Part I, archived from the original on 2021-12-21
  11. ^ IMDB (2010-10-18), I Am Love trailer, retrieved 2016-10-18
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