''Arminius'' ( Op. 43) is an oratorio by the German composer

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard v ...

. Bruch wrote the work between 1875 and 1877 during the consolidation of the newly founded

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He picked the story revolving around

Arminius Arminius ( 18/17 BC – 21 AD) was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, in which three Roman legions under the command of ge ...

and the

Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themsel ...

-led defeat of three

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

legions in the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

in 9 A.D., which served as a German national myth from the 16th to the early 20th century.

History

Since the rediscovery of Tacitus's ''

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

'' in the 16th century, Germans have exalted the Germanic tribes as their direct ancestors. They especially praised German liberty defended by

in 9 A.D. when three legions of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

were defeated on Germanic soil, thus putting an end to Roman plans to subjugate

. This national myth inspired several poets and composers, amongst others

Georg Friedrich Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training ...

Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein Daniel Casper (25 January 1635 in Nimptsch, Niederschlesien – 28 April 1683 in Breslau, Niederschlesien), also spelled Daniel Caspar, and referred to from 1670 as Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, was a Baroque Silesian playwright, lawyer, diplom ...

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known work is the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah"). One of his major contributions to German literature was to open it up to exploration outside ...

and

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amphit ...

, to dedicate their works to Arminius and to the battle that preserved German liberty. After the foundation of the

in 1871, the interest in this story was renewed. The erection of the

Hermannsdenkmal The ''Hermannsdenkmal'' (German for "Hermann Monument") is a monument located southwest of Detmold in the district of Lippe (North Rhine-Westphalia), in Germany. It stands on the densely forested ', sometimes also called the ''Teutberg'' or ''Te ...

and the

Hermann Heights Monument The Hermann Heights Monument is a statue erected in New Ulm, Minnesota. The statue depicts Arminius (german: Hermann), an ancient Cheruscan, but locals refer to the statue as Hermann the German. The only National Register of Historic Places prop ...

and the renaissance of general interest in Germanic culture (f.ex. in

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'' tetralogy) took place during this era.

Scoring and structure

''Arminius'' is an oratorio in four parts for 3 soloists (

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. # I. Introduction # II. In the Sacred Grove # III. The Revolt # IV. The Battle Performed, the work approximately takes 90 minutes.

Introduction

:"Wir sind des Mars gewalt'ge Söhne, aus Götterkraft gezeugt sind wir! Vor unsern Waffen sanken der Erde stolze Reiche, wie Throngebilde brachen sie in Staub zusammen." — :"We are the sons of Mars the mighty, from Gods and heroes have we sprung! Before our arms unconquer'd the tribes of earth lie prostrate, they break asunder, like to moulds of clay, we crush them, they break asunder." In the Introduction,Barbara Eichner, ''History in Mighty Sounds: Musical Constructions of German National Identity'', p. 172–181. the Roman legions approach the camp of Arminius and the Cheruski who express their will to not longer accept Roman tyranny: "But now your conqu'ring arms shall fail you, your star of glory here shall pale and die! We freeborn sons of Wodan, we have not learnt to bend to the stranger's yoke!" ("''Doch hier ist ihrer Herrschaft Grenze, hier wird erbleichen ihres Ruhmes Stern! Wir, Wodans freie Söhne, wir beugten nie den Nacken dem fremden Joch!''")

In the Sacred Grove

:"Ihr Götter, Walhallas Bewohner, o neiget euch gnädig uns! Erhöret, erhabene Mächte, des Volkes Fleh'n!" — :"Ye Gods, dwelling high in Valhalla, oh, graciously hear us call! Ye heed us, ye mighty immortals, your people pray!" The second part of the oratorio introduces the listener to a sacred forest where the chorus and a priestess call the gods of heathen Germania to help them withstand.

The Revolt

:"O dass ich künden muss meines Volkes Schmach! Allvater, mächt'ger, zürnest du?" — :"Oh! Must I live to tell of my people's shame! Wodan, Allfather, art thou wroth?" The insurrection actually begins. Arminius muses about the past when the Germanic tribes lived peacefully in their homes, posing no threat whatsoever to the mighty Roman Empire which nonetheless started to "pour[] upon our valleys", thus breaking the peace. Siegmund roams the area after having killed a Roman soldier who had insulted his wife. Deeply shattered by Siegmund's faith illustrating Roman tyranny, Arminius calls everyone to arms: "To arms! for just is our cause! Ranged in order, brothers all!" ("''Zum Kampf! zum Kampf! zum heiligen Kampf schart euch, ihr tapfern Streiter all!''").

The Battle

:"Groß ist der Ruhm der deutschen Söhne, groß die Ehre der gefallenen Helden!" — :"Germany's sons shall be renowned, great and glorious are the heroes who have fallen!" The fierce battle is accompanied by renewed prayers to the Germanic gods who shall guide the warriors: "Freya, gracious mother, awful one, bounteous giver of blessings, look down on our warriors brave, oh protect them! Thousands are wounded, their blood is flowing, pour'd for their fatherland!" ("''Hehre Mutter, Freya, göttliche, freudenspendende Mutter, o schirme der Jünglinge schöne Jugend! Sieh, wie sie bluten aus tausend Wunden, bluten fürs Vaterland!''") Siegmund, fatally wounded, hears how "Allfather rides upon his steed of storm". The oratorio ends with Arminius and the choir praising Wodan and singing paeans: " will chant a solemn song to Freedom, glorious treasure!" ("'' irsingen der Freiheit hehres Lied, der goldenen und süßen Freiheit!''")

References

External links

''Arminius'' on Amazon

Information about ''Arminius'' on AllMusic

The chorus of the Romans on YouTube.

Arminius's call to arms on YouTube.
{{Authority control Compositions by Max Bruch 1877 compositions Oratorios Cultural depictions of Arminius