' is a 1922 German musical play, a Christmas fairy tale for children with music by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

. The play itself is subtitled, '.

Plot

The woodcarver Tuttifant is carving a Kaspar (or

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

) puppet when it comes to life. Because Tuttifäntchen has no heart he takes the heart of Tuttifant's daughter Trudel, who while Tuttifäntchen lives continues to live. However, when the puppet falls upon the fir tree from which he was taken and is absorbed back into the tree, Trudel begins to die. Tuttifant's apprentice retrieves Trudel's heart and returns it to her, saving her life. The star of Trudel's dead mother appears above the fir tree. Otto Erhardt recounts that Hindemith started work on the music without having read the full libretto.

Recordings

A recording by soloists, the

Berlin Radio Choir The Rundfunkchor Berlin (Berlin Radio Choir) is a professional German classical choir founded in 1925. In the 1950s the choir was divided into the Berliner Solistenvereinigung and the Großer Chor des Berliner Rundfunks. These were united as Ru ...

and Deutsches SO Berlin under Johannes Zurl was released by CPO in 2013. A recording of a suite drawn from the full score by the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, t ...

conducted by

Werner Andreas Albert Werner Andreas Albert (10 January 1935 – 10 November 2019) was a German-born Australian conductor. Personal life Albert was born in Weinheim. He began his studies in musicology and history, and later studied conducting with Herbert von Ka ...

, was released by CPO as well."Hindemith Violin Concerto; Kammermusik No 4; ''Tuttifäntchen''"
'' Gramophone'', November 1999 "Orquestra Clássica da Madeira", conducted by Roberto Alejandro Pérez, ALMASUD, 1999. An Italian translation and adaptation was made by the musicologist Quirino Principe in 2008. The narration with the 11 numbers of the "Suite" is recorded on CD Discantica 176 ("La Bottega Discantica", Milan). Symphony Orchestra of Milan "Giuseppe Verdi", conductor Fabrizio Dorsi, narrator Quirino Principe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttifantchen 1922 plays 1922 compositions Compositions by Paul Hindemith