''Hérodiade de Stéphane Mallarmé: Recitation orchestrale'' is a composition by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American 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 advo ...

written in June 1944 on commission from

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over s ...

, supported by funds from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. The ballet premiered under the title of ''Herodiade'' (but had originally been titled ''Mirror before Me'') in the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Auditorium at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

in Washington DC. The premiere took place on 30 October 1944, sharing the program with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

's ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is an American ballet created by the choreographer Martha Graham and the composer Aaron Copland, later arranged as an orchestral work. Commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Copland composed the ballet music for Gra ...

'' and

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

's ''Jeux du printemps'' (Graham's ballet title was '' Imagined Wing''), with Martha Graham and

May O'Donnell May O'Donnell (May 1, 1906 – February 1, 2004) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Born in Sacramento, California, May O'Donnell studied dance in San Francisco with Estelle Reed and performed in Reed's company before moving to New ...

in the leading roles. The choreography was by Martha Graham, stage design was by the Japanese American sculptor

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...

, and costumes by Edythe Gilfond.

Composition

The piece uses

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French Symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools o ...

's poem "

Hérodiade ''Hérodiade'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Paul Milliet and Henri Grémont, based on the novella ''Hérodias'' (1877) by Gustave Flaubert. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels ...

" as a basis for the dramatic narrative flow of the piece without using the more common fusion of poetry and music, a song. Neither does the subtitle "orchestral recitation" imply an actual recitation of the poetry with the music as in a

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

. This misunderstanding has led to some misguided performances and recordings. In a letter to Willy Strecker, Hindemith further confirms that "The 'Hérodiade' is not to be spoken! The melodic lines in the orchestra ... are themselves the recitation." Likewise, Hindemith did not set the text as a song because he felt the voice would be a distraction from the dance.Hindemith, Paul. ''Hérodiade de Stéphane Mallarmé ; récitation orchestrale'' : 1944. Mainz:

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

, 1955. He chose to give the melodic lines of the singer to the instruments of the orchestra, often giving the instruments rhythms that mimic the cadences of French poetry and the declamation of the Mallarmé poem. It is this that results in the subtitle "orchestral recitation" and not any intent to actually include a recitation of the poem.

Instrumentation

The instrumentation is similar to Copland's ''Appalachian Spring'', with the addition of oboe and horn and the reduction of strings to one on a part (as opposed to pairs): 1

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, 1

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

, 1

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, 1

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

, 1

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

, 1

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, 2

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s, 1

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, 1

violoncello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C ...

, 1

string bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

Structure

The music is in one continuous movement but divided into 11 sections. # A short Prèlude in the strings, followed be a wide-spun melody with the full ensemble, ending with a wind instrument repetition of the opening phrase # A short string quartet # A longer section (Modéré), flute and oboe featured # A return to the string quartet Nurse's music # A loud outburst, full ensemble, (Vif) # Another return to the string quartet Nurse's music # An aria for the clarinet # Energetic, full ensemble, (Agité) # Triumphant waltz, (Vif et passioné) # An aria for the bassoon # A brief, pathetic Finale Section 1 – Prèlude Section 1 – Melody \relative c'' Section 2 – Nurse: "Tu vis! ou vois-je ici l'ombre d'une princesse?" Section 3 – Hérodiade: "Reculez. Le blond torrent de mes cheveux immaculés...") Section 4 – "Sinon la myrrhe gaie..." Section 5 – Hérodiade: "Laisse la ces parfums" \relative c'' Section 6 – Nurse: "Pardon! l'âge effaçait" Section 7 – Hérodiade's scene before the mirror, "O miroir! Eau froide par l'ennui dans ton cadre gelée" \relative c'' Section 8 – Hérodiade: "Arrête dans ton crime" \relative c'' Section 9 – Hérodiade: "Oui, c'est pour moi, pour moi, que je fleuris, déserte!" \relative c'' Section 10 – Hérodiade: "Non, pauvre aieule" \relative c'' Section 11 – "Vous mentez, ô fleur nue de mes lèvres" \relative c''

References

Notes

External links

Library of Congress review clipping
from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''
Library of Congress clipping
from ''

Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...

'' for a Boston performance
Article by Jürgen Thym in the Moldenhauer Archives at the Library of Congress

Letter to Willy Strecker

and list of performances,

"Literature, Modernism, and Dance" at Google Books

Martha Graham: special issue
journal ''Choreography and Dance'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herodiade (ballet) Ballets by Martha Graham Ballets by Paul Hindemith Ballets with sets by Isamu Noguchi 1944 ballets Ballet music Ballets based on works by Stéphane Mallarmé Cultural depictions of John the Baptist

Composition

Instrumentation

Structure

References

Further reading

External links