Arche (oratorio)

Arche (Ark, often stylised as ARCHE) is an oratorio for soloists, choirs, organ and orchestra by Jörg Widmann. It was commissioned by Kent Nagano for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie. In the premiere on 13 January 2017, he conducted 300 performers.

ARCHE
Oratorio by Jörg Widmann
The composer in 2006
EnglishArk
PeriodContemporary
Textby several authors, from the Bible and Mass
Language
  • German
  • Latin
Composed2016
Published2016 (2016): Mainz
PublisherSchott Music
Recorded13 January 2017 (2017-01-13)
Duration100:00[1]
Scoring
  • soprano
  • baritone
  • boy soprano
  • two children narrators
  • children's choir
  • two mixed choirs
  • organ
  • orchestra
Premiere
Date13 January 2017 (2017-01-13)
LocationElbphilharmonie, Hamburg
ConductorKent Nagano
PerformersHamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra

Background
Elbphilharmonie (July 2015)

Jörg Widmann composed the oratorio ARCHE in 2016.[1] Kent Nagano commissioned a full-length work for choir and orchestra and did not make any content restrictions.[2] The commission of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie has 300 performers with two soloists, two adult choirs and a children’s choir.[3] Two child narrators chronicle the acts of creation and the flood.[1] Widmann's work was inspired by the Elbphilharmonie under construction.[3]

Structure

ARCHE is structured in five sections,[lower-alpha 1] in which Widmann roams through more than 3000 years of cultural and 300 years of music history.[5] Antithetic or dualistic conceptions characterize large parts of the oratorio.[6]

I – Fiat lux / Es werde Licht

Beginning with silence: Let there be sound.[1] At first noise-like sounds of wind and nature and "pitchless rustles and whispers".[7][8] Air sounds and breath noises are created with wind instruments. The acts of creation are partly accompanied with heavenly chorales and burlesque, ironical musical episodes.[8]

II – Die Sintflut

The catastrophic character is manifested by cascading masses of sound.[9]

III – Liebe
  • Love

The center section is characterized by antiphony between the lovers (soprano and baritone) with tragic operatic fragments.[10] All forms of love are found within it – dark, bright, joyous, vile and jealousy.[4] Because of the jealousy of humans, Die Liebe leads to a double murder in a delusional fever.[11]

IV – Dies irae
  • Day of wrath

The strict setting of Dies irae represents the impending apocalypse.[lower-alpha 3] The human response is Friedrich Schiller's Ode to Joy.[lower-alpha 4] Widmann's setting of the poem cites Beethoven's Choral Fantasy.[13]

V – Dona nobis pacem
  • Grant us peace

Modern Zeitgeist is represented by an alphabet rap of the children's choir. The response is a Dona nobis pacem,[lower-alpha 5] performed by a boy soprano and the choirs. Man bears the fate of the earth in his own hands.[11] The resolution of the final cadence is not complete.[14]

Scoring

The setting contains voices and a large orchestra.[1]

  • Vocal soloists: soprano, baritone, boy soprano
  • Choirs: children's choir, two mixed choirs
  • two children narrators (boy and girl)

Instrumentation
  • Woodwinds: 4 flutes (all with B foot, all doubling piccolo, 3rd doubling alto flute, 4th doubling bass flute), 4 oboes (2nd doubling oboe d'amore, 3rd and 4th doubling lotus flute, 3rd doubling cor anglais, 4th doubling heckelphone), 4 clarinets in B♭ (all doubling in A, 2nd doubling clarinet in E♭, 3rd doubling bass clarinet in B♭, 4th doubling contrabass clarinet in B♭), 4 bassoons (3rd and 4th doubling double bassoon)
  • Brass: 6 horns (1st and 2nd doubling natural horn), 4 trumpets in C (1st and 2nd doubling in B♭, 1st doubling high B♭ ad lib.), 4 trombones (3rd and 4th doubling bass trombone ad lib.), tuba
  • Strings: 16 violins I, 14 violins II, 12 violas, 10 cellos, 8 double basses (all with 5 strings)
  • Percussion: 4 players, timpani
  • 2 harps, accordion, glass harmonica, 2 pianos (2nd doubling celesta), organ

Text

The language of the oratorio is German and Latin. Widmann selected a variety of texts from different centuries:[1]

and from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Bible and Mass.

Premiere

Widmann's oratorio ARCHE had its world premiere on 13 January 2017 on the occasion of the opening festivities of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.[15] It was performed by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano. Soloists were Marlis Petersen (soprano) and Thomas E. Bauer (baritone).[1] The choirs were Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper, Audi Jugendchorakademie and Hamburger Alsterspatzen.[1]

Reception

A few German newspapers critically reviewed the premiere of ARCHE.[16][3][17][18] The neue musikzeitung stated that the oratorio is capable of winning a majority.[19] Eleonore Büning, reviewer of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, wrote about the enthusiasm of the audience, and that Widmann's splendid, richly orchestrated music breaks all genre and style boundaries.[20] Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote, that the work is diverging, and also undecided in its message.[21] Andrew Clements, reviewer of The Guardian, wrote about the CD production: "fails to convince".[22]

Awards

Widmann received the Opus Klassik "Composer of the Year" 2019 Award for ARCHE.[23]

Recording

Notes
  1. In analogy to the quintipartite form of the Ordinary Mass.[4]
  2. See also Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation.
  3. The Latin text Dies irae is usually part of a Requiem.
  4. The poem Ode to Joy is rooted in the philosophy of the Enlightenment.[12]
  5. From the Catholic Mass liturgy.[4]

References

Citations
  1. "ARCHE (Score)". Schott Music. 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. Nagano & Delnon 2017, p. 9.
  3. Thiel, Markus (15 January 2017). "Stapellauf fürs Themenfrachtschiff". Münchner Merkur (in German). München. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. Rexroth, Dieter (2017). Widmann: Arche (booklet). Kent Nagano and Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg. ECM 2018. pp. 19, 20. OCLC 1082269254.
  5. Roschinski, Markus (2019). "Jörg Widmann: Arche". Das Orchester. 3/2019: 71. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  6. Nagano & Delnon 2017, pp. 11, 13, 16.
  7. Nagano & Delnon 2017, p. 10.
  8. Quantrill, Peter (December 2018). "Widmann Arche (Nagano)". Gramophone. London: Mark Allen Group. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  9. Brug, Manuel (15 January 2017). "Die Elbphilharmonie ist ein fantastisches Showgirl". Die Welt (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  10. Nagano & Delnon 2017, p. 14.
  11. Besthorn, Florian Henri (2019). "Jörg Widmann". KDG Online. Komponisten der Gegenwart.
  12. Schulz, Bernhard (13 October 2011). ""Jeder Schuldschein sei zernichtet" Schillers "Ode an die Freude" wird versteigert". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  13. Nagano & Delnon 2017, p. 12.
  14. Nagano & Delnon 2017, p. 15.
  15. Elbphilharmonie programme, 13 January 2017
  16. Sell, Barbara (14 January 2017). "Elbphilharmonie: Nagano triumphiert mit Widmanns "Arche"" (Press release) (in German). Hamburg: Frankfurter Neue Presse. dpa. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  17. Lesle, Lutz (16 January 2017). "Vor uns die Sintflut". Die Welt (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  18. Jungblut, Peter (14 January 2017). "Mehr Pomp als Seele". BR-Klassik. Munich. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  19. Koch, Juan Martin (14 January 2017). "Mehrheitsfähiges aus dem Schiffsbauch: Zur Uraufführung von Jörg Widmanns Oratorium "Arche" in der Elbphilharmonie". nmz online (in German). neue musikzeitung. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  20. Büning, Eleonore (16 January 2017). "Hamburg rast vor Begeisterung". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Frankfurt. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  21. Spinola, Julia (15 January 2017). "Materialschlacht an der Elbe". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). München. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  22. Clements, Andrew (1 November 2018). "Jörg Widmann: Arche review – ambitious welcome to the Elbphilharmonie fails to convince". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  23. O'Reilly, Chris (3 September 2019). "Opus Klassik Awards 2019". prestomusic.com. Leamington Spa: Presto Classical. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  24. Fischer-Zernin, Verena (6 October 2018). "Jörg Widmanns Elbphilharmonie-"Arche" auf CD". Hamburger Abendblatt (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2018.

Sources
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