Königskinder (Royal children)

ulUltiitimiii KONIGSKINDER ('Royal Children) \\-%i\\\,%\\ ST Guide, to* HUMPERDINCK'S OPERA LIBRARY Brigham Young University From , 69254 Call Nn.H ■ Ace. No *titiM?tf&y- n 1 A J Date Due 1 ! \ " 1 n PRINTED IN U. S. A. . KONIGSKINDER DR. ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK m /GO //IcONIGSKINDER (ROYAL CHILDREN) A GUIDE TO ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK'S AND ERNST ROSMER'S OPERA By LEWIS M. ISAACS and KURT J. RAHLSON ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1912 Copyright, 1912 BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY Published, January, 1912 To % 3- #♦ 3< (Translated extract from a letter by the composer to the authors.) Starnberg, near Munich, September 25, 191 1. Your kind favor was forwarded to me here, at Wurmsee, where I am spending the rest of my vacation. Your " Guide to Konigskinder " is being returned, under separate cover, with my best thanks. . . . I have examined it and find it worked out very carefully and with much insight. . . . With kindest regards and many thanks, I am, Yours very sincerely, Dr. E. Humperdinck. PREFACE Whether Engelbert Humperdinck is in fact the originator of a new genre of opera is of little con- sequence; since, unquestionably, his essays in the field of " Marchenoper " — or fairy-lore opera — ■ have indissolubly associated his name with it. " Hansel und Gretel," which scored the greatest operatic success in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century, brought the composer into world-wide prominence; and the spontaneous and charming character of the music has endeared it to every heart. A more striking contrast to the lurid works of the so- called veristic school of Italy, just then in popular vogue, could not be imagined. In place of a crude " raw-head-and-bloody-bones " sort of libretto, there was one of the simple and poetic fairy tales of the brothers Grimm ; and the musical setting, so strongly recalling the ever-fresh folksong of Germany, was a most captivating substitute for the raucous, rudely- harmonized — if richly-hued — scores of the prevail- ing school of opera. It was as though a breath of cool, sweet-smelling air had found its way into the torrid, humid atmosphere that hung heavy over the operatic stage. The choice of subject was, for the composer, a most felicitous one. For Humperdinck 7 8 PREFACE is, as the Kaiser has well said, the most Germanic of living composers. His genius has its roots firmly embedded in the soil of Germany, with its wonderful well of folk-song undefiled. The combination of fairy tale and folk-song, so natural when once sug- gested, had been attempted by an earlier composer, who, in his day and ever since, has been called the most Germanic of operatic composers — Carl Maria von Weber. Like Humperdinck, Weber utilized popular melodies in his operas, and his own type of melody was closely akin to that of the contemporary Volkslied. His settings of Korner's " Leyer und Schwert " stimulated national enthusiasm to fever heat and made him the hero of the day. But Weber suffered from lack of good librettos, and the per- vading romantic element had a certain amount of medievalism and a stilted quality that prevented a complete balance between music and drama. It remained for Humperdinck with his strong sense of the natural beauty of the folk-tune and its kin- ship to the folk-tale of his native country and with his individual melodic inventiveness, to recreate out of elements that were not in themselves new, an art work which will live through the ages, refreshing the most blase music lover and delighting generations yet unborn. The text, " Lumen de lumine," from the Nicene Creed, which Humper- dinck has placed at the head of his " Konigskinder " score, adds point to the thought that he, like some PREFACE 9 runner of old, has kindled his flame at the torch of Weber and going forward holds it high. So great a success as " Hansel und Gretel " won for itself, it would be difficult to repeat. But in his latest opera, " Konigskinder," the composer has proven that his musical powers are susceptible of growth without any loss in spontaneity or freshness. And if its popular success should be less, it will be attributable partly to the fact that it followed 11 Hansel und Gretel " and partly to its more seri- ous, not to say tragic, theme. Once more the com- poser has utilized a simple fairy tale, only this time a tale with an underlying symbolical significance which adds to its dramatic interest. The tragedy of the wasted lives of the royal children, unwelcomed because unrecognized, is the tragedy of human folly and blindness which judges by externals, and fails, until too late, to appreciate true inward worth. The story lends itself easily to musical treatment. As in 11 Hansel und Gretel," the composer has modeled his melody largely on the folk-song pattern, devel- oping it with marvellous technical skill and all the resources of the modern orchestra. And the balance between the drama and the music is preserved with even better judgment. At no time does one feel that a trip-hammer is being used to crush an egg- shell— a sense of incongruity which does at times obtrude itself in the earlier opera. Unlike " Hansel und Gretel," " Konigskinder " is built up of a num- io PREFACE ber of " leit-motive " or typical phrases, such as Wagner used with so much dramatic effect in his music dramas. These motives are for the most part extremely simple and well-chosen to express the dramatic points for which they are intended. They are developed, combined and contrasted skillfully; and every device of contrapuntal resource is drawn upon and utilized in a manner apparently so effort- less as to produce the effect of utmost simplicity. There is much subtlety in the treatment of the guid- ing themes in accordance with the Wagnerian prece- dent, and, as in Wagner's works, the explanatory power of the music is thereby greatly enhanced and the meaning of the text deepened. Originally, " Konigskinder " was merely a play with musical accompaniment, the spoken dialogue at times assuming the semblance of musical pitch. The experiment was not wholly successful; and the composer wisely re-wrote and added to the score until he had made it into an opera, in which form it had its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House last season, under the supervision of the com- poser himself. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg, in the Rhine Province, September i, 1854. He studied under Ferdinand Hiller at the Cologne Conservatory and while there won the Frankfort Mozart prize. By the aid of this money, he went to Munich, where he placed himself first under Franz Lachner and PREFACE ii later under Josef Rheinberger, at the Royal Music School. He then won the Mendelssohn Scholarship of Berlin, and proceeded to Italy to continue his studies. At Naples he became acquainted with Wagner and, at his invitation, assisted him at Bay- reuth in the preparations for the first production of " Parsifal.5' It is interesting to note in this connec- tion that the librettist of " Konigskinder," " Ernst Rosmer," is a daughter of Heinrich Porges, the " Blumenvater," as he was affectionately dubbed by Wagner, by reason of his services in preparing the Flower Maidens for this " Parsifal " perform- ance. Again Humperdinck won a prize which enabled him to continue his studies still further; and he traveled once more in Italy, France and Spain, settling for ten years at Barcelona, where he taught musical theory at the Conservatory. In 1887 he returned to Cologne, and from 1890 to 1896 was professor at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfort, as well as teacher in another musical school and news- paper critic. It was during this period that he com- posed " Hansel und Gretel," planned originally, it is said, for the delectation of his sister's children. It's success was immediate and brought the com- poser to a high pinnacle of popularity. In 1896 the Kaiser conferred upon him the honorary title of Professor, and the following year he removed to Boppard, there to continue his composition and teaching. In 1900 he returned to Berlin, succeed- 12 PREFACE ing Max Bruch at the Royal Conservatory, as the head of a " Meister-Klasse " in composition, and a member of the Senate of the Royal " Akademie der Kiinste." Recently he received the title of Doc- tor, rarely accorded to musicians by German uni- versities. Humperdinck is of an extremely retiring disposi- tion, which his fame has only served to accentuate. He is reticent about himself, preferring to let his music speak for him. He is wholly engrossed in his work, enjoying his pedagogic activities almost as well as his creative efforts. In the following pages an attempt has been made to describe " Konigskinder " for the music lover who has not a technical knowledge of music. The guide to the thematic material is simple and ia- tended to be used by the layman, who may easily familiarize himself with the leading motives and thus follow the performance more intelligently. The translations from the original text, especially made for this book, will also serve as guides to the story for those who are not familiar with German. If the result is to add to the general interest in this charm- ing work and so to help entrench it in the minds and hearts of opera-goers, the purpose of the " Guide " will have been achieved. New York, October, 191 1. Lewis M. Isaacs Kurt J. Rahlson ILLUSTRATIONS Dr. Engelbert Humperdinck . . Frontispiece The Opening Scene of "Konigs- kinder" Facing Page 16 The Goose-Girl Feeding Her Flock " "32 The Fiddler " "50 The Death of the Royal Children " " 80 Cast of Characters of First Performance on Any Stage of KONIGSKINDER (Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, De- cember 28, 1910.) The King's Son Hermann Jadlowker The Goose-Girl Geraldine Farrar The Fiddler Otto Goritz The Witch Louise Homer The Woodcutter Adamo Didur The Broommaker Albert Reiss *-n r* f Edna Walter Two Children \ " * , { Lotte Engel The Senior Counsellor Marcel Reiner The Innkeeper Antonio Pini-Corsi The Innkeeper's Daughter. .Florence Wickham The Tailor Julius Bayer The Stablemaid Marie Mattfeld First Gatekeeper Ernst Maran Second Gatekeeper William Hinshaw Conductor, Alfred Hertz KONIGSKINDER (royal children) PART I THE STORY NOTE The first appearance of each theme is marked by the music in the body of the text and the name and number of the theme in the left-hand margin. Every recurrence is noted either in the text, or where the narrative does not permit of it there, in the margin, at the point in the narrative where it appears. KONIGSKINDER In a small, sunny glade, surrounded by the wooded hills, in back of which lies the town of Hellabrunn, there once stood a tiny hut where a cruel witch lived and practised her black art. Day after day, a faint blue smoke curled from the crooked chim- ney of the stove where she mixed her poisoned brews and baked the bread that brought swift death to anyone who ate of it. On the roof, a raven with clipped wings hopped restlessly to and fro, and there, too, squatted a yellow tomcat with eyes that gleamed like the witch's own. But not everything showed so plainly the influence of the evil spell that hovered over the place. Near the house there was a little vegetable garden with one tall lily ready to break into flower, and beyond that a fountain, whose clear waters, dripping through the crevices in a mossy tree trunk that served as a trough, formed a tiny pool where twelve wild geese splashed content- edly about. To and from the garden they ran, led by their waddling gray captain, cackling, smoothing their feathers, pulling bits of grass, busily unmind- ful of everything but their own company, forgetting even the beautiful Goose-Girl who lay nearby on a grassy knoll, well in the shade of an old, old linden- tree. 19 20 KONIGSKINDER She had forgotten them, too, as she lay, singing to the rhythm of the running waters and the dancing sunshine. She was dreaming of the world of men and women in the city below, which she could never hope to see while the witch held her bound by the spell of her magic art. Dimly she could remember the day when the crone, whom she believed to be her grandmother, had taken her from the world and brought her to this place. Where she had come from, or why, she did not know. For then she was still too small to lift the door-latch; and, although she had grown year by year, until the waters of the fountain, which she used as a mirror, told her that she had come to beautiful womanhood, the spell was as strong as ever upon her. When she tried to run away, the bushes caught and held her and the hot earth burned her feet at every step. So now she did not try any more, but lived as happily as she could, tending her flowers and her geese, gathering the woodside posies and weaving them into pretty gar- lands and then lying down to dream in the shade of the old, old linden-tree. But on the day of which our story tells, as on so many other days, the cruel witch broke in upon her dreams, coming with powders and bitter herbs, and making the Goose-Girl help to knead the pasty, which never grew old or stale, nor lost its evil power. In vain, the maiden breathed a blessing over the loaf : KONIGSKINDER "21 " Who eats of this shall a vision see, And true his fairest dream shall be." The witch's incantation was stronger than any- thing she could say; and, muttering, " Who eats of this shall die," the old woman carried the finished loaf into the hut and hid it in a chest, and then de- parted into the woods again to gather snails and worms and gray-green lizards born in the mists of midnight. The sound of the witch's footsteps had barely died away, when the Goose-Girl heard the crackling of the underbrush behind her, and then a man's voice, saying, " Good-day, fair Goose-Queen." Startled, she turned and faced the King's Son. But she had never seen a man, and could not guess who this one was. Wearied of idleness and luxury and golden chains, the King's Son had left his kingdom in search of freedom, leaving behind him, too, his royal robes and everything that hinted at the grandeur of the court. He was dressed as a hunts- man, with his cross-bow and quiver and a bundle slung over his shoulder. He was a slender youth, pale, with flashing eyes and royal mien, which he could not doff as he could the badges of his rank. And the Goose-Girl looked at him and loved him; and the King's Son looked at the beautiful Goose- Girl and loved her, too. Together, they sat down under the linden-tree and talked of love and life, 22 KONIGSKINDER of Kings and their courts, of Goose-Girls and their flocks. And when a gust of wind blew off the maiden's wreath of flowers, the King's Son picked it up as some dear treasure, and, opening his bundle, took out the crown which was hidden there and offered it to the Goose-Girl in exchange. But the crown was only gold and meaningless to her, and she would not take it. So the King's Son threw it away and, rising, offered her himself, begging her to go forth into the world with him. Eagerly she consented, and, hand in hand, they started out in search of freedom. But she had for- gotten the magic spell. A heavy wind shook the trees; the cat put up his back; the raven croaked; the geese, frightened into silence, huddled around the maiden, who stood rooted to the spot, unable to go another step. Then the King's Son, who did not understand the power that held the Goose-Girl, cried out against her cowardice, and, turning dis- dainfully away, sallied forth alone, angrily protest- ing that she should never see him again until a star from heaven pierced the blossom of her lily. The Goose-Girl threw herself upon the ground, sobbing bitterly and crying out against the fate that had not made her, too, a royal child. But there was not much time for sorrowing and tears, for the old witch was calling from the woods. The Goose-Girl remembered the crown which the King's Son had thrown away, and, fearing that the witch would KONIGSKINDER 23 steal it, she quickly called the old gray goose to her, and, giving her the crown, ordered her to hide it; and the sly old goose carried it into the shrubbery and concealed it there. The Goose-Girl still showed only too plainly the effects of her encounter, when the witch returned. " Why do you hold your hand to your head, hussy? " asked the crone; " and why are your cheeks so pale? " " I have just bathed them in cool water," an- swered the maiden. " Why is your mouth as red as blood? " 11 From the red berries I have eaten," answered the maiden. The witch threw down her bundle and put her hand on the girl's heart. " Why," she asked, " do your heart-beats fal- ter so? " Then, in her great fear, the Goose-Girl answered: " Oh, Grandmother, I have seen a man." At first the witch refused to believe that such a thing was possible and thought the Goose-Girl had been dreaming. When she found out that it was the truth, her anger knew no bounds, and, threatening the direst punishments, she pushed the Goose-Girl into the hut and swore that she should remain locked in forever, so that she might never see a man again. But before the door had closed upon her, the maiden heard the sound of singing in the woods. Nearer 24 KONIGSKINDER and nearer came the voice, and soon three men stood before the hut, calling loudly to the witch. They were three citizens of Hellabrunn, the Fid- dler, the Woodcutter and the Broommaker. They had been sent to the witch, whom the people believed to be the wise woman of the Woods, to ask her to name a king for their village, weary of the free- dom it had had since the death of the old King. At first the witch refused to believe that there could be people so foolish as to long for chains, but when the ambassadors persisted, she said to them: " Go, this word to your fellows bringing, To-morrow, when noonday bells are ringing, And all, for the feast of Hella arrayed, Are gathered together in mead and glade, The first who saunters into your town, Though a changeling he, or a rogue, may be, He shall wear your crown." The Broommaker and the Woodcutter, who were sordid men, went gaily off, homeward bound; for they had been promised large sums of gold if their mission was sucessfully fulfilled. But the Fid- dler lingered. As they talked, he had seen the Goose-Girl through the open casement, and he knew there was some mystery about her. His spirit was above dross, and he was glad enough to be parted from his unworthy fellows. Cunningly, he forced the witch to let the girl come out to him; and soon KONIGSKINDER 25 he knew the whole story of her meeting with the King's Son and of how their love for each other had been thwarted by the enchantment which had held her all her life. To the Fiddler, the beautiful girl herself seemed royal, and so he told the witch. But the old crone jeered at such pretensions. The girl, she said, was a child of shame, murder her heritage, sin her only crown. And her parents were no royal pair, but the hangman's daughter and his apprentice, whose death-watch was their wedding night. Still, maintained the gentle Fiddler, true royalty was of the soul alone, and if the ill-starred parents had loved royally and made the noblest sacrifice for love, the girl, their child, was royal still, and it remained with her to break the chains that bound her and kept her from the realm which was hers by right. His words gave the Goose-Girl new hope and the fresh strength bred of hope. Taking the crown in both her hands, she prayed fervently for help, imploring the spirits of her father and mother to send some sign to guide her in the way of right. As she prayed, a star from heaven fell into the heart of her lily, and she remembered the parting words of the King's Son, and rose joyously, feeling the burden of the spell depart from her and knowing she was free. With the good Fiddler as her com- panion, she left the haunted glade, not heeding the witch's imprecations, eager only to find the King's Son, whom she loved. 26 KONIGSKINDER The King's Son meanwhile had wandered for- lornly on, until he came to the town of Hellabrunn, where, for want of a better resting-place, he lay down with the swine to sleep. Even there the vision of the beautiful Goose-Girl followed him and made sleep pleasant; although when he awoke, his dream was gone from him, and only a blurred memory remained to trouble him. By the time he went to the tavern in search of work, the whole town was astir. The Broommaker and the Woodcutter had returned from their journey, with wild, forged tales of the horrors they had undergone from desperate monsters in the enchanted woods. They were the heroes of the hour. The witch, they said, had prom- ised them that at the stroke of twelve the King would appear within the city gates. The day had been proclaimed a city festival; and in the public square, outside the tavern and facing the city gates, everyone was busily employed scrubbing, dusting, cooking, watering the wine, all in preparation for the jubilee. The waitresses and the Innkeeper's Daughter found time to coquette with the comely youth who came so sadly, yet with such dignity; but the King's Son scorned them all. Everything re- minded him of the beautiful maiden whose wreath he still cherished. The power of the forgotten dream grew stronger upon him as the morning wore on and as the crowd assembled, dancing, singing, gaily wait- ing for the royal claimant who was to come. Just KONIGSKINDER 27 as the noonday bells began to strike, the picture of his dream came back to him. It was not a king he saw, as the people expected, riding up in regal state and royally attended, but his own lovely Goose-Girl, with her geese for retinue and the crown of the King's Son upon her head. And so it happened. At the stroke of twelve the merrymaking ceased; even the Broommaker's thirteen children stopped their happy frolic while the gates were opened in ex- pectant silence. And there she stood, the Goose-Girl, royally beautiful and good, with the crown of the King's Son upon her head and the light of noonday sur- rounding her like a halo. Her geese were behind her, and beside her stood the gentle Fiddler, her sole guide and companion. When she saw the King's Son, she entered the gates and hastened to him, and he proudly proclaimed her Queen. But the indig- nant villagers scorned the thought of a queen in rags. Angrily they spurned her, thrusting both the Royal Children out of their gates with jeers and curses, and casting the Fiddler into prison for what they considered his wicked hoax. Only a little child, who had played with the King's Son and who saw things with the clear, true eyes of youth, was left in the square, so lately full of gaiety, mourning the Royal Children. For a long time after this unhappy day, the vil- lagers could think of nothing else than of how to 28 KONIGSKINDER punish all those concerned in their disappointment. The old witch was burned at the stake; the Broom- maker and the Woodcutter were condemned to public obloquy. But saddest of all was the fate of the poor, faithful Fiddler. Weary months he lan- guished in prison, with no one to lighten the gloom except the one sweet child who had recognized the Royal Children and knew him for their friend. And when at last the prison gates were opened, his cruel jailers lamed the gentle man before they set him free. But his heart was too full of sorrow for the lost Children to find room for pity for himself; and with his fiddle for company, he set out in search of them. Straight back through the woods he has- tened, taking the beaten track to the old witch's hut, hoping that the Goose-Girl might have found her way back to the only place she had ever called her home. But they were not there; and so he made himself a bed in the hut and rested. And every day he took a different road over the hills and through the forest, searching, but all in vain. Summer had gone and winter had come to take its place; and still there was no sign of the sweet Goose-Girl and her kingly lover. So, in the long winter evenings, the Fiddler wound himself a bier of evergreen twigs and waited to die, since life was not worth living if the Children could not be found. One cold, cold day, when the wind was blowing and snow covered the ground, the children of the town 69254 KONIGSKINDER 29 of Hellabrunn, with the Broommaker and the Woodcutter as their guides, came to the cabin and begged the Fiddler to return to them, saying that Hellabrunn was sad without his music. Their plead- ings could not shake his purpose ; but he loved the children and took them with him on his search, leav- ing the sordid men waiting in the cabin. And there on the hillside, just as the sound of the fiddle and of the singing had died away, the Royal Children appeared, weak and weary almost unto death. All these months they had been seeking the path homeward to the lost kingdom, straying from hill to hill, sleeping in caves and forests, eat- ing what they could shoot or find, until the last arrow was lost and the last berry frozen. Yet the dignity of their spirit remained unbroken and the splendor of their love undimmed. There was a moment's gladness as the Goose- Girl recognized the glade, with the familiar hut, the fountain and the dear old linden-tree, in whose shade they had sat so happily that day in the spring. The King's Son ran to the hut, and knocking at the door, begged for food. But the Woodcutter did not recognize him, and was too heartless to give to the hungry without reward; so the youth re- turned, empty-handed and sorrowful, to his fainting love. But she for whom he suffered would not admit her hunger or her pain. Springing up, she threw aside her mantle, took off her slippers, and, 30 KONIGSKINDER with a song upon her lips, danced before her lover — » danced until the struggling spirit failed her and she fell fainting on the snow-covered ground. Then the King's Son, casting about in his despair, remem- bered the crown which he carried in his bundle, and, breaking it in two, he knocked again at the cabin door and offered gold for bread. And the Wood- cutter and his companion, ever greedy, tempted by the glittering metal, searched in every corner of the hut, until at last they came upon the chest where the witch, so long ago, had hidden the poisoned bread. And this they traded for the crown. As though it were a feast, happily, gaily, the King's Son bore his prize to the fair Goose-Girl, and, dividing it into two equal parts, they ate it bit by bit. Quickly the cruel magic worked; but the blessing which the Goose-Girl had breathed over the loaf was not without its power. " Who eats of this," she had prayed, " shall a vision see"; and so it was dreaming of roses and of summertime that they died together, there on the hillside, under the linden-tree. And when the Fiddler and his train came back again, they found them — the lost Royal Children. And they lifted them on to the bier of evergreen boughs, which the Fiddler had made against his own death; and, singing, the children and the Fid- dler bore them to a royal grave. KONIGSKINDER (ROYAL CHILDREN) PART II THE MUSIC u o w o 3 w w 3 w o o o w H Quest (i) Prelude to Act I Far away in his kingdom beyond the mountains, the King's Son, athirst for happiness, threw off his golden chains and started out into the world alone to search for it. With his going there be- gan the story of the " Royal Children." So the composer, as a fitting introduc- tion to the tale, gives us a picture of the King's Son in the Prelude, that and little else, written in E Flat, which is to be his distinguishing key. The Prelude opens with the motive of the King's Son in Quest ( i ) of happiness, a horn call, full of the spirit of brave adventure in which he leaves his home. 32 ,— I *L-=M= It is the final phrase of this motive that gives it its special meaning, dis- tinguishing it from the King's Son (2), which, instead of taking the downward turn of the Quest ( 1 ) , moves steadily 33 34 KONIGSKINDER King's Son (2) on and upward, like one to whom the heavens are more real than earth. M ^s Love Motto (20) Flirtation (4) The final phrase of the Quest (i), on the other hand, itself becomes signifi- cant, apart from the rest of the motive, in the early passages of the love scene. It is, in fact, the root of all the love music, since, with the same descending sequence, but with a greater interval which makes it deeper and richer in feeling, it dominates the love music throughout the opera, filling, as it were, the role of a Love Motto (20). Although, before the Prelude ends, we have the Love Motto (20) alone, emphasizing its importance in the drama that is to follow, it appears first as an integral part of the winsome mo- tive of Flirtation (4). m m ±fe=== Z$M=fZ=d&~L !*F7 etc. KONIGSKINDER 35 Divine Dis- content (3) Longing (5) Besides these motives, all derived from or related to the Quest ( 1 ) , the Prelude introduces two others — the Divine Discontent (3), which later becomes a familiar accompaniment to the story in which the striving for the unattainable plays so large a part, ft* steS ^=tt? fc£: and the figure, almost at the close, be- ginning in the bass and borne upward by the violoncello, which breathes of Longing ( 5 ) , and which appears again, slightly altered, characterizing the first scene between the King's Son and the Goose-Girl. 36 KONIGSKINDER Act I Linden (6) As though to imply that it was the might of their Longing (5) that brought them together, this motive drops quickly from E Flat to G Major, which is the Goose-Girl's key; and as the curtain lifts, we have, in that key, the simple but graphic motive of the Linden (6) under which the Goose- Girl is lying, singing and dreaming. 8va. -f**l — 1 1 sn -m- • n — ~s — * -F — \- * - /U A J" — 1 — J-. — £-- _f 1 l gtf.4 J -H — «-= — * - ■+■ m jSL'^jm. H=£i: -m •ts>-s— - -m n .1 J**- •=&■ fcz prr-T rt=i s All through the fairy-lore of Ger- many, the linden has been associated with whatever is most romantic and fanciful; and it is suggestive that again and again in " Konigskinder " it is the Goose-Girl's motive, and not that of the tree itself, which accompanies the mention of the linden in the text. In KONIGSKINDER 37 Goose-Girl (7) Royal Children (8) Spindle Song (9) this first instance, the Linden (6) di- rectly precedes the equally simple and graceful motive of the Goose-Girl (7). m E =^S= :J * L~ — : Thematically and psychologically, this motive is so closely allied to that of the King's Son (2) and to the one, later to be developed, of the Royal Children (8), as to suggest strongly the spiritual alliance between the char- acters. m an* ZW-ml All three fall into the compass of an octave, each beginning at the lowest note and ascending to the highest, yet with rhythmic variations that leave the char- acters as definitely distinguished as they are closely related. The Spindle Song (9) which the Goose-Girl is humming, while not, strictly speaking, a motive, appears several times in the opera as a symbol, and should be noted. p :F=iF feS J d -w=^ 38 KONIGSKINDER Geese (10) And the Geese ! Ah, they are a part of the story. Here, when the Goose- Girl calls her flock to order, we have the first appearance of their motive «r-a dissonance repeated in rapid succes- sion— combined with that of the King's Son (2), and are given a hint of the allegory which is to come : p d; 3 3 You sit on the hillock, He sits on his throne. As you the geese, So he his people guards. (Du sitz'st auf dem Hugel, Er sitzt auf dem Thron. Ganse musst du, Er muss Menschen hiiten.) The Witch is the first of the charac- ters to speak, yet she comes and goes without a theme. Nor does she have one in the whole scene in which she plays so large a part; for it is not the Witch herself who influences the destinies of the Royal Children, but the Witchery of Nature (ii) perverted to her uses. To her KONIGSKINDER 39 Witchery of Nature (n) Purity (12) How fine the nights, When on moonlit heights, With poisonous milks the grasses swell. (Die Nacht ist schon, Wenn auf mondbleichen Hoh'n Von giftiger Milch die Krauter schwellen.) Nature, so viewed, is abhorrent to the Goose-Girl, who runs from it to her tiny garden with its one budding flower. And there we hear the motive of the lily, the symbol of purity, a theme which, with slight development, is here- after always used to symbolize the Goose-Girl's own Purity (12). fr^^^Eg^^^^^ It indicates, in a way, her beauty of character, just as the theme next heard, 40 KONIGSKINDER Beauty (13) Witchcraft (14) when she recalls how she looked in the fountain, represents her physical Beauty (13). p # m- ^ Inversion of (7). In this, the composer neatly illustrates the way in which an extra-musical idea can be translated into music; for the Beauty mirrored in the fountain is an exact inversion of the Goose-Girl's (7) own theme. The struggle, musical as well as spiritual, between the Goose-Girl and the world of magic in which she lives, has but begun; and when the old crone returns, breaking in upon the girl's memories of her childhood (cf. No. 48) with complaints of carelessness and in- attention to the rules of witchery, the theme of Witchcraft (14) which accompanies her tirade is in strong con- trast to the music which preceded it. KONIGSKINDER 41 Poisoned Loaf (15) Distress (16) This Witchcraft (14) is a strange harmonic progression which makes a fitting frame for the motive of the Poisoned Loaf (15), which appears in outline as the flour is dampened and the dough is kneaded. The Goose-Girl knows only too well that the wicked work must go on, and that she must fulfill her part of it; but this only serves to remind her more forcibly of her utter disharmony with her surroundings. So far, all the music that depicts the girl has been simple, beautiful, pure — as her Creator made her; here, for the first time, we get a glimpse of the girl's soul, tormented by the conditions under which she lives. For want of a better name, we call this Distress (16) ; but reappearing again mm m 3E m and again, the motive is made to repre- sent many different emotions, always 42 i Spell (17) KONIGSKINDER with an inner sense of the spiritual con- flict with material things, the effect upon the girl's consciousness of the magic all about, and especially of the Spell (17) that holds her fast. The music of the Spell (17) — " Enchanted every tree and shrub; they'll hold you fast " (Im Zuber stehen Baum und Strauch. Die m bm 1 ±M •■ a* ^3- ■ — ^-r—1 k^— m 1 — \^r~^^= ^i^ 5±i S- b#- halten dich) — stands logically between the first statement of the girl's Dis- tress (16) and its working out as the girl openly bewails her misery. " Oh, how great a woe is mine ! Who cannot what I would, And would not what I can." (Ach, was ist mir solche Not! Kann nicht, was ich mag ! Mag nicht, was ich kann!) And as the work is finished and the phrase ends " Here is the bread," the musical idea, too, is completed by the full motive of the Poisoned Loaf KONIGSKINDER 43 (15), which is further turned and de- veloped by the Witch until out of it grows prophetically the motive of Death (18). " 'Twill never redden a cheek again. In a secret chest I will bury it safe." Death (18) 4^^- When the loaf has been safely stowed away, the witch comes from the hut with the basket in which she gathers snails and roots and powders; and as she goes into the woods, gloating over the red mist that fell at midnight, the music of the Witchery of Nature (11) gradually dies away. So, too, the Goose-Girl's unhappiness, and almost before the old crone is out of hearing, we listen to the Spindle Song (9) again, bringing back the mood in which the story opened. There follows one of the gayest pas- sages in the opera. The Goose-Girl, care-free again, dives into her pocket Geese (10) anc* throws crumbs to her flock; then, bedecking herself, goes merrily and im- pulsively to her fountain mirror, and, as 44 KONIGSKINDER Impulsive- ness (19) she looks in, calls to her geese to see her. " How fair am I " (Ei, bin ich schon), she sings, and the geese seem to echo the sentiment. In this passage, in such quick succession as fairly to over- lap, we have the motive of the Geese (10), a new one to characterize her girlish Impulsiveness (19), Goose- Girl (7), Beauty (13), and, once more, the Geese (10). Then the Goose-Girl hears the crack- ling boughs, and sighs as she thinks it is her grandmother returning all too soon. But we know better, for even before we see him or hear his " Good-day, fair Goose-Queen," the music tells us that it is the King's Son on his Quest ( 1 ) for happiness. The scene between the King's Son and the Goose-Girl is marked by a swift and steady emotional crescendo. The musical basis of the whole scene is the last phrase of the Quest (i), ap- pearing still in the original form when the King's Son asks, " Have you no KONIGSKINDER 45 greeting for a simple wayfarer?" (Hast keinen freundsamen Gruss einem schlichten Wandersmann?), but chang- ing as he looks at her, and the object of his quest defines itself — for us, at first, rather than for him — into the Love Motto (20), which, as noted in the Prelude, forms a part of Flirtation (4) in the line, " Maiden, your lips are red as a rose " (Magdlein, wie hast du so roten Mund). Question and answer develop this Flirtation (4) motive into a melodi- ous episode, which we leave only when we arrive, in the course of the narrative, at a new series of themes descriptive of the life of the King's Son before his quest began. The first to appear, an- swers the maiden's query, " Is that a sword?" (1st das ein Schwert?) and received, in conjunction with the lines, " YouVe guessed aright. Of little worth; It has, as yet, no name." (Geraten gut. Nicht viel wert. Noch hat's keinen Namen.) it brings to mind Nothung, the sword most familiar to music-lovers, besides 46 KONIGSKINDER Sword (21) (Nothung) Royalty (22) Purity (12) Impulsive- ness (19) Quest (1) Longing (5) which the Sword of the King's Son is, as the theme hints, a mere toy. =^5 — qc ^ The Goose-Girl, however, with the quick insight born of love, sees that there is valor in the man, which will soon temper the steel; and we hear the Sword (21) motive combined with one which marks the King's Son as the heir of a royal race. S S A zsfc ■pr a As she studies him, he watches her, too. Suddenly, the full appreciation of her spirituality comes to him and is heightened by the lightheartedness with which she goes to draw water for him from the well. Then for him, too, the vision clears, and he knows that it is no mysterious something he is seeking, but this Love (20) which he has found, though not yet realized. Gradually, the Goose-Girl's (7) own theme is en- KONIGSKINDER 47 Quest (i) Royalty (22) Regal State (23) Young Prince (24) twined with his Longing (5) ; and so the love music is left, while the King's Son takes up once more the story of his life. The music marks his memories not only of the royal line from whom he is descended, but of the Regal State (23) in which they lived in the king- dom far back of the mountains. liLitzs s=t " There, " he concludes, " I stood in the service of the King." (Da bin ich in Diensten dem Konig gestanden.) And this introduces the motive of the Young Prince (24), a theme obvi- ously derived from Royalty (22), yet as simple and graceful as that of the Goose-Girl (7), and, significantly enough, in her characteristic key (G Major). ^m -*-*—*£ t$ S32 Here the theme is used to depict the Young Prince in his relation to the duties which forge his connection, as it 48 KONIGSKINDER were, with the royalty which he has just described. To stand in the service of a King, however, means little to the Goose-Girl, who has no idea what a king may be. It is while the King's Son is puzzling out the simplest way to explain these things that he hits upon the analogy, G t ( \ already quoted, between the Goose-Girl and sitting upon her hillock, guarding her SonS(2) flock, and the King upon his throne, rul- ing his subjects. Gradually, as her mind grasps the idea, the music drops the combination of the Geese (io) and King's Son (2) motives, develops the King's Son (2) alone, and rises from that to a solemn, unadorned presenta- tion of Royalty (22) at the lines which give the ideal of kingship: " And if his task he rightly knows, And blamelessly through life he goes, From every prayer a blessing flows." (Und wenn er's so recht versteht Und herzenshell fiber die Erde geht Dann segnet er alles mit seinem Gebet.) KONIGSKINDER 49 Continuing, he recounts to her the things that distinguish the heir-apparent from the king; and here the motive of the Young Prince (24) typifies the golden cradle in which he sleeps, the wonderful raiment he wears, his grace, his innocence, his powers, his privileges — anything that added to the experience of the Young Prince helped to breed in his soul that yearning for a life without Divine Dis- 8°W and golden chains, which made a content (3) wanderer of him. "Out! Away! At the dawn of day He flees the sleep of the palace walls." (Fort! Hinaus! In der Morgenhelle Entflieht er dem schlafenden Ko- nigshaus.) But when he left, he was no longer Royalty (22) the Young Prince. The royal blood within him was awake ; and aspiration, the Divine Discontent (3), above all, the struggle with the hard realities of Nature, soon made of him the true King's Son. 5° KONIGSKINDER Wooing (25) " King's Son, The true King's Son, Can you follow the words of the fool?" (Konigskind, Echtes Konigskind! Kannst du den Narren verstehn?) So he ends. And for all answer the Goose-Girl says, " I would go with him." (Mocht' mit ihm gehn.) How well she understands, the music tells better than her words, by the change of key from E flat to G Major and then their constant interchange, by the apposition of the motives of the Young Prince (24) and the Goose- Girl (7), "King and Beggarmaid " (Konig und Bettlerin), above all by the Goose-Girl's adoption of the Divine Discontent (3), which had been his guide to true royalty. The Wooing (25) which follows, begins with the song of the King's Son, " Will you my Maytime Sweetheart be, you fairest flower?" (Willst du mein Maienbuhle sein, du Blumenweiche?), pffifea , m =^ P ■ -m m 1— — flSh-r- -?p— ft-^-f — r- — t* — -***£■■ — ~-^- 0- m - m THE FIDDLER KONIGSKINDER 5i Contentment (26) which contains, besides the Love Motto (20) and the theme of the Goose-Girl (7) — used, it should be noted, when he speaks of the linden- tree — the motive of their new Con- tentment (26). pnnm^ =*=S=^= The musical succession in the episode is as quick and flowing as it is full of suggestion. When the King's Son begs for a kiss, he does it with a plea of the joy and Contentment (26) it would bring; as their lips meet and they sit close to each other in quiet peace, there is a welding of the Divine Discon- tent (3), the Love Motto (20), the Goose-Girl (7), Young Prince (24) and the final Contentment (26). The psychology of the sequence is simple. Equally simple, too, the quick dishar- mony when a gust of wind, with a recall of the Witchery of Nature (ii), blows off the Goose-Girl's wreath, and it is torn in her effort to regain it from Distress (16) the King's Son. The wreath itself has had no motive: the Torn Wreath 52 KONIGSKINDER Torn Wreath (27) Crown (28) (27), however, with its added symbolic significance, is given one. J£U3Ui±±£Mi m mm Following this closely, comes the mo- tive of the Crown (28), which the King's Son takes from his bundle and offers to the Goose-Girl in exchange for the wreath. Like the motive of the Young Prince (24), this is clearly* re- lated to that of Royalty (22). From this point, the love scene con- tains nothing musically new, both voice and orchestra carrying constant reminis- cences of the Love Motto (20), Sword (21), Young Prince (24) and Crown (28) motives, until the Spell (17) reappears when the maiden tries to run away with the King's Son, and cannot. Then it is more than rem- iniscence; it is repeated contrast, com- KONIGSKINDER 53 bination, opposition — the Spell (17) and Distress (16), Beauty (13) and Distress (16), Young Prince (24) and Goose-Girl (7), Spell (17), Quest (i) and Love Motto (20) in the minor — all marking the Goose- Girl's double struggle, with the forces of Nature which will not set her free, and with the King's Son who does not, cannot understand. At last he has gone, alone. Her sense of the Spell (17) and the Love (20) so strangely interwoven in her destiny are all that are left to her as she falls, sobbing, to the earth; and the motive of Beauty (13) is blunted to a minor, and that of Distress (16) is darkened to despair. " Go, you have robbed me of my love ! Sun, grow blind ! Woods, grow bare ! I'll crush every bloom in the mead- ows there If he does not return. Oh, Wind, Wind, Wind, Were I but born of royal kind." (Geht! Ihr habt ihn mir genommen. Sonne, werde blind! 54 KONIGSKINDER Purity (12) Spell (17) Distress (16) Tandaradei (29) Wald, werde grau! Alle Blumen zerreiss' ich auf der Au' Wird er nicht wiederkommen. Wind! Wind! Wind! War ich doch auch ein Konigs- kind.) The witch returns, adding her pres- ence to the terrors of the moment; but the scene between her and the Goose- Girl is thematically unimportant. As it is ending, the witch vows that she will keep the girl out of the sight of men hereafter, even though it be necessary to lock her in the hut and bind her anew with a three-fold curse. Just then, in the distance is heard the jolly and all- too-brief song of the Fiddler, " Three fools set forth one day " (Drei Narren zogen aus), closing with the refraiil " Hei, hei, Tandaradei," which possesses a musical significance of its own, heightened by a slight though hardly fanciful resemblance to the mo- tive of Regal State (23). m± Hei! Hei! Tan - da - ra - deil KONIGSKINDER 55 Ambassadors (30) This, with its development and a reminiscence of the Witchcraft ( 14), as the witch pushes the Goose-Girl into the hut, form a quick transition to a mood as different from that of the love scene as was that from the one which preceded it. With the first strains of the Ambas- sadors (30) motive, " Forward, Brother Woodcutter, Forward, Brother Broommaker," (Vorwarts, Bruder Holzhacker, Vorwarts, Bruder Besenbinder), we are on earth, our feet firmly planted in the clay. ip t=T=t *=J Only the Fiddler remains out of the picture; and what his companions think of their " unruly comrade and his fid- dling " (der liederliche Genoss, mit seinem Geigenspiel) is expressly set forth in the music with which they an- notate their comments, a theme called 56 KONIGSKINDER Fiddler as Rogue (31) Witch's Ride (32) The Fiddler as Rogue (31), and which must not be confused with the one, to appear a little later, of the Fid- dler as he really is. The Broommaker diplomatically be- gins negotiations with the witch by asking, " My good wife, won't you buy a broom?" (Gute Frau, kauft ihr keinen Besen?) ; and the composer em- phasizes the humor of the situation by introducing the theme of the Witch's Ride, from " Hansel und Gretel." fcte S^E HO""""- .g. -J.-^.— ^Jt tfftff P :=q^3 jsa=» It will be remembered that the witch has no motive of her own, because she is not conceived as personally influencing the story of the Royal Children. So, KONIGSKINDER 57 Fiddler (33) too, with the citizens of Hellabrunn. Neither the Broommaker nor the Woodcutter has a theme apart from the one which represents them jointly as Ambassadors; while the Fiddler's (33) personality is distinguished from the rest as soon as he jests with the witch about the flame her wonderful red eyes have kindled in his heart. His mo- tive, a sprightly violin strain, appears coupled and contrasted with the Am- bassadors (30). ^ r= 1 IpEEE-qS Kit %W- -\)m- §m. 8 8 ££1 hm. ^ It is to the Fiddler that most of the interest in this scene attaches. It is he who describes to the witch the condi- tions in Hellabrunn which make the peo- ple weary of their freedom and anxious to have a king again. As he speaks, the Goose-Girl comes, unnoticed, to the window and hears the Fiddler (33) Royalty (22) tell of the throne which they are ready to build for the scion of a royal house. His words awaken memories of what her lover had told her of his history; Regal State (23) Purity (12) and 58 KONIGSKINDER Purity (12) Royalty (22) Fiddler as Apostle (34) Fiddler as Rogue (31) and we hear a snatch of the Sword (21) motive and a repetition of the Regal State (23). Just then the Fiddler catches sight of the Goose-Girl, and the musical delinea- tion of what occurs is of more than usual subtlety and brilliance. Unlike the King's Son, the Fiddler hardly notices the maiden's beauty. It is the lovely soul shining through her eyes that strikes him at the first glance, and his own soul rises to meet it. The Fiddler's motive, ennobled — Fiddler as Apostle (34) — starts and stops abruptly, giving way to the Ambassadors (30) as he realizes suddenly the possibility that here is the royal scion they are seeking. His long speech ends with a jest; and neither the witch nor the other citi- zens know anything of what has hap- pened. Impatient of them, one and all, the witch makes her prophecy that to- morrow's noonday bells will usher in KONIGSKINDER 59 Fiddler as Rogue (31) Ambassadors (30) Purity (12) their king. Here for the first time appears the motive of the Royal Children (8) already noted because of its close relation to those of the King's Son (2) and the Goose-Girl (7)- Their mission accomplished, the Woodcutter and Broommaker are eager to go home to receive their promised wage. The one thing that mars their glee is the thought that a third — the Fiddler, who has intruded himself — must share with them. The Fiddler, on the other hand, is anxious to be alone with the witch, to solve the mystery of the beautiful girl whom he has seen. So he tells the citizens he does not want their gold, chases them out into the woods and comes back, whistling his favorite air, " Tandara- dei " (29). The Fiddler (33) per- suades the witch to let the Goose-Girl (7) come out; and as she tells him her story the music weaves a wonderful web of the motives of the Spell (17), the Quest (i), Purity (12) and the Love Motto (20). The Fiddler understands her tale almost better than she does herself, 60 KONIGSKINDER " You shall wed the son of the King," (Dem Konigssohn wirst du dich ver- mahlen), he says, and the music carries on the Fiddler's (33) theme beside that of Purity (12) and of the Quest (i). Again his deeper understanding is em- phasized when he recognizes that the hangman's daughter and his apprentice earned their title to Royalty (22) by the majesty of their love and their suffering. The climax of the act is reached when the Goose-Girl, through the power of her will, achieves her own freedom. The musical setting is a symphonic de- velopment of much of the material which has gone before, with recurring emphasis on the Spell (17), Royalty (22), Goose-Girl (7) and Fiddler (33)- When the Goose-Girl prays to her father and mother for help, Roy- alty (22) appears, simple, complete and majestic; and a moment later the Ta?^?radei curtain falls, as, singing, the Fiddler (33) and the Goose-Girl go on their way out of the enchanted woods, to- gether. KONIGSKINDER 61 INTRODUCTION TO ACT II Festival (35) As the first act was called " The King's Son," so the second is " The Hellafestival "; but the introduction, instead of being like the first, a reminis- cent narrative, is a simple presentment of what is taking place in the village of Hellabrunn on the day appointed as the festival of the King. The opening phrase is the theme of the Festival (35). P tt=t Folk-Dance (36) It is gay, almost to hilarity, and with a certain jubilance which marks it as the note of a special feast day and a thing apart from the Folk-Dance (36) which follows it, 62 KONIGSKINDER Ring-a-Rosy (37) just as that is marked by its staider form from the " Ring-a-Rosy " (37), |g§ isscr^ rrr t— f-^=g: -t — t — 1- :*=*=£: v=x=± ^=w- x=x 1 to which the children are frolicking. These three motives complete the the- matic material of the introduction. KONIGSKINDER 63 ACT II As the curtain rises, a new Dance Melody (38) is heard in the distance. Dance Melody (38) Bourgeoisie (39) The suggestion, so far, is all of the festive spirit of the day; but the theme which accompanies the opening words of the Stablemaid makes the Bour- geoisie (39) of the people apparent at once. wMS^^. When the Stablemaid says to the Innkeeper's Daughter, 64 KONIGSKINDER " You yourself, I suppose, will wel- come His Majesty," (Ihr werdet wohl selbst den Konig empfangen) she sings the motive of Coquetry (40) which, with the Bourgeoisie (39), forms the foundation upon which this scene is built, appearing even when the King's Son laughingly takes up their declaration of honor due to royalty. " The King himself would not pre- sume to believe it " (Das vermisst sich der Konig selbst nicht zu glauben.) Coquetry (40) s Ihr wer-det wohl selbst den Ko-nig em - pfan- gen? Only once is the spirit of the incident interrupted to let the violoncello sound the motive of the Royal Children (8), when the King's Son speaks of the mystic dream whose content he has for- gotten, though the impress is still upon him. Then it runs frivolously on again, until the Innkeeper's Daugh- ter (41) offers the King's Son food KONIGSKINDER 65 and wine, and, as though by assuming her duties as hostess, achieves a motive of her own, which is reiterated when- ever she is spoken of in this capacity, and seldom otherwise. Innkeeper's Daughter (41) ffte^iiii ^±=fe^d=H Linden (6) Goose-Girl (7) It is not long before the atmosphere of the scene becomes distasteful to the King's Son; and it needs only the fra- grance of the tree under which he is sit- ting to bring back the memories of the day before. The sneer of the Inn- keeper's Daughter (41) only serves to emphasize the difference; and when the odor of the Linden (6) suggests the mystic dream again, the frivolity ceases, and the music travels with the Goose-Girl (7) thoughts of the King's Son, gathering one more slight clue to the dream. Now the idea of the Goose-Girl (7) is insistently opposed to that of the Inn- keeper's Daughter (41); and her Coquetry (40) draws from him only the words, " Oh, my lovely Goose-Girl " (O meine holde Gansemagd), Royal Children (8) Love Motto (20) 66 KONIGSKINDER Bourgeoisie (39) with which the hostess has little pa- tience, and which sends her angrily into the house. A waitress and the Stablemaid re- main upon the scene; but the King's Son is unconscious of their presence, as he bewails his beggar's state and re- solves to leave this ugly village and go home again. Something reminds him of the Torn Wreath (27) , and, taking it from his doublet, he breaks into the lovely wreath song again, while a solo violin sings of the Goose-Girl (7), the thought of whom gives him new cour- age. " Since I am born the son of a king, I must make a king of myself " (Bin ich als Konigssohn geboren, zum Konig muss ich mich selber machen), he declares; and, swinging the wreath Torn Wreath high in the air, he goes into the inn just (27) as the townspeople begin to assemble. Flutes and bagpipes are playing, the villagers are singing their old Folk- Dances (36), all, even the Stable- maid, are eager for the coming of the Royalty (22) King. And yet, when the King's Son enters the crowd again, and the host, in an- Royalty (22) KONIGSKINDER 67 swer to his appeal for work, engages him as a swineherd, there is not one of the multitude with vision clear enough to recognize true Royalty as it stands before them. Folk-Dance And so the dance goes on, the peo- Royalty^) pie, unmindful of the presence of the King's Son, he almost equally unmind- ful of them, as he seats himself under the Linden (6) to think of his fair Goose-Girl (7). Again the sense of his dream comes over him, this time with the picture of the Goose-Girl (7) definitely inter- woven; and as he sits and ponders upon it, we hear the lyrical Episode (42). " From thy branches that o'er me darken, Let on my brow the night dews fall, Can I my vanished dream recall, If in silence I hearken? " (Lass die Nachtropfen deiner Zweige Mir auf die Stirne niederrinnen. Kann ich den Traum mir riicker- sinnen Wenn ich lausche und schweige?) 68 KONIGSKINDER Episode (42) Children's March (43) Ambassadors (30) Royal Children (8) i 3^ =T *= Lass die Nach - tro - pfen dei - ner i I Zwei - ge mir auf die Stir - ne nie - der - IS :«zr rin - nen, Kann ich den Traum mir ruck-er - sin- nen This is interrupted by the shouts of the Broommaker's thirteen children, who march in, singing and bringing with them an atmosphere of happy inno- cence. To them the Broommaker pomp- ously reiterates the message that the King is due when the clock strikes twelve, and orders them to sing aloud their song : " Who'll buy a broom, A good King's broom, Who'll buy a broom?" (Wer kauft Besen, Gute Konigsbesen, Gute Konigsbesen?) KONIGSKINDER 69 Children's March (43) Purity (12) Ring-a-Rosy (37) So their call is added, as the scene rushes on, to the other sounds of rev- elry, to the Bourgeoisie (39) of the host calling for one glass of unwatered wine, to the Dance Melody (38) of the people in the background. One fair, sweet child goes to the King's Son himself and offers to sell him a broom. And, since she reminds him of the maiden he loves, he allows the child to persuade him to play with her. She sings: 11 Ring around the red rose bush, Caught and torn my shirt is; Little white goose bit my leg, Oh, how bad the hurt is. Bush shall no more roses carry, Gander with a rod I'll harry, Ring around the red rose bush — " (Roter Ringelrosenbusch Hat mein Hemd zerissen; Weisses Schnabelganslein hat Mich in's Bein gebissen. Busch darf nicht mehr Rosen tragen, Weisses Ganslein werd ich schlagen. Roter Ringelrosenbusch — ) But even before she finishes the game, the playful mention of the * little white 7o KONIGSKINDER Regal State (23) Festival (35) Death (18) goose ' has sharpened the pain of his memories until he is overcome, and, putting his arms sadly around the child, he sits down again under the tree. Then the noise of the Festival (35) wells up once more, with the rhythm of the Folk-Dance (36) always in evi- dence. It stops for a moment, as the people listen to the village elder and his memories of the good old days when the last King lived; then, continuing again, it ceases only when the Wood- cutter is called upon to tell the story of their mission to the witch. More graphically than truly, he de- scribes the horrors and dangers of the enchanted woods; the Ambassadors7 (30) theme grows pompous and impor- tant in his long narration. But once he draws too largely upon his fancy, and the King's Son, who had passed them on their way, challenges the tale, speak- ing of their companion, the Fiddler (33), and so verifying his story. The people are impatient of the interrup- tion. " Hurry," shouts the chorus of voices, " tell us what she said" (Flink doch! Was hat sie gesagt?) The orchestra combines the Ambas- KONIGSKINDER 7* Royalty (22) Ambassadors (30) sadors (30) with the Royal Chil- dren ( 8 ) , as the Woodcutter answers : 44 On the stroke of twelve, the King's Son will appear" (Mit dem zwolften Glockenton kommt der Konigssohn). The elders swear that the Royal Child shall have their kingdom. The Woodcutter uses the enthusiasm of the occasion to embellish the story of the way in which the King's Son may be expected to arrive, and even the children cry " Long live the King " (Der Konig lebe hoch). Then the King's son steps boldly into the circle. Royalty (22) " Could it then happen in no other way? Can a king not come in simpler garb?" (Konnt' es nicht anderer Weise ge- schehn ? Kann ein Konig nicht kommen in schlichtem Kleide ?) At once they are all in arms against him; the Broommaker, the Innkeeper, the Chorus, the Woodcutter, each press- ing forward in turn to expound his own 72 KONIGSKINDER [Festival (35) Royal Children (8) view of royalty. The music of the pas- sage is eloquent. With the first words of the King's Son, the motive of Roy- alty (22) appears and is maintained singly and alone through all that fol- lows, repeated again and again, en- larged, developed, but always insisted upon, growing to its full height in the last attempt of the King's Son to make them see what true Royalty would be like, and then, failing of its purpose after all, and giving way to the motive of the Festival (35) and the vulgar Innkeeper's Daughter (41), as she clamors for the King's Son to pay for what he had not ordered and could not eat. It is the spirit of the day that is in full swing when the first stroke of the clock brings sudden silence, followed by a wild rush for the gates. Only the King's Son stands still, fascinated by the sound of the bells which ring as in his dream, bringing back with them that forgotten vision of the Goose-Girl who is to come as Queen. The motives of Beauty (13) and of the Royal Children (8) combine and develop, until with the twelfth stroke the gates KONIGSKINDER 73 are opened and the Goose-Girl appears. Then, for the King's Son, everything fades out of sight but his own great love. " True! " (Wahr!), he exclaims; and the Love Motto (20) broadens out before us until it becomes more than a phrase, more than a melody, growing into the whole of the episode. " Ardently longing, thus I have seen You, oh my Queen, my noble Queen." (Der ich mit Sehnen ergeben bin O du meine hohe Konigin.) Quickly then it changes into a pa- thetic minor, as the people break into laughter at the thought of a Queen, barefoot, and with her geese behind her; and so the phrase is bandied about to the taunts of the populace. The King's Son rises to defend her: Sword (21) " Let any one dare to touch the and Love *L Motto (20) Queen, He shall know that a royal sword is keen." (Wag einer, die Konigin zu be- riihren, Soil er ein Konigsschwert verspiiren.) 74 KONIGSKINDER The Fiddler, too, rushes in to save the people from the results of their own folly: 11 You fools and dullards, are you so beguiled, Knows not one soul the Royal Child? " (Ihr Narren, ihr Tolpel, seid ihr so blind, Erkennt nicht einer das Konigs- kind?) Fiddler as Apostle (34) Love Motto (20) With all the power of his own faith in their great destiny, the Fiddler pleads their Royalty (22); but only the child who has played with the King's Son looks up and listens. " The feast is over" (Das Fest ist aus), cry the elders, and, jeeringly, the people ask, " And the Royal Chil- dren?" (Und die Konigskinder?) "Drive them out" (Die jagt hin- aus), comes the answer; and again the Love Motto (20) in the minor, tells, better than words, of the sorrow in the hearts of the Royal Children (8) as they are driven from the gates, the KONIGSKINDER 75 crowd mocking and hooting at their heels. Yet one who honors them is left be- hind to mourn their fate; and the cur- tain falls, not upon their own defeat, but upon the child, proclaiming still their Royalty (22). 76 KONIGSKINDER Wasted Lives (44) Prelude to Act III The Quest has failed. The King's Son is a wanderer again, as he was when he left his father's gates; but without the hope that spurred him on, and with the added weight of sorrow for the beloved Goose-Girl who had shared his failure. The brilliance of the key of E Flat is dulled to a minor to portray him so, in the Introduction to the third act, which heralds the denouement of the opera, as the act itself reveals it. All the added themes in this splendid pre- lude speak of the tragedy to come; the motive of the Wasted Lives (44) of *P^f=f =tSE IT I -1 ' .1 sy \&/ the Royal Children; the poignant Melody in B Flat Minor (45) — sung by the oboe — which appears only once again, but which, with its thrilling renewal of the Love Motto (20), can- ko'nigskinder 77 Melody in B Flat Minor (45) ^^y^^^B 5pg iS= U*=z=t ^=5J: ^=B"C ^" J etc. not be forgotten; above all, the frag- ment of the Fiddler's Last Song (46) — derived from the motive, Fiddler as Apostle (34) — which expresses all the pain the world's nobler souls suffer from the ignorance and cruelty and sordid- ness of the sons of earth. Fiddler's Last Song (46) S C^m- £^. Wo - hin bist du ge - gan - gen, K6 - nigs - toch-ter mein, in treu - er Lieb' urn- fan - - [gen vom trau - ten Buh - len dein? 78 KONIGSKINDER ACT III Love Motto (20) Ambassadors Humbled (47) When the curtain opens, showing the same scene as in the first act, but with signs of winter and of ruin everywhere, it is still in E Flat Minor that we hear the motives of the Linden (6) and of the Goose-Girl (7), while from the hut drifts the sound of a violin playing strains reminiscent of the Fiddler (33). And when the Fiddler comes out to feed the hungry doves, it is not only of them he is thinking, but still of the Goose-Girl (7) and the Young Prince (24), as they seemed when the Linden (6) was in flower and their love was young. The voices of the Woodcutter and the Broommaker, humbled though they are into something quite different from their old selves, bring with them no sense of human companionship, such as does the greeting of the Child: KONIGSKINDER 79 Song of the Children (48) Ambassadors Humbled (47) Royal Children (8) (in Minor) " Fiddler, Fiddler, we're coming to you i) (Spielmann, Spielmann wir kommen zu dir.) That, interrupted at first by the Fid- dler himself, and then by the Humbled Ambassadors (47), pleading their new cause, begins again and grows into one of those Songs of the Children (48), which nobody knows so well as Humperdinck how to write, and which sound as though they had grown out of the very soil of Germany. Far back in the first act, when the Goose-Girl re- called her own childhood, a phrase from this song crept naturally into the music. 1 ^ &£ ~W m Lie-ber Spielmann ,al - le Kin-der und ich, wir lip :*=* :PS SEE ha - ben ge - be - ten, ge - fleht f ur dich. It is hard for the Fiddler to deny the children's plea to go back with them to Hellabrunn; but he has vowed never to return, and it does not require the Woodcutter's mention of the fatal King's Day to strengthen his memories 8o KONIGSKINDER Faith of the Children (49) of the causes that drove him forth. Still the Child pleads, telling him that she and her companions are firm in their faith in the Royalty (22) of the girl and the youth who came to them, and all the other children echo her sen- timents. » s — t — 1 — Fiihr' uns |P du, und wir zie - hen aus und ?=: brin - gen die K6 - nigs - kin - der nach Haus. Then the Fiddler lifts the Child in his arms — glorying in the divine sim- plicity of youth — and, unable longer to contain himself, he cries out against the affliction which has rendered him unfit to run alone through the world to seek some clue to the Royal Children, hope- lessly lost in the woods of winter. The Fiddler's (33) motive is sub- ordinated to a dramatic variant, and both give way before Royalty (22) in the Minor. But the company of the children brings new hope and thoughts of the spring which must return, and we have the musical sequence reversed — ROY* w oC Q s U < o M h O < Q W KONIGSKINDER 81 ALTY (22) in the Major, the variant of the Fiddler, accounted for now as sig- nifying his Hope of Spring (50), the Hope of Spring (50) czfcfe :SEfee=~ SEftC jm- jpu *=t tJ Fiddler (33) and the Faith of the Children (49), which he has come to share before his speech ends : " And we shall seek them and we shall find, And songs we'll sing and wreaths we'll wind." (Wir werden sie suchen und wer- den sie finden, Und Lieder singen und Kranze winden.) Fiddler (33) Leaving the Ambassadors behind in Ambassadors the hut, the Fiddler and his swarm of Humbled (47) children go off into the woods, and from the distance the breezes carry back the melody of the Fiddler's Last Song (46) : " Whither have you wandered, O royal maiden mine." (Wohin bist du gegangen, O Konigstochter mcin.) 82 KONIGSKINDER The last words are drowned in a sud- den gust; and then, after a moment's silence, there is a quick orchestral Longing (5) change to the motive of Tragic Love (51), as the King's Son descends the hillside, carrying the starving Goose- Girl in his arms. Tragic Love (51) 1 SE3E X X r— 1 XT ' etc. X 1 Bg i=^ rs 5flJ* F— J Linden (6) and Goose-Girl (7) Humbled The sight of the old place is to the girl like a renewal of her old self, but not one of unalloyed pleasure, since it carries with it the memory of the Witchery of Nature (ii), which caused her such unhappiness. Almost hopelessly, the King's Son Ambassadors goes to the door of the hut and knocks. (47) 'pj^ soun(j 0f the Woodcutter's voice in answer gives him courage to plead, with all the power of his Tragic Love (51), for " a bit of bread, a drop to drink" (Einen Bissen Brot, einen Tropfen Trank). Even that is refused, and the Goose- KONIGSKINDER 83 Girl (7), in the Minor, draws him gently to the hillock, sighing, " We are beggars " (Wir sind Bettler). The motive of Longing (5) starts, but breaks off quickly, succeeded by Tragic Love (51). Even beyond that, there is a depth of sorrow to be touched; and when the King's Son remembers that in this winter earth there is no longer any chance of finding food, the full con- sciousness of their Wasted Lives (44) rushes in upon him. What follows is but the pain and the pleasure that come to them from a memory of other days, sometimes clearly allied, as when the hope of a May to come brings up a picture of the other May, and the orchestra gives the Wooing (25), with Flirtation (4) and the Quest ( 1 ) ; sometimes in quick transition, as when the King's Son recalls his adventures, and we have Coquetry (40), Flirtation (4), Wasted Lives (44), Coquetry (40), Flirtation (4) and the Love Motto (20). The beautiful web now is tan- gled and torn; one motive seldom ap- pears alone, seldom quite simply or complete. The Divine Discontent 84 KONIGSKINDER Wooing (25) (3) and the love that conquered it unite to say: " I saw you in danger and learned to tremble." (Dir sah ich Gefahr und lernte zittern.) The Love Motto (20) blends into the Regal State (23), in which they sat and sang, unmindful whether 'twere in sun or moonlight, in that time so different from this, where hunger and cold are pursuing, and Death (18), although disguised, confronts them. Wasted Lives Th^ tQ ghow ^ j.^ mater;al and Love ^ suffering can affect her spirit, the Goose-Girl pulls off her sandals and dances before her lover. " Cometh my comrade from far- away countries, Passeth along like a bright sum- mer's day, Woven of silk is the doublet he weareth, Doublet of flax would too heav- ily weigh." Motto (20) KONIGSKINDER 85 Goose-GiiTs Dance (52) Magic Spell (i7) (Kommt mein Geselle aus weiter Fremde, Geht wie ein frischer Sommer daher. Tragt er ein seidensponnenes Hemde, War ihm ein linnen Hemde zu schwer.) ^m *& t«"Elfc :g: 1 N* Kommt mein Ge- sel - le aus Wei- - ter Fremde And the dance is full of memories, the Love Motto (20), Royal Chil- dren (8), Wasted Lives (44) — until the silver Spindle (9) breaks and the Goose-Girl falls exhausted. Does she see the vision of Death (18) ap- proaching as she wakens, crying " Death cannot come, for I love you" (Der Tod kann nicht kommen, Ich liebe dich) ? And is a foreshadowing of the peace of death already there, since we hear a fragment of Contentment (26) even as she says " I will not die — my King is sad." 86 KONIGSKINDER ( Ich will nicht sterben — mein Konig weint.) The King's Son remembers his Crown (28); and, in spite of the Goose-Girl's appeal, Royalty (22) " King, sell not your crown! " and Love Motto (20) (Konig, verkauf deine Krone nicht!) Death (18) Royalty (22) and Bourgeoisie (39) he knows that it is their only hope. He has lost the path back to life; he has sunk from Royalty (22) to become a beggar. As he breaks the crown, a fragment of the motive of the Young Prince (24) appears to mock the action. The sacrifice is all in vain. Death (18) is upon them truly now, and the motive, fully revealed, comes again and again; first, when the Broommaker shows his companion the old loaf he has found; then, after the Woodcutter has exchanged the chest for the crown, where he gives the loaf to the King's Son; again, as the King's Son hands the loaf to the maiden; again, as she KONIGSKINDER 87 insists, " Not I alone, you too " (Nicht ich allein, du auch). Then the Death (18) changes to the more specific motive of the Poi- soned Loaf (15), which grows and de- velops as they eat, and then, as the enchantment begins to work, gives way to the Wasted Lives (44). Yet, in spite of the horror of the reality, the pain of Death is hidden from them by the very force of the magic; and sud- denly the world of this life fades away and leaves in their minds only the thought of the Wooing (25) on the day when the Young Prince (24) was in the first fresh Contentment (26) Beauty (13) °^ h*s l°ve> when he found the Goose- Love Motto Girl tending her Geese (10) as he (2°) 1 • r\ / \ Goose-Girl (7) came over the mountains in Quest (i) of happiness. The Love Motto (20) is nowhere so rich and full as here, when, under the Linden, they sink in a last embrace. For the first time in the opera, they sing together a duet, rich in Contentment (26). Love Motto " So let me kiss you and silent be," (20) J whispers the King's Son, as he dies. 88 KONIGSKINDER Contentment " So let me kiss you and silent be " (26) Divine Dis content r?" (Lass mich dich kiissen und stille sein), answers the Goose-Girl. Poisoned The poison is finishing its deadly Loaf (15) work. Then, once again, with her last breath, " Death cannot come for I love you " (Der Tod kann nicht kommen, ich liebe dich), Bourgeoisie (39) and Royalty (22) sighs the Goose-Girl, dying with the thought of the Young Prince (24) bringing Contentment (26) to her soul. And the work of the Poisoned Loaf (15) is ended. Before the Fiddler and the Children come back from the woods, the falling snow has half-hidden the bodies of the Royal Children; and it needs the clue which the Woodcutter offers, when he shows the crown, to make the Fiddler suspect who the beggars were. " Royal Children! Royal Children! " he calls, and when the dove leads the KONIGSKINDER 89 way to where they lie, he sinks down next to the dead bodies, bewailing bit- terly the Wasted Lives (44). There follows the episode in which the other Children return, gazing curi- ously upon the scene, which is full of the atmosphere of the Spell (17) and the sense of the Wasted Lives (44). And the Fiddler, rising, tells, as best he can, the tragic tale. Here it is that the haunting Melody in B Flat Minor (45) — spoken of in the Prelude — ap- pears again, melting into the Love 'Motto (20) and clouding it in pathos. Yet, in spite of his sorrow, the Fiddler Jis the first to feel the Contentment Royalty (22) (26) wIth whIch the Young Prince and the Goose-Girl had met their death, Love Motto •. j • t (20) united in love. So he gathers the Children about him, and they lift the bodies of the King's Son and the Goose-Girl on to the bier which he had made for himself. Then, singing again his noble song, the Fiddler heads the sad procession as it moves away. Fiddler's Last From the distance, the fresh young voices are calling the Royal Children; but the motive of Royalty (22) is re- go KONIGSKINDER versed and followed by the Spell (17). The Fiddler knows that they can not return; knows, too, that the truth for which they stood must not die with them ; and it is of the Fiddler as Apos- tle (34) that we hear as the opera draws to a close. Date Due 2ll & Wi n m^ NOV z s mi_ MAR? a 2003 1 20Q3 WW 2004 AUG 1 0 2010 JUL 2?'Zp AUG 2 6 2010 AUG 1 2 2010 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY 3 1197 20915 0025