1. Hemmung (Arnold Schönberg)
Text and Sources | Recordings
2. Das Gesetz (Arnold Schönberg)
Text and Sources | Recordings
3. Ausdrucksweise (Arnold Schönberg)
Text and Sources | Recordings
4. Glück (Arnold Schönberg)
Text and Sources | Recordings
5. Landsknechte (Arnold Schönberg)
Text and Sources | Recordings
6. Verbundenheit (Arnold Schönberg)
Text and Sources | Recordings
DURATION: ca. 13 Min.
PUBLISHER: Bote & Bock (Boosey & Hawkes)
The Six Pieces for Male Chorus op. 35 were composed in two phases, from March – April 1929 and from February – March 1930 (Nos. 4 and 6 were commissioned works for the Deutscher Arbeiter-Sängerbund), and essentially reflect Schönberg's attitude towards the social function of art, as Alban Berg emphasised in a letter dated February 1931: "And yet behind the absolute eternal values of this opus there seems to be something temporary as well: just as in the magnificent texts you reflect upon today's communal ideas [...] it also appears that you (you who have always shown the younger generation [the way]) for once wished to demonstrate something after the fact, and thereby wanted to show that such simple forms which are generally associated with cheap communal music can also lay claim to the highest standards of artistry and proficiency." Perhaps the most important feature of these pieces with regard to the idea of creating a common foundation with a broader public is the interaction between twelve-tone and tonal elements.
© Arnold Schönberg Center
