DURATION: ca. 3 Min.
TEXT: Gedicht von Dagobert David Runes aus dem Band Jordanlieder
PUBLISHER:
Schott
Hal Leonard (USA, Canada, Mexico)
"Dreimal tausend Jahre," op. 50A, sets a short lyric poem from the "Jordan Lieder" by Dagobert Runes. The second of the series Opus 50 uses the original Hebrew of Psalm 130, the "De Profundis"; while the third is based on Schönberg's own text, the first of sixteen short "psalms" written during the last ten months of his life. The first of the choruses, Opus 50A , was composed at the request of the Swedish magazine "Prisma" that wanted a contribution for a forthcoming limited edition. The piece uses a tone-row that is in itself symmetrical; the second hexachord, when inverted at the fifth above, is identical to the first. Schönberg sharpened the focus of the Runes poem somewhat, giving it a greater relevance to something then much on his mind - the newly established State of Israel. The key to «Dreimal tausend Jahre," op. 50A is found in the poem's last words - "Gottes Wiederkehr." Schönberg has abstracted the idea of "God's return," which was seen, of course, in the Jews' return to Palestine, and gave this idea musical shape.
© Arnold Schönberg Center