Concerto funebre, 1939, revised 1959The best known and most widely performed of Hartmann’s works, the concerto for solo violin and chamber orchestra was written at the beginning of the war, and premiered in Switzerland in 1940. At the time, the work was called Musik der Trauer (music of mourning), in daring contrast to the official mood of jubilation following the German invasion of Poland. It was only in the 1959 revision that he gave the concerto its present title.
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Quotations
To have written a piece expressly portraying the events in a tragic rather than celebratory light at the time was a risk in itself, but Hartmann made his sentiments on recent events even more explicit with musical quotations. The first movement features a traditional Hussite chorale in the violin melody, a direct reference to the annexation of Czechoslovakia [e.g. 1]. The 15th century war song – Ye who are God’s Warriors – was sung with such intensity during the Hussite wars and became such a symbol of strength and pride that the song itself would instill fear in the enemy. The next quotation is in the finale, a serene chorale based on Unsterbliche Opfer (“Immortal Victims”), a funeral march for the victims of the Russian Revolution that Scherchen had set to German [e.g. 2].
Structure
The intellectual and spiritual hopelessness of the period ... are contrasted with an expression of hope in the two chorales in the beginning and at the end.
- Hartmann in a letter to Scherchen on the structure of Concerto funebre [25]
The structure of the work as a solo violin concerto is rather unusual, but Hartmann’s treatment of the dynamic between soloist and orchestra, as well as the architecture of the work’s four movements, suits the confessional nature of the piece. The opening Chorale is sustained for the most part by the solo voice, the orchestra accentuating with chromatic harmonies to evoke bleakness. The texture is thin and bare, and the sotto voce, sans vibrato nature of the solo melody is akin to that of slow, regular breathing and humming. It bears a certain air of stubborn, wilful calm and quiet hope and determination.
The simplicity is immediately contrasted by the anguished and dramatic Adagio that follows. Traces of the chorale appear and are varied. The harmonies are highly chromatic, the accompanying dotted rhythms taking on a slow march character centred upon a group of pitches that contain C major, C minor and D minor inflections simultaneously (C, C#, D, E-flat, E, F, G). The soloist’s lament breaks free like a recitative, rising and falling with increasing intensity, but always maintaining a sense of a rising contour and a clear direction. Plaintive and tentative at first, it increases in eloquence, climaxing in an outcry in the topmost registers of the violin [e.g. 3], seemingly reflecting the pain and despair that Hartmann felt. The solo melody finally unites with the orchestra in the slow march in an expressive coda, almost with a sense of resolution.
If the first two and final movements are elegiac and reflective, the third is aggressive and evokes the sounds of war. The frenetic, virtuosic scherzo is similar to a danse macabre, and is dominated by hammering quaver rhythms that are not unlike some of Shostakovich’s war symphonies [e.g. 4]. The rhythmic motif also bears close resemblance to Bartok's Fifth String Quartet. The amount of musical material is not great, the orchestra is small, consisting of only strings, but the overall effect is emotionally overwhelming and full of drive and energy verging on obsessive. To achieve this intensity, Hartmann used dense polyphony, obsessive ostinati punctuated by explosive chords and rapid alternations of arco and pizzicato in both solo and orchestra. The tempo increases to a feverish climax, but even in an allegro movement, Hartmann managed to fit in two pianissimo themes in the violin’s lower registers. The second occurrence leads to a cadenza, and the slow coda, marked sehr breit (very broad), harks back to the mood of the second movement.
The final movement, another chorale, is a slow march. The Russian song seemingly fades into silence and quiet beauty, but a sudden loud dissonance at the very end concludes the music on a defiant note [e.g. 2]. The unsettling nature of the final chord contradicts the relatively peaceful acceptance evoked in the rest of the movement. Perhaps this was Hartmann’s way of making a statement that, no matter how bleak or hopeless the situation was, there remains an element of resistance.
The simplicity is immediately contrasted by the anguished and dramatic Adagio that follows. Traces of the chorale appear and are varied. The harmonies are highly chromatic, the accompanying dotted rhythms taking on a slow march character centred upon a group of pitches that contain C major, C minor and D minor inflections simultaneously (C, C#, D, E-flat, E, F, G). The soloist’s lament breaks free like a recitative, rising and falling with increasing intensity, but always maintaining a sense of a rising contour and a clear direction. Plaintive and tentative at first, it increases in eloquence, climaxing in an outcry in the topmost registers of the violin [e.g. 3], seemingly reflecting the pain and despair that Hartmann felt. The solo melody finally unites with the orchestra in the slow march in an expressive coda, almost with a sense of resolution.
If the first two and final movements are elegiac and reflective, the third is aggressive and evokes the sounds of war. The frenetic, virtuosic scherzo is similar to a danse macabre, and is dominated by hammering quaver rhythms that are not unlike some of Shostakovich’s war symphonies [e.g. 4]. The rhythmic motif also bears close resemblance to Bartok's Fifth String Quartet. The amount of musical material is not great, the orchestra is small, consisting of only strings, but the overall effect is emotionally overwhelming and full of drive and energy verging on obsessive. To achieve this intensity, Hartmann used dense polyphony, obsessive ostinati punctuated by explosive chords and rapid alternations of arco and pizzicato in both solo and orchestra. The tempo increases to a feverish climax, but even in an allegro movement, Hartmann managed to fit in two pianissimo themes in the violin’s lower registers. The second occurrence leads to a cadenza, and the slow coda, marked sehr breit (very broad), harks back to the mood of the second movement.
The final movement, another chorale, is a slow march. The Russian song seemingly fades into silence and quiet beauty, but a sudden loud dissonance at the very end concludes the music on a defiant note [e.g. 2]. The unsettling nature of the final chord contradicts the relatively peaceful acceptance evoked in the rest of the movement. Perhaps this was Hartmann’s way of making a statement that, no matter how bleak or hopeless the situation was, there remains an element of resistance.
Style
The overall framework of the piece is very similar to Hindemith’s Trauermusik, also in four continuous movements and ending with a hymn tune. Like Berg’s Violin Concerto, the use of chorales and songs expresses consolation and confidence. There is also something about using a chorale in the finale of a piece that is very ‘German’, perhaps because of the associations with Bach and Beethoven. More significantly, the element of nobility it brings across is a testament to the inner strength and spirit of the people during the war, conveying solidarity in song. Although the work does not use traditional triadic harmonies, the tonal structures and use of instruments is fairly Romantic, it is certainly closer to the Expressionism of Webern and Berg rather than Schoenberg’s strict dodecaphony. The sound world has hints of many influences of his predecessors and contemporaries, but remains individual. The music gives rather equal emphasis to all twelve tones without adhering to the clinical serialism of the Second Viennese School, especially in the melodies of the solo violin, where the melody explores all the pitches available and allowing some repetitions in between [e.g. 5]. The end result is a palette of tonal colours, interesting melodic intervals, and a clear expression. The music manages to remain organised through the use of groups of specific pitches that are used as a form of centre, such as D, A and C# in the last movement [e.g. 5]. Additionally, instead of relying on traditional harmonic structures (i.e. cadences), Hartmann uses rhythmic motifs and rigour, repetitive figurations and contours to organise the work. Thus, although the style is ‘modern’, it is managed in a way that enhances the depth in expression, and effectively conveys the meaning behind the work.
[25] Thierry Vagne, "Linus Roth Plays Hartmann, Weinberg and Shostakovich," Classical Music & Co, July 23, 2015, accessed April 15, 2016, http://vagnethierry.fr/en/linus-roth-plays-hartmann-weinberg-and-shostakovich/.