Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Judith Weir
Really? (2002)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
- cl/va/hp
- Soprano
- 9 min
- Johann Peter Hebel / Brothers Grimm
Programme Note
1.Incidents in Traffic (Johann Peter Hebel)
2.The Expansion of Porridge (Brothers Grimm)
3.What is Eternity ? (Brothers Grimm)
These three musical presentations of stories were written to illustrate my thoughts about the many ways in which music helps, and hinders, storytelling. The three short settings use a wide variety of vocal styles. The first story is spoken throughout; the second includes Sprechstimme (i.e. melodically heightened speech) and operatic declamation; the final piece is entirely sung. The scoring is for soprano, clarinet, viola and, in the third movement only, harp.
The stories are roughly contemporaneous. Hebel, a very great writer to those who know him (his admirers have included Tolstoy, Kafka and Wittgenstein), devised nearly all his work for publication in an almanac.
I have added my own titles for the three pieces and slightly adapted the two Brothers Grimm stories. The Hebel text is translated by John Hibberd.
1. Incidents in Traffic: A man and his son set out for a ride on a donkey, and receive a great deal of unsolicited advice from passers-by, which does not ultimately prove to be helpful.
2.The Expansion of Porridge: A girl is handed a magic cooking pot, but her mother only half-understands its use, with almost disastrous consequences.
3.What is Eternity ?: A king asks a shepherd boy three difficult questions about the nature of the universe, which he answers brilliantly.
2.The Expansion of Porridge (Brothers Grimm)
3.What is Eternity ? (Brothers Grimm)
These three musical presentations of stories were written to illustrate my thoughts about the many ways in which music helps, and hinders, storytelling. The three short settings use a wide variety of vocal styles. The first story is spoken throughout; the second includes Sprechstimme (i.e. melodically heightened speech) and operatic declamation; the final piece is entirely sung. The scoring is for soprano, clarinet, viola and, in the third movement only, harp.
The stories are roughly contemporaneous. Hebel, a very great writer to those who know him (his admirers have included Tolstoy, Kafka and Wittgenstein), devised nearly all his work for publication in an almanac.
I have added my own titles for the three pieces and slightly adapted the two Brothers Grimm stories. The Hebel text is translated by John Hibberd.
1. Incidents in Traffic: A man and his son set out for a ride on a donkey, and receive a great deal of unsolicited advice from passers-by, which does not ultimately prove to be helpful.
2.The Expansion of Porridge: A girl is handed a magic cooking pot, but her mother only half-understands its use, with almost disastrous consequences.
3.What is Eternity ?: A king asks a shepherd boy three difficult questions about the nature of the universe, which he answers brilliantly.