Gesangsszene

Gesangsszene is a declaration of belief in practical humanity and is associated with Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s works dating from the 1930s which were written in resistance to fascism. Hartmann remained intransigent aft er the Second World War and expressed his commitment to countering the resurgence of antisemitism with his participation in the collective composition Jüdische Chronik. The disillusioned composer protested against the Cold War and its potential escalation during the Cuba Crisis in 1962 with his work Gesangsszene. The composition consists of a long orchestral prelude and a solo cantata expressing the irreconcilable divergence between nature and civilization, and a yearning for a new solution. Gesangsszene was Hartmann’s final composition: as he was unable to complete the musical setting, the final lines of text are spoken. ‘Karl Amadeus was a clandestine teacher and role model for political thinking and we youngsters listened to him in awe.’ (Hans Werner Henze)