The Raft of the “Medusa” (Das Floß der Medusa)
Oratorio
In Cuba
German composer Hans Werner Henze visited our capital to toast the recording of his work Das Floß der Medusa, dedicated to Comandante Ernesto Guevara.
The idea for this work had been in the composer's mind for several years; its text, written by the poet Ernst Schnabel, is inspired by Gericault's painting of the agony of the survivors on the raft built from the beams of the French frigate "La Medusa", which was sunk in the 18th. In this oratorio for symphony orchestra, soloists, narrator and choir, the baritone stands on stage left and embodies the figure of "Jean-Charles", the mulatto who in Gericault's painting is waving the red cloth to the left of the raft. Behind him, the group of wind instruments and the chorus of the living. On the right, the soprano who embodies Death, behind her the string ensemble and the chorus of the dead, who insert passages from the Divine Comedy into the text. The narrator in the middle describes the action of the piece. Towards the end of the play, the chorus moves to stage right, from life to death.
After the work was begun in autumn 1967, news of the death of Comandante "Che" Guevara, who was greatly admired by the composer, inspired the dedication of the composition, whose supposed premiere on 9 December 1968 culminated in a riot caused by the confrontation of reactionaries and police with revolutionary students at Hamburg's Planten und Blumen theatre.
The 90-minute work has an intense dramatic quality that diminishes somewhat in the middle section, only to rise again in the climax of the last part. There is great consistency and stylistic unity in this composition. The string and wind sections move with great rhythmic and melodic freedom. The percussion plays an important role in the sound effects. The voices are used to their full potential: sharp melodic intervals, chromaticism and the use of quarter tones emphasise the poignant expression. This composition reflects the art of a composer who knows how to use timbres with a masterful hand to capture his inspiration in music.
Henze, the son of peasant parents, began studying piano and harmony at the age of nine. In 1943 he entered the Braunschweig Conservatory. At the age of 16, in 1944, he was drafted into the German army. After the end of the war he worked in a factory as a loader. In 1946 he began to study piano and counterpoint again with Fortner. In 1948 and 1949 he specialised in Schoenberg's dodecaphonic technique with Leibowitz, and in 1949 he began working as a composer and conductor in the theatre. The catalogue of his works includes: Five symphonies (the fifth was premiered in 1964 by the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Leonard Bernstein). Seven ballets (including Undine, written for Margot Fonteyn and premiered at London's Covent Garden, and Tancredi, composed for Nureyev in 1966). Two oratorios and other works of various genres.
The press of the Federal Republic of Germany praised Henze's conducting of his five symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic as the greatest success ever achieved by a contemporary composer in Berlin.
Currently, the composer is working on the completion of his sixth symphony during his stay in Cuba, which will be premiered by the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional in October. Every performer in this work will be a soloist and it will have only one movement
"As soon as this symphony is finished," says Maestro Henze, "I will begin the work "Cimarrón", which is based on the book of the same name by the Cuban writer Miguel Barnet." Henze tells us about his membership in the revolutionary student group in Europe:
"I have been representing revolutionary political ideals for four years now. I have lived in Rome since 1954. Every year I visit the FRG to take part in the presentation of my works. The belligerent actions of West Germany, the conscription into the military, the atmosphere of frustration of a youth in the midst of all the unconscious luxury, the vomiting of imperialism and the cruel enemy of so many hungry and needy people who still exist in so many countries of the world, are some of the things that have made a large section of the youth, especially the students, think and have made them forge new ideals."
Do you, Mr Henze, consider your art detached from politics?
The day after the premiere of "The Raft of the Medusa" (9 December 1968), the attacks against me on television and in the press became fierce. I had to confine myself to composing, not politics. "Henze is musically illiterate in Germany, he knows neither art nor revolution" -- they said --. Several theatres took my works out of their programmes. Despite advice and repression, I published an article in the Hamburg newspaper "Die Zeit" entitled "Revolution in the World", in which I set out my ideas: no artist will be able to create happily until the great work of art, the world revolution, is accomplished.
Do you think that the musical work must please immediately in order to be considered artistic?
I think it is foolish to think so.
How has the audience reacted to your plays?
Almost all the world premieres of my works have provoked dissatisfaction among the audience. At the premiere of Antifona, one of my compositions, conducted by Herbert von Karajan in three consecutive concerts, there were arguments in the audience. In Rome, the premiere of my opera Boulevard Solitude in 1954 was one of the biggest scandals in the history of the opera house. In the following years, the Roman audience got used to my music. It was difficult to change the traditional meaning of opera, especially in Italy.
Do you use the new electronic trends when composing?
No, there are already too many composers in this field. I recognise this music as an interesting element, although whether the results are positive or not depends on who is dealing with it. Luigi Nono made use of electronic technology in his works. I am interested in the psychic work of the instrumentalist.
So you do not agree with Stockhaussen?
No, apart from this reason I am of the opinion that his philosophy is permeated by Nietzsche's "Übermensch" and therefore contradicts the humane principles of Marxism.
"I must say --- says the German composer before he takes his leave --- that I can learn a lot from the Cubans. The artists I have met have the advantage of having developed together with the revolutionary process. You feel that strongly, they are different from artists in capitalist societies, they are generous and their spirit is free".
Bohemia, Havana, 18.04.1969, Translated by M. Kerstan
see also
List of Works
