Totentanz is cast in one continuous movement and has a duration of roughly 40 minutes.
Totentanz is set to an anonymously authored text that appeared under a 15th-century frieze in St. Mary's Church, Lübeck, that was destroyed by a British air raid in World War II.[4][5] In the score program notes, Adès wrote, "the frieze depicted members of every category of human society in strictly descending order of status, from the Pope to a baby. In-between each human figure is an image of Death, dancing and inviting the humans to join him. In this setting, each of the humans in turn is represented by a low soprano, and Death by a baritone."[6]
Totentanz has been highly praised by music critics. Reviewing the world premiere, Ivan Hewett of The Daily Telegraph called it "an immense achievement" and compared it favorably to performances of Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem and Witold Lutosławski's Cello Concerto, writing, "On their own these two performances would have lifted this Prom into a different class. Then came something that raised it higher still; the world premiere of Thomas Adès's Totentanz."[1] Helen Wallace of BBC Music Magazine similarly opined, "It hurls us into a labyrinth the senior composer would recognise, but which is darker and more manically brutal than anything even he conceived."[2] The piece was also praised by Andrew Clements of The Guardian, who wrote:
In Adès's piece the baritone is death's mouthpiece - declamatory, angular and rather Bergian (the opening of the work very much recalls the prologue to Lulu), with just a few moments of insidious quietness, while the mezzo, more lyrical, more vulnerable, represents the victims who vainly try to resist him. Throughout their exchanges the orchestral machine moves relentlessly on, constantly changing tack and inventing new sound-worlds but always keeping its power in reserve, and consuming everything it encounters. In the closing pages death and humanity seem to reach a truce in a passage of almost Straussian lyricism, Adès's most frankly expressive music to date, but it proves only temporary and the work ends in the lowest depths of the orchestra, having worked its way downwards.[3]
Reviewing the United States premiere, Martin Bernheimer of the Financial Times remarked, "The 40-minute Totentanz [...] represents a clever dance of death predicated on harmonic, rhythmic and, occasionally, melodic complexity. The first half emerges essentially raucous, the second predominantly serene (everything, of course, is relative). Adès toys neatly with contrasting images of terror and resignation, manipulating a huge orchestral apparatus with virtuosic clarity amid percussive bombast."[7] David Allen of The New York Times described the work as "a grisly symphony-cantata for two singers and a vast orchestra that is his longest, most ambitious and most astounding orchestral composition yet." He added, "Despite an imprecise performance here, it's clear that with Totentanz, this composer takes a dizzying leap beyond his finest earlier scores — Asyla (1997) and Tevot (2007) — and adds to a lineage of musical death-dances, including those of Liszt and Saint-Saëns."[8]
However, George Grella of the New York Classical Review was slightly more critical of the piece. Despite describing it as Adés's "most fully realized large-scale score to date," Grella nevertheless observed, "Totentanz works musically, is fascinating and powerful throughout, though it's [sic] language still is at one remove from touching the listener intimately. The piece makes clear what Adés is thinking, but while we hear what is in his head, we don’t necessarily feel it."[9]
^ abWallace, Helen (18 July 2013). "Proms diary: Britten, Lutosławski and Thomas Adès's Totentanz". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ abClements, Andrew (18 July 2013). "Prom 8: BBCSO/Adès - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^Ross, Alex (16 March 2015). "Dance of Death: Thomas Adès's latest work is a meditation on an ancient theme". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^Catton, Pia (10 March 2015). "Thomas Adès's Death Comes, With a Whistle: 'Totentanz' comes to the New York Philharmonic". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ abKeller, James M. (March 2015). "Thomas Adès: Totentanz, for Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone, and Orchestra" (PDF). New York Philharmonic. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^Bernheimer, Martin (15 March 2015). "New York Philharmonic/Adès, Avery Fisher Hall, New York — review". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^Allen, David (13 March 2015). "Review: Thomas Adès Leads the Philharmonic, and Björk Listens". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^Grella, George (13 March 2015). "Adés dances and romances death at Philharmonic". New York Classical Review. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
March 03, 2023
totentanz, adès, totentanz, composition, baritone, mezzo, soprano, orchestra, british, composer, thomas, adès, work, commissioned, robin, boyle, memory, composer, witold, lutosławski, wife, danuta, world, premiere, given, royal, albert, hall, during, proms, ju. Totentanz is a composition for baritone mezzo soprano and orchestra by the British composer Thomas Ades The work was commissioned by Robin Boyle in memory of the composer Witold Lutoslawski and of his wife Danuta Its world premiere was given in the Royal Albert Hall during The Proms on July 17 2013 and was performed by the baritone Simon Keenlyside the mezzo soprano Christianne Stotijn and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ades 1 2 3 A detailed description and illustration of the Totentanz in St Mary s Church Lubeck based on the copy made in 1701 by Anton Wortmann Contents 1 Composition 1 1 Instrumentation 2 Reception 3 See also 4 ReferencesComposition EditTotentanz is cast in one continuous movement and has a duration of roughly 40 minutes Totentanz is set to an anonymously authored text that appeared under a 15th century frieze in St Mary s Church Lubeck that was destroyed by a British air raid in World War II 4 5 In the score program notes Ades wrote the frieze depicted members of every category of human society in strictly descending order of status from the Pope to a baby In between each human figure is an image of Death dancing and inviting the humans to join him In this setting each of the humans in turn is represented by a low soprano and Death by a baritone 6 Instrumentation Edit The work is scored for baritone mezzo soprano and a large orchestra consisting of the following instruments 6 Woodwinds 3 flutes 1st and 2nd doubling piccolo 3rd doubling piccolo and alto flute 3 oboes 3rd doubling cor anglais 3 clarinets 1st in B and A doubling E clarinet 2nd in A doubling bass clarinet 3rd in A doubling bass clarinet with low C 3 bassoons 2nd doubling contrabassoon 3rd doubling contraforte or contrabassoon with low A Brass 4 horns 3 trumpets all doubling flugelhorn 2 trombones 1 bass trombone 1 contrabass tuba Percussion timpani doubling rototoms 6 8 percussionistsKeyboards piano doubling celesta Strings harp violins I II violas celli double bassesReception EditTotentanz has been highly praised by music critics Reviewing the world premiere Ivan Hewett of The Daily Telegraph called it an immense achievement and compared it favorably to performances of Benjamin Britten s Sinfonia da Requiem and Witold Lutoslawski s Cello Concerto writing On their own these two performances would have lifted this Prom into a different class Then came something that raised it higher still the world premiere of Thomas Ades s Totentanz 1 Helen Wallace of BBC Music Magazine similarly opined It hurls us into a labyrinth the senior composer would recognise but which is darker and more manically brutal than anything even he conceived 2 The piece was also praised by Andrew Clements of The Guardian who wrote In Ades s piece the baritone is death s mouthpiece declamatory angular and rather Bergian the opening of the work very much recalls the prologue to Lulu with just a few moments of insidious quietness while the mezzo more lyrical more vulnerable represents the victims who vainly try to resist him Throughout their exchanges the orchestral machine moves relentlessly on constantly changing tack and inventing new sound worlds but always keeping its power in reserve and consuming everything it encounters In the closing pages death and humanity seem to reach a truce in a passage of almost Straussian lyricism Ades s most frankly expressive music to date but it proves only temporary and the work ends in the lowest depths of the orchestra having worked its way downwards 3 Reviewing the United States premiere Martin Bernheimer of the Financial Times remarked The 40 minute Totentanz represents a clever dance of death predicated on harmonic rhythmic and occasionally melodic complexity The first half emerges essentially raucous the second predominantly serene everything of course is relative Ades toys neatly with contrasting images of terror and resignation manipulating a huge orchestral apparatus with virtuosic clarity amid percussive bombast 7 David Allen of The New York Times described the work as a grisly symphony cantata for two singers and a vast orchestra that is his longest most ambitious and most astounding orchestral composition yet He added Despite an imprecise performance here it s clear that with Totentanz this composer takes a dizzying leap beyond his finest earlier scores Asyla 1997 and Tevot 2007 and adds to a lineage of musical death dances including those of Liszt and Saint Saens 8 However George Grella of the New York Classical Review was slightly more critical of the piece Despite describing it as Ades s most fully realized large scale score to date Grella nevertheless observed Totentanz works musically is fascinating and powerful throughout though it s sic language still is at one remove from touching the listener intimately The piece makes clear what Ades is thinking but while we hear what is in his head we don t necessarily feel it 9 See also EditList of compositions by Thomas AdesReferences Edit a b Hewett Ivan 18 July 2013 Proms 2013 Thomas Ades review The Daily Telegraph Telegraph Media Group Retrieved 22 June 2016 a b Wallace Helen 18 July 2013 Proms diary Britten Lutoslawski and Thomas Ades s Totentanz BBC Music Magazine Retrieved 22 June 2016 a b Clements Andrew 18 July 2013 Prom 8 BBCSO Ades review The Guardian Retrieved 22 June 2016 Ross Alex 16 March 2015 Dance of Death Thomas Ades s latest work is a meditation on an ancient theme The New Yorker Retrieved 22 June 2016 Catton Pia 10 March 2015 Thomas Ades s Death Comes With a Whistle Totentanz comes to the New York Philharmonic The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 22 June 2016 a b Keller James M March 2015 Thomas Ades Totentanz for Mezzo Soprano Baritone and Orchestra PDF New York Philharmonic Retrieved 22 June 2016 Bernheimer Martin 15 March 2015 New York Philharmonic Ades Avery Fisher Hall New York review Financial Times Retrieved 22 June 2016 Allen David 13 March 2015 Review Thomas Ades Leads the Philharmonic and Bjork Listens The New York Times Retrieved 22 June 2016 Grella George 13 March 2015 Ades dances and romances death at Philharmonic New York Classical Review Retrieved 22 June 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Totentanz Ades amp oldid 1142160448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
