New Edition: Die Harmonie der Welt. Opera in five Acts (1956/57)
Paul Hindemith. Complete Works - Series I: Stage Works
Band I,10: Die Harmonie der Welt. Opera in five Acts (1956/57)
Edited by Giselher Schubert on behalf of the Fondation Hindemith, Blonay
Mainz: Schott Music
Vol I,10-A: 2021
Vol I,10-B: 2021
Vol I,10-C: 2022
Die Harmonie der Welt forms the conclusion of Hindemith’s triad of so-called ‘visual art operas’. The editor writes the following in the Introduction to the volume:
In his three-act opera Cardillac op. 39 (1925/26; libretto: Ferdinand Lion), Hindemith places the central focus on a self-centred, ruthless and criminal ‘artisan’ with no morals, the ingenious goldsmith Cardillac from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella Fräulein von Scudéri, in a thrilling criminological plot in which the protagonist murders the buyers of his jewellery from which he is loath to part. The artist Mathis in the opera in seven scenes entitled Mathis der Maler (1933-35; libretto: Paul Hindemith) whom the composer based on the historical figure of Matthias Grünewald (Mathis Gothart-Nithart, named Grünewald, 1475/80 – 1528) experiences the politically and socially motivated intervention which he feels ethically and morally obliged to undertake as a betrayal of his individual and authentic (artistic) powers; although he will probably regain these powers, he simultaneously becomes only too aware of the “melancholy of wealth”. Finally, in the Kepler opera in five acts Die Harmonie der Welt (libretto: Paul Hindemith), set in the transitional period to the early modern age, the astronomist, astrologist, philosopher, scientist and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630) adheres to the concept of an idealised “harmony of the world” which he is convinced powers the universe but cannot be discovered in the unsettled political and social workings of the contemporary era and is forced to acknowledge this as his ultimate failure according to the composer’s portrayal. In Hindemith’s ‘series’ of core works (for the stage), his Kepler opera stands out as his key composition from the 1950s; what is more, this is the work in which his musical-aesthetic, music-theoretical, historical-philosophical and poetological convictions – which had been maturing over a series of intricate but continual thought processes – were directly or indirectly compositionally compressed, ethically and aesthetically incorporated and elevated in almost every respect. The sequence of these works for the stage provides a convincing confirmation of Hindemith’s personal development. He felt himself virtually obligated to create and conclude this composition despite all internal and external constraints of the previous twenty years. In response to a renewed reminder of the Kepler project undertaken by the Schott publishing house, Hindemith wrote in a consolatory letter dated 20 January 1947: One day, the frequently postponed Kepler will finally see the light of day. The fact that this has not yet taken place can […] on the one hand be explained by the hopes of its author for greater maturity, knowledge and creative force and on the other hand through the curse of life on earth which never leaves one with sufficient time. Back in the early 1930s when Hindemith first undertook a serious consideration of this operatic subject, he could imagine a blend of a small-scale private life, enormous international events (Imperial Diet, Thirty Years War) and cosmic aspects (astronomical allegory); I hope I am capable of achieving all this as I see it in my imagination. I will require a great deal of time and also peaceful surroundings – it is my hope that this will be granted to me. (Letter to Schott dated 25.9.1939). What is more, during his preparations for his emigration to the USA from his place of exile in Bluche (Wallis), Switzerland in January 1940, he uncharacteristically went as far as to reveal further insights into his inspiration for his operatic concept: The material to be processed is enormous: alone the historical events between 1601 and 1630 demand detailed study; and even if one wishes to immerse oneself purely ‘atmospherically’ into the material, this all requires time. The emotional stimulation also plays a major role (at least for me) in the planning of this type of plot: a constant observation of the star-studded sky in the mountains for example encourages the progress of the plan alongside reading and further studies. The spiritual content of the opera […] should be focused on the search for harmonies in all aspects of life and the world and on the loneliness of the individual who discovers this harmony. (Letter to Hans Boettcher, 10.1.1940).