Levi Hammer on Pelleas und Melisande
This version of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5 has been arranged following the tradition of Schoenberg’s Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen (Society for Private Musical Performances.) Like its masterly peers such as the Greissle arrangement of Schoenberg’s own Fünf Orchesterstücke, Op. 16 and the Schoenberg/Riehn arrangement of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, some orchestral color is naturally lost. But the material – the idea in Schoenberg’s concept of “Style and Idea” – remains. As in its predecessors such as Erwin Stein’s arrangement of Mahler’s fourth symphony, rich compositional details emerge that are not obvious in the original version. This is why these Verein arrangements remain frequently and actively performed: they form a vibrant genre unto themselves, often further illuminating the original.
In this case of this arrangement, the instrumentation reflects the Verein tradition, preserving the original orchestral color as closely as possible. As in the original, the opening melody is found in the English horn, the only instrumental color imaginable for that theme. Conversely, the oboe plays the first entrance of the Pelleas theme at m. 89, while in the original it is played by the trumpet; the oboe mimics the timbre of the trumpet, and trumpet is altogether omitted from the arrangement as it not integral to Schoenberg’s original orchestration. Clarinet and horn, both beloved in Schoenberg’s orchestral palette, are both doubled here as they offer the most versatility of range and color. The harmonium was widely used in Vienna in Schoenberg’s time and it was regularly employed in the Verein arrangements; although it lacks the sustaining quality of the harmonium, the piano is preferred here. For practical considerations, piano is a universally available instrument and provides greater harmonic clarity and ability in extreme ranges; additionally, it better represents inner-voice details, mid-range orchestral sounds, and coloristic details such as harp or percussion effects. The use of piano in such arrangements has historical precedent in Webern’s arrangement of Schoenberg’s Kammersymphonie, Op. 9 for the so-called Pierrot ensemble as well as the Greissle arrangement of Fünf Orchesterstücke, Op. 16.
Instrumentation: 1{fl/pic] 1[ob/eh] 2[1cl, 2cl/bcl] 1 – 2 0 0 0 – piano – str (1 1 1 1 1)
