The ancient Greeks, with their religion of Aryan Pantheism, had a different idea of what might occur in an afterlife than our modern religions. In Greek mythology, Tartarus was the deep abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked. It’s much like the Christian hell, but with some differences.
The Renaissance saw tremendous interest in classical Greece and its mythology. The two Immortals of German poetry, Goethe and Schiller (1759-1805), wrote a lot of poetry about Greek gods and the mythology that accompanied them. This Schiller poem prompted Franz Schubert to attempt setting it to music once in 1815, and that left only a fragment. His attempt in 1817 at age 20 became one of his greatest songs and the best of all his settings of Friedrich von Schiller.
It begins with the right hand on the piano playing Cs, then C-sharps, then Ds while the left hand boils in the subterranean depths. Then a tableau of horror rises on the stage.
Horch – wie Murmeln des empörten Meeres,
Hark! Like the angry murmuring of the sea,Wie durch hohler Felsen Becken weint ein Bach,
Or a brook sobbing through pools in shallow rocks,Stöhnt dort dumpfigtief ein schweres – leeres,
From the depths arises a muffled,Qualerpreßtes Ach!
Heavy, empty, tormented groan!
Schubert springs the trap in D minor.
Schmerz, verzerret
Pain distortsIhr Gesicht – Verzweiflung sperret
Their faces – in despairIhren Rachen fluchend auf.
Their mouths open wide, cursing.
Now comes Schubert’s careful unwinding of tension.
Hoh sind ihre Augen – ihre Blicke
Their eyes are hollow – their frightened gazeSpähen bang nach des Cocytus Brücke,
Strains toward Cocytus’ bridge,Folgen tränend seinem Trauerlauf.
Following as they weep that river’s mournful course.
Now for the buildup, repeated in rising semitones.
Fragen sich einander ängstlich leise,
Anxiously, softly, they ask one another,Ob noch nicht Vollendung sei?
If the end is yet near?
The answer, the horror of that answer and the masterstroke of the song is something you would expect in a minor key. But Schubert delivers it in a glorious – and terrifying – blaze of C major. Again and again!
Ewigkeit!
Eternity!Schwingt über ihnen Kreise,
Sweeps in circles above them,Bricht die Sense des Saturns entzwei.
Breaking Saturn’s scythe in two.
The tableau of horror sinks beneath the stage, leaving it bare once again. A soft C minor triad arpeggio symbolizes the rings of Saturn.
Boys and girls, you’re going to be good, aren’t you?
This is a classic performance from the great Hermann Prey, taped in 1990.
Good evening, Maestro! Good selection tonight! And as usual the story going with it is the best!
Good evening, Publius...that was interesting listening. I enjoyed it and have listened a couple more times. ((HUGS))
Hi Publius! It’s so good to see you!
(And HEAR you.)
(((HUGS)))