Dionÿsische Fantasie (The
Dionysian Fantasia)
Hausegger wrote the Dionysian Fantasia between Christmas of
1896 and spring of 1897. He led its premier with the Kaim Orchestra in
The hero sees the clash of combat
and eagerly joins in. While in the fray, he
sees a
vision of Death, which he tries to banish. He wanders through an arid
valley,
full of the miasma of death. Amidst the desolation, he sees a pathway
out,
blocked by the Specter. Yet, a renewed inner life force flares; he will defy
Death. It crumbles at his challenge. He
walks the shining path, which broadens
as he ascends, a song of victory
rising from his heart. From the summit, even if
dying in ecstasy, the hero can cry “Thou world, I love
thee!”
These thoughts yielded a three-part
design; first, heroism - a march, with a calmer trio. Then, the valley of death
- a slower
section. Finally, through a carefully prepared transition segment, a
combination of the artist’s “Let it become!” - a
jubilant finale melding some of the work’s major themes.
Barring the occasional coincidence,
Nietzsche’s work seems, to me, more of an internal inspiration to Hausegger
than any audible influence that listeners might catch. No doubt, he readily
responded to the notion that, as Kaufmann puts it “From tragedy…one can affirm
life as sublime, beautiful and joyous, in spite of suffering and cruelty.” As
commentators on Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra have found, trying to
match a philosophical text with a musical work is chancy at best. Hausegger’s
prefatory poem seems a better bet for those needing a point-to-point concurrence
between the program and the music. The Dionysian
Fantasia lasts about 25 minutes,
using the following instrumentation:
Picolo,
3 flutes, 3 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
(contrabassoon)
4 horns,
4 C trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba
Tympani,
3 percusion- bass and snare drums, crash cymbals, triangle, gong and
glockenspiel
2 harps, strings. In his Aufklänge,
he specifically notes 62 strings (32/12/10/8), which I’ll use as an effective
working number
The work begins with a slow
introduction. As with Robert Schumann’s Second Symphony, Hausegger’s slow
introductions not only set a mood, they’re also a quarry from which the
composer mines many of the most important themes. The music first sounds as if
it were pulling itself up from the (chromatic) depths toward its basic D major tonality.
The tympani rhythm is also important. (Ex. 1 next page)
Ex. 1
As the
music gathers weight, the tympani figure in Ex. 1 gains motivic interest
Ex. 2
as
well as a trumpet theme, the Motiv of Life.
Ex. 3
The introduction
continues apace, finally halting on a dominant 7th, before launching into the march theme of the work’s first section. This nominally D
major passage shows how, at 24, Hausegger had already acquired Wagner’s way of twisting
in and out of remote keys.
Ex. 4
The
march then combines with a more lyrical, yearning theme on the violins.
Ex. 5
The
tempo quickens as these elements build to a climax at which the Death Motiv (obviously
derived from Ex. 2) halts its progress.
Ex. 6
In the
high winds and strings, we hear a brief phrase from what will eventually be the
Song of Love:
Ex. 7
The
Death Motiv repeats, as if to impede any forward motion. At length, the music
becalms and the solo clarinet begins the trio of the march
section, its theme a continuation of Ex. 7
Ex. 8
Another
variation of this theme, in canonic imitation, further hastens the pulse.
Ex. 9
Propelled
by rising sequences, the trio gathers momentum, combined with versions of Ex.
3, both rhythmically and orchestrally augmented. A descending chromatic version
of Ex. 7 returns us to the main march theme, this time alternated with the Love
Theme. At the same time, trombones and tympani give a sense of menace by
relentlessly barking out the Death Motiv in both diminished and augmented
rhythms, till a decrescendo leads toward
B minor and the next part of the poem.
The second major section of the work
then begins, with a flute theme, extended by the solo oboe, then the violins.
Ex. 10
This is
gradually taken up by the rest of the orchestra, only to be halted by an
agitated burst, collapsing on a diminished 7th chord with the Death Motiv in E
flat minor on the tubas and basses. This could, I suppose, express Nietzsche’s
passage in The Birth of Tragedy that
“at the very climax of joy, there sounds a cry of horror,
or a yearning lamentation for an irretrievable loss”.
The Death theme slinks around on the
solo tuba, till eventually, Ex. 3, the Theme of Life emerges on the trumpets (3/4
time, C major) and expands through several keys till the mood again grows more
tranquil. Divisi violins and violas play a soft chordal passage, as much a
texture as a theme. (Ex. 11, next page)
Ex. 11
Above
this, a “transfigured song” arises on the solo violin, announcing the awakening
of renewed life. A derivation of this theme forms the prime subject of the
final section.
Ex. 12
The pace
quickens and again, the Death Motiv appears in rising sequences, till at
length, the trumpets counter with the Theme of Life, A major, in broad
augmentation. As if still trying to halt any forward motion, Death again rises
up, now exerting its dominance in a full melodic statement.
Ex. 13
This
segment peaks with the Death Theme in expansive 5/4 bars, climaxing against the
Motiv of Life now in a ringing D major on the trumpets.
The principle theme of the final
section derives from the violin solo of Ex. 12, transformed into a swinging
tune in 6/8, with scherzo-like accompanying figurations. (Ex. 14, next page)
Ex. 14
After a
decrescendo, the flutes and clarinets begin a quieter variant of Ex. 8, combined
with the chordal theme of Ex. 11, played pizz. on the divided strings in the
dominant key of A major. The final bars build to a
jubilant song of victory, with Ex. 12 combined with trumpet fanfares based on
Ex. 7 for a grand reprise. A Stentorian blast in the bass
instruments, reminiscent of Death, but actually from Exx. 7 and 8, makes one last try to halt the celebration, only to be
swept away in an ascending rush of D major.
The Dionysian Fantasia has all the earmarks of youthful exuberance. The
orchestral palette shows the hand of a born symphonist, with its brave, yet
often subtle colorings. Its themes, despite some real ingenuity in their
transformations, variations and interrelations, don’t quite reach the epic
ambitions of the program. One reluctantly sides with Dr. Wilhelm Zentner’s characterization
that “despite original details and overpowering energy, greatness of ideas is
lacking. The elements of an outstanding personal style are present.”
Despite any immaturities, the work
established von Hausegger as a charter member of the