Et par ord om Kierkegaard og musik
af Jens Staubrand
Hos forfatteren og filosoffen Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) finder man, udover stor tankerigdom og en mangfoldighed af metaforer, en veludviklet sproglig rytmik.
Man hører tydeligt det melodiske sprog i dette uddrag fra Kierkegaards analyse af Mozarts opera Don Giovanni i essayet 'The Immediate Erotic Stages or the Musical-Erotic', fra hovedværket Either/Or (1843), hvor Kierkegaard hævder, at den musikalske tegning af Don Juan er vigtigere end den sceniske:
'Hør Don Juan, det vil sige, kan Du ikke ved at høre Don Juan faae en Forestilling om ham, saa kan Du det aldrig. Hør hans Livs Begyndelse; som Lynet vikler sig ud af Tordenskyens Mørke, saaledes bryder han frem af Alvorens Dyb, hurtigere end Lynets Fart, ustadigere end denne og dog ligesaa taktfast; hør hvor han styrter sig ned i Livets Mangfoldighed, hvor han bryder sig mod dens faste Dæmning, hør disse lette dandsende Violintoner, hør Glædens Vink, hør Lystens Jubel, hør Nydelsens festlige Salighed; hør hans vilde Flugt, sig selv iler han forbi, stedse hurtigere, stedse ustandseligere, høre Lidenskabens tøilesløse Begjæring, hør Elskovens Susen, hør Fristelsens Hvisken, hør Forførelsens Hvirvel, hør Øieblikkets Stilhed - hør, hør, hør Mozarts Don Juan.'
Et tilsvarende melodisk sprog finder man overalt i Kierkegaards skrifter. Denne litterære kvalitet gør Kierkegaards ord egnet til at blive sunget, og sammen med det reflektive og metafoerne får vi således nogle unikke sangværker.
Selv om Kierkegaard kunne skrive melodisk og var god til fortættet fremstilling, som man for eksempel ser det i nogle af de aforismer (af Kierkegaard kaldet Diapsalmata), der indleder Either/Or, så skrev han aldrig digte. Den musik der er med på compact discen, samt i øvrigt alle andre musikværker til tekster af Kierkegaard (se note), er således prosatekster sat i musik.
Compact discens musikværker, der er af danske og amerikanske komponister, henter deres tekster fra Kierkegaards æstetiske og religiøse produktion, nemlig 'Forførerens Dagbog' (1843), 'Works of Love'(1847), 'Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays'(1851), 'Christian Discourses'(1848), 'The Lilies of the Field and The Birds of the Air'(1849), de aforismer (diapsalmata) der indleder Either/Or (1843), samt en række religiøse bønner fra Kierkegaards Journals.
Med på compact discen er sopransoloen Lord Jesus Christ fra Samuel Barbers kor- og orkesterværk 'Prayers of Kierkegaard' (1954), der er vigtig, fordi Barber var den første der satte Kierkegaard i musik. Kun 'Prayers of Kierkegaard' og Gudrund Lunds Søren Kierkegaard musikværk 'Ti tankevækkende udsagn [Ten suggestive utterance]'(1994) har i øvrigt tidligere været indspillet.
Om Kierkegaard selv og musikkens verden ved vi, at han skaffede noder til sin forlovede Regine Olsen, der, som man kan læse i den halvbiografiske Diary of a Seducer, spillede klaver. Vi ved at han var medlem af 'The Copenhagen Music Association', og at han var en hyppig gæst i Det Kongelige Teater, hvor han blandt andet så opera. Kierkegaard skrev også om musik, nemlig essayet 'The Immediate Erotic Stages or the Musical-Erotic' 1843), hvor han analyserer Mozarts tre operaer: Le Nozze de Figaro, Die Zauberflüte, og Don Giovanni.
På Det Kongelige Teater, hvor Kierkegaard så og hørte Don Giovanni mange gange, sang Jens Christian Hansen (1812-80) Don Juans parti; Kierkegaard har skrevet om ham i artiklen 'A passing comment on a detail in Don Juan,' Fædrelandets Feuilleton [The Fatherland Serial] 19the-20th May 1845. Nævnes skal også diapsalmata 'These two well-known violin strokes', fra indledningen til Either/Or, hvor Kierkegaard skriver om violintonerne i begyndelsen af Don Giovanni-ouverturens allegrodel.
Note: 'Søren Kierkegaard, International bibliografi: Musikværker og Skuespil / International bibliography: Musicworks and Plays'. Det Kongelige Bibliotek 1998.
A few words about Kierkegaard and Music
af Jens Staubrand
The works of the author and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) one finds a well-developed linguistic rhythm besides great of ideas and a wealth of metaphors.
The melodic language can be clearly heard in this from Kierkegaard's analysis of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' in the essay: 'The immediate Erotic Stages or the Musical-Erotic', from the major work 'Either/Or' (1843), in which Kierkegaard maintains that the musical portrayal of Don Giovanni is more important than the scenic representation:
'Listen to Don Giovanni; That's to say, if you cannot get an idea of Don Giovanni by listening to him, you will never get one. Hear the beginning of his life; as lightning twists out of the thunder cloud's murk, he bursts forth from the depth of earnest swifter than lightning, less constant than it yet as measured. Hear how he plunges into life's diversity, how he dashes himself against its solid dam, hear these light, dancing tones of the violin, hear the beckoning of joy, hear the exultation of disire, hear the festive bliss of enjoyment; hear his wild flight; he hurries past even himself, ever faster, ever more impetuously; hear the murmur of love, hear the whisper of temptation, hear the swirl of seduction, hear the stillness of the moment - listen, listen, listen, to Mozart's Don Juan'.
A corresponding melodic language can befound everywehre in the writings of Kierkegaard. This literary quality makes Kierkegaards words suitable for singing, and together with reflective elements and metaphors we obtain in this way some unique vocal works.
Although Kierkegaard could write melodically and was a master of terse description, as can be seen for example in some of the aphorisms (called Diapsalmata) which introduce 'Either/Or', he never wrote any poetry. The musie which is included on this compact disc as well as incidentally all the other musical works with words by Kierkegaard (see note) are indeed prose texts set to music.
The words of the works on this compaet disc by Danish and American composers are taken from Kierkegaard's aesthetie and religious produktion, namely 'Diary of Seducer' (1843), 'Works of Love' (1847), 'Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays' (1851), 'Christian Discourses' (1848), 'The Lilies of the Field and the Birds of the Air' (1849), the aphorisms (diapsalmata) which open 'Either/Or' (1843) and a number of devotional prayers from Kierkegaard's Journals.
Included on the compaet dise is the song for soprano solo 'Lord Jesus Christ', from Samuel Barber's work for choir and orchestra 'Prayers of Kierkegaard' (1954), which is important because Barber was the first composer to set Kierkegaard to musie. Only 'Prayers of Kierkegaard' and Gudrund Lund's Søren Kierkegaard 'Ti tankevækkende udsagn [Ten Suggestive Utterances]' (1994) have been recorded before.
With regard to Kierkegaard himself and the world of musie we know that he gave musie to his fiancée, Regine Olsen, who, as we know from the semi-biographical 'Diary of a Seducer', played the piano. We know that he was a member of 'The Copenhagen Musical Association' and that he was a regular visitor at The Royal Theatre, where he heard among other things opera.
Kierkegaard also wrote about music, namely in the essay 'The Immediate Erotic Stages of the Musical-Erotic' (I 843), where he analyses three Mozart operas, 'The Martiage of Figaro', 'The Magie Flute', and 'Don Giovanni'.
At The Royal Theatre, where Kierkegaard saw and heard Don Giovanni several times, Jens Christian Hansen (1812-1880) sang the part of Don Giovanni; Kierkegaard has written about him in the article 'A passing comment on a detail in Don Giovanni', Fædrelandets Feuilleton [The Fatherland Serial] 19th-20th May 1845. Also worthy of mention are the diapsalmata 'These two well-known violin strokes' from the introduction to 'Either/Or' where Kierkegaard writes about the violin notes at the beginning of the allegro section of the overture of 'Don Giovanni'.
English Translation: Gwyn Hodgson
Note: 'Søren Kierkegaard, International bibliografi.Musikværker og Skuespil / International bibliography: Musicworks and Plays". Det Kongelige Bibliotek (The Royal Library) 1998
Søren Kierkegaard Kulturproduktion