Essence, context and meaning in versions of wagner’s wesendonck lieder by wagner, mottl and henze

Abstract

Arrangements of classical music, like ‘covers’ in popular music, may be evaluated according to their degree of fidelity to the original, radical transformative quality and referentiality. Rather than focusing on a musical essence, distinct from its medium, carried through in each transformation, comparative analysis of arrangements may highlight relational contextual essence, the new meanings that arise from new contexts arising in each version. I illustrate the issue through an exploration of multiple versions of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, composed in 1857–1858 originally for piano and voice and arranged for chamber ensemble by the composer, then recast within Acts II and III of Tristan und Isolde. The five songs were arranged in 1893 as an orchestral song cycle by Felix Mottl (1856–1911), and in 1976 the German composer Hans Werner Henze (1926–2012) made a version for alto and chamber orchestra. Mottl’s version reflects a post-Wagnerian aesthetic in a late 19th century social context; Henze’s more radical 20th century approach to re-instrumentation intensifies the intimate response to Mathilde Wesendonck’s poetry, imbued with new personal as well as historical meanings. I conclude that arrangements provide a useful crucible for the exploration of the intertwining of essence and context to generate musical and social meanings.