Moses and Aron

In his opera Moses and Aron, (fragment) Schönberg negotiates the fate of the people of Israel and the promise, which is both secular and holy. The prophet Moses and his eloquent brother Aron are struggling to help this promise come into existence. They are confronted with doubts, hopes and all the contradictions of the chosen people. Schönberg cites the thought of God as the basis of the work. Moses, as the chosen mediator of this thought, has the task of proclaiming the self-revelation of God. Schönberg’s drama of ideas, in its religious-philosophical content, is directed at the conflict between the pure thought of God and its mediation. In order to express the character of the text Schönberg used an unusual combination of instruments. As well as an enlarged classical orchestra he uses piano, harp, celesta, mandolines and much percussion. The characteristic of the vocal style is a frequent combination of singing and rhythmically organized declamation: Moses is a speaking part, Aron a lyrical tenor, which may symbolize the fact that the bearer of the idea, Moses himself is deprived of singing. In contrast to the thinking Moses, who clings to eternity, meta-physics and real values, Aron is a materialist, down to earth and attracted by the tinsel of gold and the success of the moment. No less characteristic than the big contrast between the brothers is Schönberg’s method of treating the human voices. Recitatives, arioso passages, whispered choruses, response-like sections for solo singer and speaking choir follow each other in continually changing vocal hapes. Each of the singing parts is characterized by a separate style of handling the voices.