Hans Werner Henze - Symphony No. 9

Hans Werner HENZE (1926-2012)

Symphony No. 9 for mixed chorus and orchestra (1996/97) 

Rundfunk Chor Berlin

Simon Halsey

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin

Marek Janowski

rec. November 2008, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

From 1996/97, the Symphony No. 9 for mixed chorus and orchestra is by far Henze’s most substantial work from this period. At fifty-three minutes it is also his longest symphony. During this time Henze’s opera Venus und Adonis was introduced by conductor Markus Stenz in 1997 at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich. Henze sets text written by poet Hans-Ulrich Treichel based on the 1942 Holocaust novel Das siebte Kreuz (The Seventh Cross) by Anna Seghers. At the premiere Ingo Metzmacher conducted the Rundfunkchor Berlin and Berliner Philharmoniker in September 1997 at the Philharmonie, Berlin. Designed in seven movements the music parallels Seghers’ novel about seven prisoners attempting to escape from a concentration camp. Seven trees are cut down to make seven crosses on which to crucify the prisoners. One manages to escape to Holland and his unused cross becomes a symbol of resistance. With this setting Henze is paying homage “to the heroes and martyrs of German anti-fascism.” I see this work as a public expression of his abhorrence of Germany’s behaviour in the early to mid 20th-century and his regard for those who struggled to resist the Nazi regime. Henze explained “What happens in this symphony is an apotheosis of terror and pain.”

All seven movements are choral. The highly unsettling first movement Die Flucht (The Escape), where a man runs away from pursuers, is full of angry and anguished writing. The writing in the extremely tense and slow flowing second movement Bei den Toten (Among the Dead) reminds me of the state of total exhaustion and terror of an escapee trying to hide from his enemy. Another dark movement, full of severe tension, Bericht der Verfolger (The Persecutor’s Report) conveys the brutal and inhumane treatment meted out to the escapee. In the extremely heart-rending Der Platane spricht (The Plane Tree Speaks) a tree is cut down to make a crucifix. First a shimmering atmosphere is fashioned combined with a martial undercurrent. Next comes a dark mood of agitation which is decidedly unsettling. The fugitive is chased by men with dogs in movement five Der Sturz (The Fall). Climbing on top of a house he is shot and leaps off the roof to his death. Probably the emotional summit of the score this music has the power to affect — and is emotionally draining. Nachts in Dom (Night in the Cathedral) is by some distance the longest movement. The wretched escapee seeks refuge in Mainz Cathedral at night-time and prays for help both to the statues of the Saints and to a figure of Jesus on the cross. Here Henze uses an organ for the first and only time in any of his orchestral works. The instrument’s dramatic power adds significantly to the eerie and feverish atmosphere. Titled Die Rettung (The Rescue), the seventh and final movement is an Andante cantabile without percussion and without loud outbursts. The music and the text join to evoke the scene of a fertile, fruit-laden valley forest with a river, maybe the river Rhine, running through it. Although with a constant disconcerting undercurrent of danger there is a glimmer of optimism too; for mankind, maybe. Directed by Simon Halsey, the impeccably prepared Rundfunk Chor Berlin, sing with an unerring feeling for Henze’s wretched and harrowing text. It all feels accurate, evocative and grippingly affecting. Beautifully in tune and with an unerring clarity of diction this is a purposeful and disciplined performance.