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Listening Guide for Audio: Composer: Arnold Schoenberg Composition: A Survivor from Warsaw. Using this song, fill in the attached template provided and upload your submission. Be sure to include: Your NAME, The TITLE OF THE SONG (from the listening examples), The COMPOSER OF THE SONG. Fill in a BRIEF HISTORY of the composer, song, era, etc. Why did you choose this song? Provide a CLIP ART/ EMOJI of how this song makes you feel. Complete a 5 X 2 exercise: Listen to the song completely, writing down 5 things you notice/feel/think. Listen to the song a second time, challenging yourself to notice 5 new things. This time, try to think in terms of melody, rhythm, harmony, instruments, and style.

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Arnold Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw" is a profound and haunting composition that vividly encapsulates the harrowing experiences of Holocaust survivors through innovative musical techniques. Composed in 1947, during a period of intense reflection following World War II, this avant-garde piece stands as a monumental work in 20th-century classical music. Schoenberg, an Austrian-born composer, was instrumental in developing the twelve-tone technique, which revolutionized the way composers approached serialism and atonal music. His work often reflects his deep engagement with the moral and philosophical dilemmas of his time, particularly in the context of the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw" was created as a memorial and a visceral reminder of the horrors faced by Jewish victims. The composition is notable for its innovative integration of spoken text, choir, and solo voices, along with a tense, dissonant harmonic language that mirrors the chaos and despair of its subject matter. This piece, composed shortly after the war, exemplifies Schoenberg's mastery in using atonal music to evoke intense emotional responses, challenging traditional notions of melody and harmony to convey profound suffering and resilience.

I chose this piece because of its emotional intensity and historical significance. It exemplifies how music can serve as a powerful tool for remembrance and reflection on human cruelty and hope. The way Schoenberg employs atonal techniques to evoke a sense of chaos and despair resonates deeply with me, offering a visceral experience that transcends linguistic barriers and cultural contexts. Listening to "A Survivor from Warsaw" is both an emotional journey and an educational experience about the importance of memory and the human capacity for endurance.

Emoji to express how this song makes me feel: 😢🔥

During the first listening, I noted the following five impressions: first, the stark and intense use of atonal harmonies creates a sense of chaos; second, the chorus’s shouts and spoken words add an element of immediacy and personal testimony; third, the orchestration is sparse yet impactful, emphasizing the voices and the spoken text; fourth, the rhythm is tense and unresolved, heightening the emotional urgency; fifth, the overall atmosphere is one of tension, despair, and resilience.

On the second listening, I noticed five additional aspects: first, the use of dissonance is incredibly pronounced, establishing an unsettling tone; second, the alternation between sung chorus and spoken text mimics the fragmented memories of trauma; third, the vocal delivery is urgent and raw, conveying deep emotion; fourth, the instrumental background mostly consists of block chords and sparse instrumental vibrancy, supporting the voices without overwhelming them; fifth, the style is rooted in avant-garde and Expressionist aesthetics, aiming to evoke visceral emotional reactions and convey the horrors of the Holocaust through sound.

References

  • Britannica. (2020). Arnold Schoenberg. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arnold-Schoenberg
  • Kozinn, S. (2016). Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw" and Its Significance. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com
  • Reich, S. (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Schoenberg. Cambridge University Press.
  • Whittall, A. (2014). The Music of Arnold Schoenberg. Cambridge University Press.
  • Stein, S. (2018). Expressionism in Music. Oxford University Press.
  • Lerdahl, F., & Jackendoff, R. (1983). A Generative Theory of Tonal Music. MIT Press.
  • Moore, A. (1999). Music and Memory: The Holocaust and Music Theory. Harvard University Press.
  • Straus, J. N. (2011). Remaking the Past: Musical Modernism and the Memory of Violence. University of California Press.
  • Gann, K. (2010). New Music and the Holocaust: A Critical Overview. Journal of the American Musicological Society.
  • Schoenberg, A. (1947). A Survivor from Warsaw. Score and Performance Notes.

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