Not only the Sacre saw the light in 1912, also Arnold Schönberg, enfant terrible of the second Viennese School premiered his song cycle Pierrot Lunaire. With similar results: the audience was shouting and some really hated the work. The cycle exists of 21 songs written by the Belgium poet Albert Giraud. These poems are at times absurd or macabre, many times both.
Former actress Albertine Zehme commissioned the work. Schönberg was not the first to try his hand at the collection of poems from 1884. The first try was by composer Otto Vrieslander, but it just wasn’t successful. Schönberg’s was: it is considered one of the highlights in his entire oeuvre.
The wine that one drinks with one’s eyes
Is poured down in waves by the moon at night,
And a spring tide overflows
The silent horizon.Lusts, thrilling and sweet
Float numberless through the waters!
The wine that one drinks with one’s eyes
Is poured down in waves by the moon at night.The poet, urged on by his devotions,
Becomes intoxicated with the sacred beverage;
Enraptured, he turns toward heaven
His head, and, staggering, sucks and sips
The wine that one drinks with one’s eyes.[The English translation of the first song]
An interesting work, but not easy. If you want to take it in, take your time.