Abruptly, Death renews the attack, and the dreadful struggle is resumed. There is gradual exhaustion, and once more a respite comes to the sufferer.
Now he is visited by dreams and hallucinations—memories of youth, of young manhood and its vicissitudes, of lusty conflict and passionate endeavor, with illusory glimpses of future triumph.
But again Death attacks his victim. There is a short and furious struggle, a sudden subsidence, a mysterious and sinister gong-stroke; a portentous silence signifies the final stilling of the heart.
Then begins, gradually and gravely, the Transfiguration; and through shimmering harps and sonorous chantings of the brass is suggested the final triumphant attainment of the soul released.
"TILL EULENSPIEGEL'S MERRY PRANKS": Op. 28
The full title of this work is: Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche, nach alter Schelmenweise—in Rondoform—für grosses Orchester gesetzt von Richard Strauss. Translated according to the most reasonable authority, this means: "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Set in the Old-Fashioned, Roughish Manner—in the Form of a Rondo[146]—for Grand Orchestra, by Richard Strauss." This sufficiently formidable announcement introduced to the world in 1895 (the year of its completion and publication) a work which its author sought, after his usual habit, to imbue with a kind of mystification the point and savor of which it is a little difficult to appreciate. When the "rondo" was produced at Cologne, November 15, 1895, Dr. Franz Wüllner, who conducted the performance, requested Strauss to furnish an explanatory programme of the piece. The composer declined. "It is impossible," he said, "for me to furnish a programme to Eulenspiegel; were I to put into words the thoughts which its several incidents suggested to me, they would seldom suffice, and might even give rise to offence. Let me leave it, therefore, to my hearers to crack the hard nut which the Rogue has prepared for them. By way of helping them to a better understanding, it seems sufficient to point out the two 'Eulenspiegel' motives, which, in the most manifold disguises, moods, and situations, pervade the whole up to the catastrophe, when, after he has been condemned to death, Till is strung up to the gibbet. For the rest, let them guess at the musical joke which a Rogue has offered them." The three motives indicated by Strauss were the opening theme of the introduction, the horn theme that follows almost immediately, and the descending interval that is said to be expressive of condemnation and the scaffold.
Till Eulenspiegel, better known to English readers as Tyll Owlglass, is the prank-playing vagabond hero of a fifteenth-century German Volksbuch whose authorship is attributed to Dr. Thomas Murner (1475-1530). Till, according to Dr. Murner, was born at Kneithlinger, Brunswick, in 1283, and died of the plague at Mölln, near Lubeck, in 1350 or 1353, after wanderings through Germany, Italy, and Poland. Till's exploits, the stories of which are household words in Germany, consisted of mischievous pranks and jests that he practised without discrimination and, in some instances, with a frank and joyous absence of delicate sentiment which can best be described as Rabelaisean. In Murner's tale, Till is sentenced to the gallows, but escapes death at the last moment. Strauss, however, does not let his hero off, and permits him to die on the scaffold.
Despite his disinclination to furnish an elucidation of his music, Strauss has apparently given his sanction to an analysis of the score prepared by Mr. Wilhelm Klatte. As this is full, explicit, and seemingly authoritative, it is quoted here, in part, as follows, in an English translation attributed to Mr. C. A. Barry:
"A strong sense of German folk-feeling pervades the whole work. The source from which the tone-poet drew his inspiration is clearly indicated in the introductory bars: Gemächlich [Andante commodo]. To some extent this stands for the 'once upon a time' of the story-books. That what follows is not to be treated in the pleasant and agreeable manner of narrative poetry, but in a more sturdy fashion, is at once made apparent by a characteristic bassoon figure which breaks in upon the piano of the strings. Of equal importance for the development of the piece is the immediately following humorous horn theme. Beginning quietly and gradually becoming more lively, it is at first heard against a tremolo of the divided violins and then again in the first tempo, Sehr lebhaft [Vivace]. This theme, or at least the kernel of it, is taken up in turn by oboes, clarinets, violas, 'cellos, and bassoons, and is finally brought by the full orchestra, except trumpets and trombones, after a few bars crescendo, to a ... fortissimo. The thematic material, according to the main point, has now been fixed upon; the milieu is given by which we are enabled to recognize the pranks and droll tricks which the crafty schemer is about to bring before our eyes, or, far rather, before our ears.
"Here he is (clarinet phrase followed by chord for wind instruments). He wanders through the land as a thorough-going adventurer. His clothes are tattered and torn: a queer, fragmentary version of the 'Eulenspiegel' motive resounds from the horns.... The rogue, putting on his best manners, slyly passes through the gate, and enters a certain city. It is market-day; the women sit at their stalls and prattle (flutes, oboes, and clarinets). Hop! Eulenspiegel springs on his horse (indicated by rapid triplets extending through three measures), gives a smack of his whip, and rides into the midst of the crowd. Clink, clash, clatter! A confused sound of broken pots and pans, and the market-women are put to flight. In haste the rascal rides away (as is admirably illustrated by a fortissimo passage for the trombones) and secures a safe retreat.
"This was his first merry prank; a second follows immediately; Gemächlich [Andante commodo]. Eulenspiegel has put on the vestments of a priest, and assumes a very unctuous mien. Though posing as a preacher of morals, the rogue peeps out from the folds of his mantle (the 'Eulenspiegel' motive on the clarinet points to the imposture). He fears for the success of his scheme. A figure played by muted [147] violins, horns, and trumpets makes it plain that he does not feel comfortable in his borrowed plumes. But soon he makes up his mind. Away with all scruples! He tears them off.
"Again the 'Eulenspiegel' theme is brought forward in the previous lively tempo, but is now subtly metamorphosed and chivalrously colored. Eulenspiegel has become a Don Juan, and he waylays pretty women. And one has bewitched him: Eulenspiegel is in love! Hear how now, glowing with love, the violins, clarinets, and flutes sing! But in vain. His advances are received with derision, and he goes away in a rage. How can one treat him so slightingly? Is he not a splendid fellow? Vengeance on the whole human race! He gives vent to his rage (in a fortissimo of horns in unison followed by a pause), and strange personages suddenly draw near ('cellos). A troop of honest, worthy Philistines! In an instant all his anger is forgotten. But it is still his chief joy to make fun of these lords and protectors of blameless decorum, to mock them, as is apparent from the lively and accentuated fragments of the theme, sounded at the beginning by the horn, which are now heard first from horns, violins, 'cellos, and then from trumpets, oboes, and flutes. Now that Eulenspiegel has had his joke, he goes away and leaves the professors and doctors behind in thoughtful meditation. Fragments of the typical theme of the Philistines are here treated canonically. [148] The wood-wind, violins, and trumpets suddenly project the 'Eulenspiegel' theme into their profound philosophy. It is as though the transcendent rogue were making faces at the bigwigs from a distance—again and again—and then waggishly running away. This is aptly characterized by a short episode in a hopping 2-4 rhythm, which, similarly with the first entrance of the Hypocrisy theme previously used, is followed by phantom-like tones from the wood-wind and strings and then from trombones and horns. Has our rogue still no foreboding?
"Interwoven with the very first theme, indicated lightly by trumpets and English horn, a figure is developed from the second introductory and fundamental theme. It is first taken up by the clarinets; it seems to express the fact that the arch-villain has again got the upper-hand of Eulenspiegel, who has fallen into his old manner of life.... A merry jester, a born liar, Eulenspiegel goes wherever he can succeed with a hoax. His insolence knows no bounds. Alas! there is a sudden jolt to his wanton humor. The drum rolls a hollow roll; the jailer drags the rascally prisoner into the criminal court. The verdict 'guilty' is thundered against the brazen-faced knave. The 'Eulenspiegel' theme replies calmly to the threatening chords of wind and lower strings. Eulenspiegel lies. Again the threatening tones resound; but Eulenspiegel does not confess his guilt. On the contrary, he lies for the third time. His jig is up. Fear seizes him. The Hypocrisy motive is sounded piteously; the fatal moment draws near; his hour has struck!... He has danced in air. A last struggle (flutes), and his soul takes flight.
"After sad, tremulous pizzicati of the strings, the epilogue begins. At first it is almost identical with the introductory measures, which are repeated in full; then the most essential parts of the second and third chief-theme passages appear, and finally merge into [a] soft chord.... Eulenspiegel has become a legendary character. The people tell their tales about him: 'Once upon a time....' But that he was a merry rogue and a real devil of a fellow seems to be expressed by the final eight measures, full orchestra, fortissimo."