DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Fandemonium, issue 2, Summer 1948

Transcribe
Translate

Fandemonium, issue 2, Summer 1948

Page 3

"DER FREISCHUTZ"
WEIRD OPERATIC DRAMA AT ITS BEST

In the past, many efforts have been made to catalog musical flights of the imagination, and fantasy in the "universal language" has been given a thorough going-over, both seriously and humorously. Mostly these have consisted of discussions of themes pertaining to true fantasy, with almost no attention given to the science-fiction side, mainly because it does not exist as yet, and comparatively little consideration paid to the outro, darker side of the field. In this article, an attempt will be made to examine an opera, which from the standpoint of the plot, libretto, and musical value, I believe to be the outstanding work in the weird category. 

If a tabulation of the classical composers were made, listing in no special order the top ten of any time, I would be inclined to include the name of Carl Maria von Weber. As a person, his life is almost as interesting as his works: he bridged the important gap between two other great German composers, Mozart and Wagner. A cousin of the former, Baron von Weber (1786-1826) wrested the musical interests of the German people from the hands of the usurping Italian influence, and returned it to his homeland with a number of his own superlative works, thereby setting the stage for the great operas of Wagner which were to follow.

Wever was possessed of a vivid imagination, and had a passion for things not of the everyday world, and it is to this unfettered mentality that we owe the fact that such marvelous musical fantasy as "DEL FREISCHUTZ" is known to the world today instead of lying hidden away as an obscure legend in an almost forgotten collection of German weird tales. The plot for "DER FREISCHUTZ" (literally translated "THE FREE-SHOOTER") came from Apel's "GESPINTER GESCHICHTEN" ("GHOST STORIES"),  but the librettist, Kind, reworked the plot into its better-known form and placed the time in a period following the Thirty Years' War, Weber conducted the first performance of his brilliant work in Berlin on June 18th, 1921, and the opera was an immediate success. An analysis of the plot should be in itself enough to demonstrate the reason for this. 

The first act opens in the yard of a forest tavern, where Max, a young forester and huntsman is bemoaning the fact that he, once the best marksman in the region, has now lost his skill, and indeed has just been bested by a mere peasant. As the other peasants mockingly parade around Max, Cuno, the chief ranger, and several huntsman enter. Among them is Caspar, an indolent forester reputed to have traffic with the Black Huntsman, an evil entity, Cuno is also puzzled by Max's sudden ill luck as a hunter, and warns him that if he misses the trial shot on the morrow, he cannot wed Cuno's daughter, Agathe (for whom Caspar is also a suitor, though rejected), and also forfeits the right to the office of head ranger upon Cuno's retirement.

The trial shot is a custom which has been handed down for several generations. Cuno's great-great-grandfather, a bodyguard of the Prince, brought down a stag without wounding the man that was tied to its back. The Prince, out of compassion for the man, who was being punished for a crime, had decreed that whoever should shoot the stag without harming the prisoner should be made chief ranger. The original Cuno had enemies that claimed he used magic bullets to accomplish the deed, so the Prince ruled that from then on the aspirants to that post must, on the day of their marriage, undergo a trial shooting. It is now Max's time, and when he needs his skill most, it seem to have deserted him. After wishing Max good luck for the next day's ordeal, the group leaves him. 

3

Saving...

"DER FREISCHUTZ" WEIRD OPERATIC DRAMA AT ITS BEST In the past, many efforts have been made to catalog musical flights of the imagination, and fantasy in the "universal language" has been given a thorough going-over, both seriously and humorously. Mostly these have consisted of discussions of themes pertaining to true fantasy, with almost no attention given to the science-fiction side, mainly because it does not exist as yet, and comparatively little consideration paid to the outro, darker side of the field. In this article, an attempt will be made to examine an opera, which from the standpoint of the plot, libretto, and musical value, I believe to be the outstanding work in the weird category. If a tabulation of the classical composers were made, listing in no special order the top ten of any time, I would be inclined to include the name of Carl Maria von Weber. As a person, his life is almost as interesting as his works: he bridged the important gap between two other great German composers, Mozart and Wagner. A cousin of the former, Baron von Weber (1786-1826) wrested the musical interests of the German people from the hands of the usurping Italian influence, and returned it to his homeland with a number of his own superlative works, thereby setting the stage for the great operas of Wagner which were to follow. Wever was possessed of a vivid imagination, and had a passion for things not of the everyday world, and it is to this unfettered mentality that we owe the fact that such marvelous musical fantasy as "DEL FREISCHUTZ" is known to the world today instead of lying hidden away as an obscure legend in an almost forgotten collection of German weird tales. The plot for "DER FREISCHUTZ" (literally translated "THE FREE-SHOOTER") came from Apel's "GESPINTER GESCHICHTEN" ("GHOST STORIES"), but the librettist, Kind, reworked the plot into its better-known form and placed the time in a period following the Thirty Years' War, Weber conducted the first performance of his brilliant work in Berlin on June 18th, 1921, and the opera was an immediate success. An analysis of the plot should be in itself enough to demonstrate the reason for this. The first act opens in the yard of a forest tavern, where Max, a young forester and huntsman is bemoaning the fact that he, once the best marksman in the region, has now lost his skill, and indeed has just been bested by a mere peasant. As the other peasants mockingly parade around Max, Cuno, the chief ranger, and several huntsman enter. Among them is Caspar, an indolent forester reputed to have traffic with the Black Huntsman, an evil entity, Cuno is also puzzled by Max's sudden ill luck as a hunter, and warns him that if he misses the trial shot on the morrow, he cannot wed Cuno's daughter, Agathe (for whom Caspar is also a suitor, though rejected), and also forfeits the right to the office of head ranger upon Cuno's retirement. The trial shot is a custom which has been handed down for several generations. Cuno's great-great-grandfather, a bodyguard of the Prince, brought down a stag without wounding the man that was tied to its back. The Prince, out of compassion for the man, who was being punished for a crime, had decreed that whoever should shoot the stag without harming the prisoner should be made chief ranger. The original Cuno had enemies that claimed he used magic bullets to accomplish the deed, so the Prince ruled that from then on the aspirants to that post must, on the day of their marriage, undergo a trial shooting. It is now Max's time, and when he needs his skill most, it seem to have deserted him. After wishing Max good luck for the next day's ordeal, the group leaves him. 3