Peter Heise (1830-1879) CD 1 49:59 Drot og Marsk (King and Marshal) Act I Tragic opera in four acts, with libretto by Christian Richardt 1 Ouverture (Overture) 3:49 King Erik, called Klipping – Peter Lodahl 2 Scene 1 Det var sig humleranken (It was itself the hopvine) 2:24 Stig Andersen, his marshal – Johan Reuter Aase Lady Ingeborg, Marshal Stig’s wife – Sine Bundgaard 3 Scene 2 Ah! Ej! Bliv mig fra livet, Jørgen! 2:13 Rane Johnsen, her nephew, the king’s quartermaster – Gert Henning-Jensen (Ah! No! Leave me alone, Jørgen!) Aase, a charcoal burner’s daughter – Sofie Elkjær Jensen Aase, Rane Count Jakob of Halland – Morten Staugaard 4 Scene 3 Ha, Rane, du vil jage på egen hånd i dag! 2:43 Archdeacon Jens Grand – Simon Duus (Ha, Rane, you want to hunt on your own hand today!) Arved Bengtsen – Mathias Monrad Møller The King Erik, Aase, Rane Conspirators – Imre György (1st), Jens Fruergaard Otte (2nd), conspirators 5 Scene 4 Du lader vente på dig, vakre pige! 7:55 Morten Kramp (3rd), Lasse Christian Bach (4th), (You let me wait for you, pretty girl!) Carl Rahmqvist (5th), Bo Glies Nandfred (6th), Simon Schelling (7th) King Erik, Aase Herald – Teit Kanstrup 6 Scene 5 Op alle mand! Til dans, til dans 2:52 Knights and ladies, peasants, swains, handmaidens (Up all men! To dance, to dance!) The Royal Danish Opera Chorus (Chorus Master: Jakob Lorentzen) 7 Scene 6 Jeg kan mig slet ikke kende (I can myself at all not recognize) 2:23 The Royal Danish Orchestra Aase, King Erik Conducted by Michael Schønwandt 8 Scene 7 Hvem der? Vil nogen gæste os ved festen? 9:55 First performed at the Royal Danish Theatre, on 25 September 1878 (Who’s there? Will someone visit us at the celebration?) King Erik, Rane, Marshal Stig, Ingeborg, Aase Live recording 9 Scene 8 Det var sig jomfru Svanelil (It was herself maiden Svanelil) 3:20 Rane 10 Scene 9 Kun på hende kongen stirrer (Only at her the King stares) 6:01 Aase, Ingeborg, King Erik, Rane 11 Scene 10 I din sans, i dit sind vil jeg liste mig ind! 6:22 7 Scene 17 Stærkt det går mod ufredstide! 6:07 (In your sense, in your mind, will I creep myself in!) (Strongly it goes towards unresttime!) King Erik, Aase, Ingeborg, Rane Marshal Stig, Ingeborg 8 Scene 18 Til hest, til hest, til hest! I fejende blæst! 8:57 CD 2 62:57 (To horse, to horse, to horse! In the sweeping blast!) Act II Rane, King Erik 1 Scene 11 Den frue sidder på borgen (The Lady sits in the castle) 5:21 Ingeborg CD 3 39:57 2 Scene 12 Ad sund og belt, fra spydsat telt 12:43 Act IV (By sound and belt, from spearset tent) 1 Scene 19 Et prægtigt ildsted! (A fine fireplace!) 9:39 Marshal Stig, Ingeborg Arved Bengtsen, Count Jakob, Marshal Stig, King Erik, Rane 3 Scene 13 Til tings ved gamle Viborg By 2:51 2 Scene 20 For hvert vindpust løvet falder 6:59 (To the council by old Viborg town) (At every windpuff the leaves fall) Jens Grand, Count Jakob Aase 4 Scene 14 Før tinget sættes, rigens marsk vil bringe tidende fra Sverige 4:04 3 Scene 21 Favre, søde jomfrumøde (Fair, sweet maiden met) 2:36 (Before the council sits, the land’s Marshal wants to bring tidings from Sweden) King Erik, Aase Herald, Jens Grand, King Erik, Marshal Stig, Count Jakob, Rane 4 Scene 22 Hvor er hun? Er hun borte? (Where is she? Is she gone?) 5:19 5 Scene 15 Jeg havde mig i min urtegård et blomster fuldt af ynde 6:25 King Erik, Rane, Aase (I had, me, in my herbgarden a bloom full of grace) 5 Scene 23 Her kan vi overnatte, herre! (Here can we overnight, sir!) 6:40 Marshal Stig, Count Jakob, Jens Grand, Herald, King Erik Rane, King Erik, Ingeborg 6 Scene 24 Stat op, kong Erik, og kom til os ud! 8:42 Act III (Stand up, King Erik, and come to us out!) 6 Scene 16 Så lover I at lokke ham i baghold? 16:28 Marshal Stig, Rane, King Erik, Aase (So promise you to lure him in ambush?) Marshal Stig, Rane, Jens Grand, Count Jakob, Arved Bengtsen, Ingeborg Total 2h 33m J. Hildebrand 1881-82 (after Otto Bache): ‘The conspirators riding from Finderup Barn following the assassination of Erik Klipping in 1286’. 8 9 A regicide The story was certainly a ready own operatic version of the story. It wasn’t long before Heise no long- source of inspiration for both poets By that time, he had made his name er needed a secure job, but was able to on the national stage and painters: B.S. Ingemann tackled as his generation’s most successful employ all his time in composition: he the story in his 1828 historic novel, composer of romances in Denmark, married Vilhemine Hage, daughter of a The Childhood of King Erik Menved, but he had yet to establish a reputa- rich merchant when he was 29. From By Henrik Engelbrecht and Adam Oehlenschläger wrote tion as a composer of opera. then he was able to work as he wished, his tragedy, Erik Glipping, in 1844. without worrying about scraping pen- On 22 November 1286, a Danish The best known version of the story Peter Heise started playing the piano nies together to pay his rent. He left his king was murdered in a barn near today is Otto Bache’s painting of at the age of 12, and began to study job at Sorø Academy in 1865, and the a little country town south west of c. 1880-82, showing the conspirators music theory with the composer family moved back to Copenhagen. Viborg. Was it revenge for a rape, coming away from the burning barn A.P. Bergreen after graduating from One of the projects which Heise or a politically motivated killing? in Finderup. During the nineteenth high school. He supplemented his worked on for many years was a sing- Or perhaps both? century it was primarily the account music education with a year of study spiel called Paschaens datter (The The king was called Erik, nick- of how the king behaved towards Stig in Leipzig, and on his return home Pascha’s Daughter), with a text by named ‘Klipping’ (a reference to Andersen’s wife Ingeborg which was to Copenhagen in 1853 he began Henrik Hertz. Heise had started work fraudsters who clipped the edge of greatest interest, and a proper to teach music. He became assis- on it before leaving for Sorø, but now off precious-metal coins). He was murder to avenge a rape made a tant conductor of Studenter sang­ that he had returned to Copenhagen around 37 years old, and when he better story than a complicated foreningen (The Students’ Singing it was time to finish the work. He sub- was found in Finderup Barn, he had explanation of political influence and Society), and in 1857 he secured a mitted the piece for acceptance at the been stabbed 56 times. The king’s rivalry between nobles. good safe job as organist and music Royal Danish Theatre, but it lay un- military ‘right-hand man’, Marshal In 1850, the 20 year old com- teacher at Sorø Academy. He wrote touched there for several years until Stig Andersen, and eight other great position student Peter Heise saw romances, especially, at first under finally receiving its first performance men were adjudged to be outlaws for a performance of Carsten Hauch’s the influence of C.E.F. Weyse and in September 1869. Even though it their part in the killing, and fled to tragedy, Marsk Stig (Marshal Stig) then of Niels W. Gade, but gradu- had a polite and kind reception at its Norway. But was it actually them who at the Royal Danish Theatre. Heise ally he began to stretch himself with première, the opera was one of the stood behind the latest murder of a remembered the experience for 25 larger compositions for soloists, many which had only a short life on monarch in Danish history? years before he began work on his choir and orchestra. the stage. 10 11 But Heise did not give up the idea with the sound of folk ballads is suc- of writing operas. He had written cessfully struck and carried through, a concert overture called Marshal giving it a naturally heightened value, Stig back in 1856, and knew that also for the composer’. the story of a king’s murder had The text was accepted by the Royal operatic potential. He asked his Danish Theatre, and Heise was able to sister-in-law, Elise Ploug, married to get on with composing the opera. He the author Carl Ploug, to prepare a re-used the concert overture Marshal substantial synopsis of fifteen pages, Stig, written 22 years earlier, in a and then asked his good friend, the version that was shortened for the poet Christian Richardt, to look at new opera. During their work on the Elise Ploug’s draft as well as Carsten project, Heise and Richardt carried Haug’s Marshal Stig and the old folk- out a number of small changes in the ballads about King Erik’s murder with libretto, but on 21 January 1877, a view to preparing a full libretto. Christian Richardt made a note that Christian Richardt kept a careful the work on the text was complete. account of the time he spent work- At that point, Heise had finished work ing on the project: 100 hours during on the first two acts of the opera, and the period from 22 August until 31 in October he was able to deliver the October 1875.