Die Charwoche (Holy Week)
German language edition.
A setting of the medieval German poem
by Marja Slotemaker
It is sensitively scored for two voices, metallophone, flute, cello and piano. Explanatory notes and a translation of the poem are included in the volume.
The poem is a conversation between Mary and Jesus in which Mary asks about the events of each day in Holy Week and Jesus answers her with a short, but very expressive answer. The music was composed using the 'planetary scales'. These are scales based on the 'Tone of the Day'. Each day is special in that it has a connection to a different planet:
Sunday to the Sun,
Monday to the Moon,
Tuesday (or 'Mardi' in French) to Mars,
Wednesday to Mercury (Mercredi),
Thursday to Jupiter (Jeudi),
Friday to Venus (or Freya, Vendredi) and
Saturday to Saturn.
Skill level: C
About the Author
Marja Slotemaker de Bruine was born in Holland in 1898. She was a clergyman’s wife for 25 years and spent many of those years living in Indonesia with her husband. She grew up in a very musical family and she was a very good pianist. Her knowledge of and interest in modern music was phenomenal. She was also always up to date with the latest literature. Her marriage broke up when she was in her fifties and then she became more and more involved with anthroposophy and music therapy. She met Dr Hans Heinrich Engel when she was doing some music in Camphill Christophorus in Holland and she became part of the research group around him in relation to music therapy. She worked together with Hans Heinrich in Glencraig in the therapeutic work, but also began to work on her own ever more.
Marja spent some time as a coworker in Franz Löffler’s home for boys, but she never became a curative educator as such. During that time Marja worked for a time with Annie von Lange and had singing lessons with Maria Führmann. The planetary scales were very close to her heart and she composed many pieces for various instruments in these scales, including the music for passion week, ‘Charwoche’ for 2 voices and instruments, which was performed very regularly in Glencraig for many years.
Marja was a devoted and enthusiastic composer and would write music for any combination of instruments for all possible occasions. She left a large collection of manuscripts into my care at her death in 1990. She still composed until in her late eighties.
Edeline LeFevre, Camphill Community Glencraig
First published by Upper Esk Music
18 pages of music.
30.3 x 21.5 cms, 12 x 8½ inches.
Stitched.
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