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A Consideration of Marc Blitzstein’s Choral Opera, The Condemned (1932)

previous action. Realizing his error, the Condemned ferent meaning in the execution of the Condemned.

stirs, reaffirming his humanist beliefs in his strongest The Friend berates the political system for his friend’s
statement yet: “Wrong. Weak. I deny the Father. I want death: “Curse the nation which killed him, O curse the
only brothers. The earth shall one day be enough. All murderers…. His death shall not be in vain. His name
men are my brothers.” The sustained choral writing shall be a banner; we will remember the glory of his life
here, homophonic with fully-fl eshed harmonies, and the glory of his death.” The Wife interrupts him,
contrasts with the fragmented quality of the earlier saying: “I give him up to glory.” The Friend continues

scenes—finally, the Condemned has found peace his tirade unabated, seemingly unaware of the Wife’s
through his resolve. The last statement of the chorus in cries, as the Priest joins in, singing: “He did believe,
this scene (“I shall die content”) features a descending he did believe. There shall be joy in heaven over one
four-note motive stated by each of the voices, answering sinner that repenteth. Glory!” This material leads to
the very first theme of the Condemned, the ascending a dramatic coda, the last moment of the opera, each

four-note scale on “Dream, let go.” Recognizing that character singing their variation on the word “glory.”
his struggle and persecution was born of a selfl ess love The opera ends with a polytonal, unresolved chord,
for humankind, the Condemned finally accepts his fate. implying ambivalence toward this lionization of the

This wife and husband say goodbye to one anoth- Condemned.
er in the ninth scene, a short, intimate moment: “Re-
member to be strong.” A solo contrabassoon signals the
exit of the Condemned, who goes to his death. A long Missed Opportunities
pause follows, and the Wife then describes her hus- Blitzstein had high hopes for The Condemned, and he
band’s execution in grim detail, singing at fi rst slowly, received some encouragement from fellow musicians.
increasing speed as she continues: In July 1932, he sent the eighth scene of the opera to
Nadia Boulanger, hoping to receive constructive mu-
Gone—he is gone! Suddenly gone sical criticism from the discerning eye of his former
He was here—I saw him; I heard him speak teacher. Boulanger reacted with enthusiasm, writ-
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to me; ing: “I received your manuscript … I read with great
and now he goes to die! care, great emotion the scene you sent me. I love it in
And I will never see him again! itself deeply and feel that it must take the right place
Up the steps they lead him; he goes without in the whole!” Anticipating some problems, she con-
a whisper; tinued: “I don’t realize what is the proportion of the
they take him to the death room! They hold orchestra, the distance in range and some places stay
him, uncertain—in some chords where the voices seem not
They tie him, they bind him, then—strike to be sustained by the orchestra, I would fear ‘pour la
him down! justesse’ [for the intonation].” However, she spent little
He falls, he is gone! time on the negative, praising the spirit of the piece:
“These things are [a] matter of detail—what matters is
The Wife sings her narration clearly and percussive- the quality of the music, the strength of expression, the
ly. A sustained lament—a wordless, contrapuntal vo- choice of means.” Likewise, the German composer
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calise—interrupts this speech, a moment for the Wife Hanns Eisler, also a student of Schoenberg’s and a fre-
to sob as words fail her. The writing here, again, reveals quent Brecht collaborator, called The Condemned “a work
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the influence of earlier choral styles, and Blitzstein in- of extraordinary quality.” Aaron Copland was more

cludes very specific instructions for phrasing and artic- circumspect, saying that the opera was too abstract and

ulation. (Figure 9 on page 46). difficult to appreciate: “music one has to respect rather
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The Friend, the Wife, and the Priest fi nd them- than love.” For his part, Blitzstein considered the op-
selves again in opposition, each one perceiving a dif- era a musical turning point, noting that while the piece
CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2021 Volume 61 Number 11 45