Summary/dramatis personae The opera is in 3 parts, with each part having its own characters. Part 1 involves 9
Sibyls, represented by female singers. • 3 dramatic
sopranos • 4
mezzo-sopranos • 1
alto • 1 deep
contralto Part 2 involves 9
anchorites, represented by male singers • 1
tenor • 5
baritones • 2
basses • 1
basso profondo There is also a children's
choir, along with a tenor section that is heard on a magnetic tape. Part 3 involves the following roles: • The last beings; represented by three large mixed choirs • The choral leader, a speaking part •
Lucifer, who appears near the end, a speaking role There is also a double chorus of sopranos and altos used near the end, as well as two soloists, tenor and contralto, to represent the "Vox Mundana". A children's choir is also used to represent the "Voces caelestes".
1. Die Sibyllen (The Sibyls) • "Heis theós estin anarchos, hypermegéthaes, agénaetos" (A god is, without beginning, immense, unformed) • "Opse theü g’aléüsi myloi" (The mills of God are late to grind) • "Pasin homü nyx estin isae tois plüton echusin kai ptochois" (The same night awaits all, rich and poor) • "Choneusó gar hapanta kai eis katharón dialexó" (I will melt everything down and purify it) • "Vae! Ibunt impii in gehennam ignis eterni" (Woe! The impious shall enter the hell of the eternal fire)
2. Die Anachoreten (The Anchorites) {{Ordered list|start=6
3. Dies illa (That Day) {{Ordered list|start=12
Orchestration The music requires a very unusual, and possibly symmetrical orchestra: • 6
flutes (all doubling on
piccolos) • 6 E
clarinets (3 doubling on B
clarinets)* •
contrabassoon • 6
horns in F • 8
trumpets in C • 6
trombones •
tuba • a consort of 4
viols • 8
contrabasses •
electronic tape • an enormous amount of
percussion (including about 100 instruments) • 3
harps • 3
pianos, each with two players • electronic
organ • In an intermediary revision of the work, Orff had all six clarinets in B. The percussion section, requiring about 25 to 30 players, consists of: • 2
snare drums • 6
tambourines • 3
tenor drums • 2
bass drums (one with attached
cymbal) • 3
darabukka (alto, tenor, and bass) • 3
tom-toms • 6
congas • bass
conga • 4 "timpanetti" with unpitched wooden drum heads (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) • 5
timpani (3 with cymbals) • 5
crotales • 5 suspended
cymbals • 1 pair of crash cymbals • 3 copper
tam-tams (40–60 centimetres in diameter) • 2 tam-tams (large & very large) •
gong pitched to low C • dobaci (a Japanese temple bell) pitched to C • 5 high bronze
bells "at the interval of a semitone" • two sets of
tubular bells •
triangle •
guiro •
whip •
maracas • 6
castanets •
hyoshigi* •
angklung • 3 wood bells, actually referring to
temple blocks • 5
wood blocks • "simple" and "double"
ratchets • 3 "large church
ratchets" • 4 water glasses •
celesta • 2
glockenspiels •
lithophone •
metallophone •
xylophone • tenor xylophone • bass xylophone • 2
marimbas • The hyoshigi are used only on the inside of the piano at the climax of part 3, where they are struck hard on the piano strings by a percussionist. In the original score, they were used in one other passage as well. The total forces used for the taped sections are •
piccolo • 8
flutes • 10
trumpets in C • 4
trombones • 2
pianos • grand
church organ •
glockenspiel •
marimba •
crotales •
timpano, as well as large vocal forces: •
tenor and
contralto solos • a large chorus (emitting a loud scream); a
tenor section, and double-chorus of
sopranos and
altos • a children's chorus (soprano). There is also one spoken part, an echo of one of the
sibyls' spoken
dialogue, accompanied by
wind machine.
Tape sections The music on the magnetic tape is used in four different places, most notably at the end when Lucifer appears. The first section is used in part 1, and requires the following instruments: •
piccolo •
glockenspiel •
marimba •
piano The second section, also used in part 1 utilizes the following: •
wind machine, accompanying an echo of one of the Sibyl's dialogue. The third section is used in part 2: • A children's choir and tenor section • 2
trumpets in C •
crotales •
glockenspiel •
marimba •
timpano • 2
pianos The fourth and final section is used towards the end of part 3. In Orff's final revision in 1981, this taped section was omitted and instead given to players in the orchestra: • 8
flutes • 10
trumpets in C, intoning a fanfare to heaven • 4
trombones • A female chorus (
SSAA) • tenor and contralto soloists • children's choir
1979 revision Orff later made extensive revisions to
De temporum fine comoedia with many changes in orchestration. In his 1981 revision the following instruments were added: • 1 snare drum, bringing the total number to 3 • 7 water glasses, bringing the total to 11 • grand church organ, in return omitting it on tape The following instruments were eliminated: • triangle • 3 timpanetti, leaving only 1 (alto) • All 3 copper tam-tams • 2 church ratchets, leaving only 1 • 2 suspended cymbals, bringing the number down to 3 The modifications to the pre-recorded music consist of the addition of the following: • 1 piano, bringing the total up to 3 • 3 contrabasses The omissions consisted of: • All 8 flutes • 8 trumpets, leaving only 2 • All 4 trombones • grand church organ, instead brought into the orchestra • double-chorus of sopranos and altos, replaced by a small chorus in the orchestra pit • tenor and alto soloists, whose parts are reduced and sung live In addition to loud percussive passages, there are also as periods of calm
piano and straight
dialogue. In this culmination of his stage works, Orff almost abandons his
diatonicism to
chromaticism, which enriches and thickens the musical
texture, and
octatonicism. As the play is about to finish, after the destruction of all worldly material,
Satan asks for forgiveness and is restored to
Angel Lucifer, thus forgiven. The unsettling chromaticism here ends and
Bach's Before Thy Throne (Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit,
BWV 668) strikes up in a
canon from the four viols. This canon is
pandiatonic and upon its completion, its mirror image is stated (that is the identical material played backward). ==References==