Arnold Schoenberg's 'Biblical Way': From 'Die Jakobsleiter' to 'Moses Und Aron'

Abstract

This essay follows Schoenberg's path from Die Jakobsleiter to Moses und Aron, with particular reference to these works and to his spoken drama, Der biblische Weg. Schoenberg's development may be summarized in general terms as leading from the religious syncretism of Die Jakobsleiter, via Zionism (Der biblische Weg), to the ‘negative monotheism’ of Moses und Aron. It is a journey strongly influenced by Schoenberg's German, Lutheran inheritance, his Judaism, and, most importantly, the problematical yet productive interplay between these influences. An alternative understanding of this path, centred on the compositional and philosophical dialectic between freedom and organization, is also examined, in the context of the claim that these are ultimately two formulations of the same problem. These dialectics are played out in an arena that is theological, political, and aesthetic, questioning the acceptability and indeed possibility of artistic representation and ‘effect’. Such questioning is in turn related to broader issues concerning modernism.

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