Thomas Betzwieser: Filmmusik vs. Kunstlied: Ravel, Ibert, Schaljapin und G. W. Pabsts Don Quichotte (1933)*

Pabst’s Don Quichotte is an early music film in which an opera star, in this case, Feodor Chaliapin, plays the leading role. Generally speaking, Maurice Ravel was in charge of the music in Pabst’s film, but in the end, Jacques Ibert composed the bass’s solos. The numbers Ravel originally wrote for Chaliapin became instead his cycle of three songs for voice and orchestra, Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (1932-33). That these songs were originally intended as film music has been widely forgotten; the existing screenplay, however, attests to their dramatic essence. Upon a closer comparison of Ravel’s and Ibert’s songs, one is struck by the contrasting diegetic nature of their texts and music—an issue Pabst thoughtfully considered. With regard to the dramatic and scenic consequences of musical properties, Pabst consistently avoided hackneyed stereotypes and strategies. Using sophisticated cinematography and editing, he undermined traditional diegetic conventions of musical content and delivery. Conversely, Pabst lent diegetic qualities to music that, by nature, was extra-diegetic by employing operatic settings and characterizations. Due to the ambivalent performative nature of Ibert’s songs, they complimented Pabst’s intentions in a variety of ways. This oscillation between diegetic and extra-diegetic music is also mirrored in the parallel reception of Ibert’s Chansons de Don Quichotte, as ‘pure’ art song.

Ø zurück zur homepage

Ø zurück zum Gesamtinhaltsverzeichnis