Arnold Schönberg Peace on Earth

Friede auf Erden op. 13 is regarded as Arnold Schoenberg’s last tonal composition and is one of the few choral works of the Second Viennese School. On the same day that he completed his op. 13, Schoenberg made the first sketches for his 2nd String Quartet, a key work in atonal music. Although Schoenberg later orchestrated Friede auf Erden, he intended the piece to be performed unaccompanied.

To help rehearsing the work, this choral score contains the piano transcription made by Anton Webern for use in rehearsals for the planned first performance. The text for op. 13 is a secular Christmas poem by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. At the time of its composition (1907), Schoenberg thought the vision of a “reine Harmonie unter Menschen” (pure harmony amongst people) described in the poem was conceivable, but he later distanced himself from this idea. What remained is a composition of great artistic power and depth – a real showpiece for ambitious choirs!