In his Kinderhymne (1950/51), Hanns Eisler borrows from both the German national anthem (Deutschland, Deutschland über alles) and the East-German national anthem (Auferstanden aus Ruinen), which Eisler composed in 1949. According to Schutte, the listener not only should know what pieces the composer is quoting, but also should be aware of their historical background, since both aspects determine the intentions of a composition. The first part of the Kinderhymne alludes to both anthems, of which the melodic similarities in the opening measures prevent a clear distinction. In the course of the composition the origins of the opening measures are revealed: a direct quotation from the East-German anthem is combined with "intended" (obvious although not exact) quotations from the German anthem. By applying this technique, Eisler refers to the German anthem as a tradition that is taken over by East-Germany not in its original from but as a basis to create something new. Schutte compares Eisler's Kinderhymne with Stockhausen's Hymnen (composed 1967), another work including national anthems. In the second "region" (movement), Stockhausen combines the German anthem with fragments of the Horst-Wessel-Lied (the Nazi anthem). Although these quotations are "disturbed" by noise and electronic sounds, they always remain clearly recognizable. According to Schutte, Stockhausen's Hymnen therefore lack any sense of consciousness of tradition, and the fact that he places hymns standing for historical progress on the same level as the Horst-Wessel-Lied characterizes him as a "helplessly unpolitical composer."

Works: Eisler: Kinderhymne; Stockhausen: Hymnen (214-16).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Andreas Giger