Gesangsszene

Gesangsszene (Song Scene) is the final composition of German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann. It sets in translation part of Jean Giraudoux's drama Sodome et Gomorrhe (Sodom and Gomorrah) for baritone and orchestra, with some of the text spoken; the final strophe, left uncomposed at Hartmann's death in 1963, is entirely spoken and unaccompanied. A performance lasts around 25 minutes. Begun in 1962, in the early stages of the Cold War, in the apocalyptic vision of Giraudoux's setting, it reflects Hartmann's ongoing concerns with the folly of empire-building.