5 Schwitters Songs for Andres for Soprano, Contralto and Piano

Written for Andres Giedion's 80th Birthday

Andres Giedion was Brigitte’s boss at the Kinderspital Zürich when we first met (1966). After a visit he made to NZ in 1968 we became “du” friends, a friendship which has strengthened over the years. Recently he told us that Kurt Schwitters had visited his parents a number of times when he was small (his mother, Carola Giedion-Welker, a well known art critic and his father, Siegfried Giedion, a famous architect both had good contacts to many famous artists of their time including James Joyce, Hans Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Max Ernst and Kurt Schwitters who were often visitors at their Zürichberg Villa (where Andres’s 80th birthday party also took place). He also had a large and impressive collage by Schwitters in his collection of paintings. All this meant that the choice of Schwitter’s texts (which was Brigitte’s idea) was a very appropriate one for this celebration.

Four of the texts are German and the fifth English:

1. Zwölf—a whole-tone counting song

2. So, so!—nursery song with atonal accompaniment

3. Das Urgebet der Scholle—a sibilant song

4. Sie puppt mit Puppen—fast with irregular rhythms

5. What a a what a b what a beauty—mock jazz