Hans Werner Henze: Sonatas on Shakespearean Characters, Drei Tentos

Description

“My idea of developing music from Richard of Gloucester’s monologue ‘Now is the winter of our discontent,’ and of generating more music from that material, was conceived during the 1960s.
Ten years later it took a more concrete form, when Julian Bream suggested to me that I should write a substantial new guitar work for him.” (Henze, 1976)

In Royal Winter Music, a total of nine movements represents twelve characters taken from various Shakespeare plays. The choice of a distinctly English subject is justified by the dedication of the work to Julian Bream. In addition to being the first British guitarist to achieve international fame, Bream is also credited with reviving interest in Renaissance lute music. Moreover, thanks to August Wilhelm Schlegel’s translations, Shakespeare had been, at least since the 19th century, an integral part of German Romantic literature.
In the preface to the first cycle, Henze explains that “the characters of this piece enter through the sound of the guitar as if it were a curtain.” They are characters in action, not mere portraits, and therefore accompanied by a strong dramatic sense, although their traits and moods still retain importance.
Royal Winter Music I – First Sonata on Shakespearean characters
The first movement is dedicated to Gloucester (Richard III): his renowned monologue “Now is the winter of our discontent” actually gives the entire work its title. It takes a sonata-form, with two main identifiable themes: the first is characterized by harsh, angular dissonances, irregular rhythms, and predominantly forte dynamics; the second, contrasting, is based on chords built on thirds and fourths, and is therefore less dissonant. The piano dynamic helps establish a calmer atmosphere. The development section is rather unusual: a kaleidoscope of motifs already heard, presented in fragmentary form and freely rearranged. While the aggressiveness of the first theme is weakened by the use of pauses between chords—which are no longer harsh and jagged, and are lengthened in value —, the second theme is now performed using the tambora technique, that is, striking the strings instead of plucking them, gradually disintegrating into a percussive ending that involves specific points of the instrument’s soundboard.
The second movement, a short, singing interlude in arioso style, is a dialogue between the two protagonists: Romeo and Juliet. The writing is fugato—a call and response between two voices, conveyed through imitation of melodic motifs and intervals in contrasting registers (high/low) and organized through a succession of tetrachords based on a twelve-tone series.
The third movement, sweet in character, possibly the emotional core of the suite, is dedicated to Ariel (The Tempest). Henze fuses two fundamental aspects of the character: since Ariel is a spirit, the melodic line is quick and light. The minor mode also emphasizes Ariel’s melancholy nature. This is one of the most “tonal” moments of the cycle, although the harmonic progressions do not follow traditional rules.
The fourth movement, dedicated to Ophelia (Hamlet), may be considered a brief interlude or a prelude to the following movement. Undulating, delicate arpeggios support a slow, lyrical melody. The concluding harmony approaches an E-flat major chord, repeating its root and third, despite the presence of a natural B. The final G then connects to the opening A-flat of the next movement, although a natural E in the bass partially weakens its function as a dominant.
The fifth movement is written mainly in 3/4, marked marcato and “with humor”, since one of the characters is Touchstone, a fool (As You Like It), later joined by Audrey and William. Henze uses a Scherzo and a trio form, modified to also function as a Theme with variations. Touchstone is at the centre of the scherzo’s first section, which opens with a nine-bar phrase, immediately followed by its variation. The next section, representing Audrey, opens with two eight-bar phrases, the second being a variation of the first. The final section is devoted to William, Touchstone’s rival in love, but here elevated to a significant figure. Three phrases offer two variations on his music, in contrast to the single variation granted to Touchstone, despite the latter’s greater prominence in Shakespeare’s play. The final section and the coda completely discard William’s material, allowing Touchstone to dominate the scene again, rearranging the initial material in a more frenzied manner.
The final movement returns to mystical themes with Oberon, King of the Fairies (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Somehow linked to Ariel, the third movement, it differs in that Oberon is a royal figure. The portrait also includes interactions with Puck, in a form that is difficult to define: it might be thought of as a very free rondo, or perhaps a fantasy. The absence of barline demarcation also contributes to this formal indeterminacy: the indicated 12/8 time signature serves more as a reference for rhythmic flow than as an actual meter. Overall, then, Henze alludes to traditional sonata-cycle forms without ever explicitly confirming them.

Royal Winter Music II – Second Sonata on Shakespearean characters

The second sonata, in three movements, uses tempo markings in Italian rather than English, except for the third movement. The opening with a Funeral march for Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Twelfth Night) makes explicit reference to a historically established formal model. The rhythm of the initial march returns frequently as a kind of refrain. Harmonically, this is the most tonal movement of the entire Royal Winter Music, although its episodes explore more distant and unstable tonal areas. In the central movement, Bottom’s Dream, Henze offers the audience an explicit narrative thread beyond the character. Yet, drawing from a dreamlike landscape, the composer manages to escape the boundaries of rigid structures. Describing the dream scene that inspired him, Henze concludes that “this is the romantic Shakespeare, the pastoral poet” (Henze 1983). The movement thus seems to function as a central romance or pastoral, though with a vaguely otherworldly and at times unpredictable quality.
The final movement, Fiercely, centres on the Mad Lady Macbeth. The swirling flurry of notes that periodically recurs may allude to a rondo form that is similar to the first sonata’s conclusion. The re-expositions of this theme seem to become increasingly fragmented with each repetition. The movement includes a section marked Gavotta, although it shows discrepancies with the traditional dance form (as was the case with the opening Funeral march).
The sonata concludes in much the same way as it began: with rhythmic repetition based almost entirely on triads. In the sonata’s opening, it is the unorthodox chaining of triads that keeps the music firmly rooted in the twentieth century. In the conclusion, this is achieved through the juxtaposition of two strongly contrasting tonal centres.
Drei Tentos from Kammermusik 1958
Kammermusik 1958, for tenor, solo guitar, and a small instrumental ensemble, with texts by Friedrich Hölderlin, was dedicated to Benjamin Britten and premiered by Peter Pears and Julian Bream. Within the work, three interludes for solo guitar bear the title Drei Tentos, a Spanish term indicating an instrumental piece of free character, similar to a prelude or a fantasia. In these pieces, Henze explores refined timbral nuances and the guitar’s lyrical and percussive possibilities, combining modern elements such as atonality and fragmentary lyricism with echoes of an ancient form.
Silvia Del Zoppo © 2025