The Melodrama or ‘Recitation’ is a wonderful musical form. They are not a popular or well-known genre in classical music. Yet, many significant composers have written them over the years.

A melodrama is a narrated poem or story accompanied by music. Music and words are a great combination. There are many different forms of accompaniment but the preferred mediums are mainly orchestral or piano music. Famous examples include ‘Peter and the Wolf’ (Prokofiev) and the ‘Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ (Britten), but I prefer the settings with piano accompaniment.

Early examples of melodramas include short songs, like, for example, those by Schubert, but the genre came into its own in the 19th century or Romantic era. Melodramas were especially popular amongst the Victorians, many of whom had parlour pianos and would enjoy these works at their own house concerts.

Franz Liszt wrote five recitations but it is thought that he composed more as he especially liked this form.  They have been conceived in three languages: three German, a Hungarian and a Russian.   My favourite, Der Traurige Mönch (1860) or ‘The Mournful Monk’, is a dour fateful ghost story and the poem was written by Nicolaus Lenau. Liszt’s dramatic yet sparse accompaniment brings the story to life, the eerie harmonies are a fine example of the composer’s early interest in adventurous harmony, something he explored more fully in his late compositions. Other Liszt recitations include; ‘Lenore’, ‘Helge’s Loyalty’, ‘The Dead Poet’s Love’ and ‘The Blind Man’. The tales cover a wide range of human emotion and are beautifully complemented with the composer’s expressive piano parts.

The pinnacle of melodrama writing came in 1897 when Richard Strauss (pictured above) set Lord Tennyson’s evocative poem ‘Enoch Arden’ to piano music. The work was written for the actor Ernst von Possart whilst Strauss was busy writing Don Quixote. Possart and Strauss performed the piece many times using a German translation. It was well received by audiences at the time, enhancing the composer’s reputation considerably and Strauss was inspired to write a further melodrama, ‘The Castle by the Sea’ (Das Schloss am Meere) the following year.

‘Enoch Arden’ has been described as incidental music: Strauss employs leitmotifs or themes to identify each character, and both parts to the 60 minute piece (it can last much longer depending on the narrator!) are introduced by a prelude and concluded with a postlude. There are long passages where the piano is silent but, although the music is somewhat sparse, it’s sublime; rich in colour, sonority, texture, and extremely expressive, and it’s a joy to perform.

‘Enoch Arden’ has been performed and recorded frequently over the years. Narrators of note include Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jon Vickers and Michael York and pianists of note include Glenn Gould, Emanuel Ax and Marc-Andre Hamelin. I performed it several times with the music critic John Amis both here in the UK and in Canada at the International Liszt Festival in Hamilton, Ontario.

Other composers who have tackled the Melodrama include Poulenc, who wrote the whimsical ‘Barbar the Elephant’, Satie, Walton and the British female composer Liza Lehmann. Lehmann (1862 – 1918) was an opera singer turned song composer, who wrote three recitations. Out of the five, ‘The Happy Prince’ and ‘The Selfish Giant’ are the most enduring. Lehmann’s unashamedly romantic, expressive piano accompaniments complement Oscar Wilde’s moving tales very effectively.

Whilst Melodramas will never generate the same interest as piano music or songs, they are a beautiful and interesting form. Some may say they are outdated yet they would benefit from a mini revival.

A taster from ‘Enoch Arden’ performed by Michael York and John Bell Young.