Hindemith’s symphonic suite, Mathis der Maler, forms the framework for Tony Palmer’s highly original film about the German composer, narrated by John Gielgud and Ronald Pickup. The music was inspired by the medieval painter Grünewald, who, like Hindemith (1895-1963), was an opponent of oppression in his day. Palmer uses tableaux vivants from Grünewald’s crowning achievement, the Isenheim altarpiece, archive film of Nazi Germany and readings from Bunyan’s A Pilgrim’s Progress, to make a powerful assault on the senses and the emotions.
Cardillac
The world premiere of “Cardillac” in 1926 placed Hindemith in the forefront of contemporary composers. In 1952 Hindemith thoroughly revised the work, which originally celebrated the principle of uncompromising artistic license; the artist, whose only obligation is to his creations, stands outside the moral and ethical norms of society. For his production, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle chose the original version, which he found “more cheeky, youthful, aggressive. Cardillac was written during the great age of German expressionist film: Nosferatu, M, Caligari, Metropolis. For stylistic reasons alone I have put Cardillac in this milieu. I use elements of the expressionist film in the lighting, in the gestures, in the costumes.”