Adaptation and Adaptability in Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aron

Abstract

Schoenberg's operatic masterpiece Moses und Aron is an adaptation of a biblical episode that is itself about adaptation – both its benefits and its dangers. Since, according to the Book of Exodus, the people cannot communicate directly with God, mediators are needed. The uncompromising Moses remains closest to God but, lacking eloquence, requires Aaron's assistance to adapt God's message for public consumption. Aaron's willingness to accommodate the worldly preoccupations of the people, however, leads away from God, to the casting of the golden calf and the mortal sin of iconolatry. Schoenberg's operatic adaptation of this tale has often been read as a defence of his own ‘Mosaic’ dedication to the purity of the twelve-tone system, with influential critics like Theodor Adorno promoting the system as a kind of New Law while casting rival composers such as Stravinsky in the iconolatrous role of the all-too-adaptable Aaron. It is possible, however, to reframe these claims in terms of the adaptive value of Schoenberg's compositional choices. This approach is entirely compatible with both the biblical tale and Schoenberg's libretto (even God recognizes the need for Aaron's expediency), and opens up a number of questions about music, representation and the operatic tradition. At the centre of this inquiry is the question of Schoenberg's understanding of the relationship between musical meaning and narrative meaning.