The Origin and Development of Eurythmy 1912–1918

GA 277a — 18 December 1913, Cologne

Notes on the Development of Eurythmy

Elisabeth Baumann-Dolifus, from: “Memories”

In December, Rudolf Steiner was expected in Cologne to give lectures, and on this occasion a second eurythmy performance was to take place. I no longer remember who suggested this, probably our friends in Cologne. This time, the focus was not to be on the structure and pedagogical aspects of eurythmy, but for the first time on a unified presentation of artistic achievements. The fruit of our three months of eurythmy training ripened in intensive collaborative work and developed into the most atmospheric performance I can remember in all my years. It was allowed to take place in the light of two unique lectures on the Fifth Gospel, which Rudolf Steiner gave on December 17 and 18 in wintry, Christmassy Cologne. The powerful images from the life of Jesus that he had conjured up the evening before still resonated with both the audience and the performers when this eurythmy performance took place on the afternoon of December 18. I no longer remember the entire program, only the most essential numbers of it are still vividly before my eyes, as if we had worked on them only recently. These were: “Hyperion's Song of Destiny” by Hölderlin, the Christmas Gospel according to Luke, the Hallelujah and the Allegretto from Beethoven's 7th Symphony. We had ventured into the latter, even though no information had yet been given on tone eurythmy; but the elaboration was based on a suggestion by Dr. Steiner, who had once spoken to Lory Smits about the use of cymbals in performing group dances on a musical-eurythmic basis. We had now acquired cymbals, not the factory-made brass cymbals from Europe with their shrill, empty clang, but genuine Chinese, handcrafted bronze cymbals, which, when struck correctly, produced a full, bell-like, deep-resounding tone. [...] Not only are they a pleasure to the ear, but their slightly outwardly curved, elegant bowl shape also makes them a beautiful sight to behold. We therefore used them not only for rhythmic sounds, but also in so-called eurythmic positions: solemn, heartfelt, cheerful, evoe, even in individual sound gestures, and were thus able to give the peculiar solemn cheerfulness of this allegretto a movement expression that, while not yet in accordance with the laws of music, did justice to the musical drama. “Hyperion's Song of Destiny” was based entirely on Dr. Steiner's instructions on the laws of Dionysian group formations and, in its three parts, gave very impressive expression to the Greek-inspired spiritual drama of destiny in Hölderlin's dreamlike re-experience. The focus was on the group performance of the Gospel of Luke, with careful elaboration of all vocal gestures, head positions, and postures. Miss Wilma Schreiber from Cologne recited the various performances. In my memory, these three days in Cologne continue to shine in the winter frost and fog, which the sun broke through victoriously at midday, dividing it into the finest prismatic rays of color. They are filled with the ringing of bells from countless churches. St. Gereon, the oldest and most beautiful round church in Cologne, was located in the immediate vicinity of the lecture hall and, with the deep sound of its bells, formed the pedal point to Rudolf Steiner's voice, which brought to life before the moved listeners the uniqueness of Jesus' life in its tragic loneliness.

After these unforgettable days in Cologne, our work continued throughout the Christmas season, which was spent in joyful fellowship.

Lory Maier-Smits, notes from 1965

Perhaps I may add something about the attempt to represent Beethoven's “Allegretto” eurythmically. Actually, we mainly used two of Dr. Steiner's instructions. First: “Every sound must correspond to a foot movement in the dance” and second, his instructions for v, b, and s, i.e., sounds that were originally intended to be performed “with an object.” Our “object” was a set of beautifully sounding and equally beautiful and elegantly shaped genuine Chinese bronze cymbals, which we felt were suitable for both of Rudolf Steiner's instructions.

Regarding “Hyperion's Song of Destiny”: We performed the first part in the style of the cloud illuminator “in praise of the gods,” while the second, middle part was, also in accordance with a statement by Rudolf Steiner, which I already described on the day he spoke about “tacting,” separated into solo performances and choir. Our solo performer was Elisabeth Baumann, and the six of us formed the :-, o-tacting choir, which also formed some forms in the character of willing, thinking, and feeling, but which appeared “in tranquility.” We expressed the last part through a large, very rhythmic, jointly stepped lemniscate, accompanied by mixed sounds, as “the feeling of all humanity.”