# The Origin and Development of Eurythmy 1912–1918

## GA 277a — 20 August 1915, Dornach

### The Apollonian Course III

In the third lesson, some elements from the first lesson were repeated and supplemented. Rudolf Steiner also spoke about the character of the “suprapersonal self”; to keep the presentation clearer, the editors have included this information in the first lesson (see p. 263).

**General information about preludes**

It is good to give eurythmies of lyrical poems a prelude, arranged according to the nature of the poem.

The prelude corresponds to the overture in a musical work.

When poems are eurythmized, they can be given an introduction in accordance with their content.

**Cheerful introduction**

> *Fercher von Steinwand: “Flotte Bursche”*
> Clear air, swift limbs,  
> Bright flowers, fine wines,  
> Loose girls, short songs,  
> Jokes, divinely unusual —
> Everything draws me to delight,  
> Even if my purse is empty;  
> The sun laughs involuntarily  
> And the moon is quite frightened!
> If the blonde is not in a good mood,  
> I boldly turn to the brunette,  
> I merrily court the brown-haired girl,  
> If the brunette fails the test of the Fates.
> When I stagger, drunk with wine,  
> I lean on the barrel of red wine;  
> If no fiddler will play for me,  
> I play my own tunes.
> Nothing about priests, nothing about God,  
> Nothing from courtiers or barriers,  
> Nothing from hell and hell's rabble,  
> Nothing from the sick and thoughts!
> Quickly past the seriousness,  
> With my bald head still to the chase!  
> But once it's over,  
> It's done in one sentence.


Cheerful poem (major)

Cheerful upbeat:

1 begins, moving backwards — twelve (light) steps to a, then twelve steps forward to b;  
2 continues the movement with four steps to 3;  
3. four steps to the previous place of 1; and then continues on the way to a.

Arm position of 1, 2, and 3 while running: cheerful; while standing still: light. [Fixed point 4:] cheerful.

“Flotte Bursche”: cheerful. Do the movement first.

The two poems “Flotte Bursche” and “Düstere Bursche” were only given as examples of the mood of the two upbeats, not even created.

**Sad upbeat**

> *Fercher von Steinwand: “Düstere Bursche”*
> Has the big picture ever  
> Taken care of my part?  
> Has a ray of joy ever shone  
> From the dance of life?
> Has humanity, kind and thoughtful,  
> Woven me into its wreath?  
> Is there a heart that warmly and deeply  
> My soul?
> When I strove, when I dared,  
> Did the world reward me?  
> When I mourned, despaired,  
> Did it encourage or spare me?
> Did those who recommended action to me,  
> Not up to the task like Laffen?  
> Those who reviled me openly,  
> Did they work, did they create?
> When I thought I was wasting away,  
> Did a glutton invite me to dinner?  
> When I wept before altars,  
> Did an angel leap out of the niche?
> When I wander alienated  
> Between shadows, among ruins  
> And bargain with the devil,  
> Does anyone care?


Opposite mood: Sad poem (minor keys)

Sad prelude:

1 begins, moves (slowly) with twelve steps to a, then six steps to b and on to ten steps to c;

2 continues the movement with four steps to 3;

3 takes four steps to the previous place of 1; and then continues on the path to a.

Arm position [...] when walking the form: 1: I

1: i o u; 2: a i o; 3: a a a  
1: e a o; 2: e a o; 3: e a o

Support point [fixed point]: Mourning = the gesture known until then in Bottmingen.

Can also be done at the end. Can be done 1-2-3 times.

Upbeat for elegiac poems. [...] The entire form is a reversal of the cheerful upbeat, but with a slight indentation of the line that leads around the base note.

**Three-part upbeat**

> *Joseph von Aujfenberg: “Des Dichters Lohn” (The Poet's Reward) (romance)*
> In Tus, the ancient Persian city,  
> A poet blossomed,  
> Tormented on every path of life  
> By envious rabble.  
> More reviled than recognized,  
> He follows his inner urge:  
> And writes poetry for his fatherland,  
> For manly glory and love. [EvD] first figure before that
> The Shah wants to reward him,  
> For he was born poor,  
> A brood of slanderers, close to the throne,  
> Is conspiring against him:  
> They cunningly turn the mighty mind,  
> It is withheld from him  
> The already promised gain  
> Through the rule of his enemies. [EvD] first figure before that
> Late, the truth is brought before the throne  
> By a courageous judge.  
> "Let the deserved reward be given  
> To the sorely afflicted poet."  
> The Shah calls out. Attendants draw  
> Towards Tus with his pay! [LMS] Transition to the third figure
> Already they see the towers glowing  
> In the evening sun's gold:  
> The fastest rushes through the gate,  
> A citizen cries out: “Make way!”  
> A large procession emerges [EvD] third figure  
> And carries the poet's corpse.


> Three-part prelude  
> 1. Question of fate / (or something similar: - natural mood; / a beginning; something that has consequences).  
> 2. Internalization white white / red red / yellow yellow / green green  
> 3. Elegiac solution, // 1./ 2. Hexagon at rest / 3. It goes around (hexagon in motion)

There are no explanations in the original documents for the execution of the three-part prelude; therefore, the following are explanations by Annemarie Dubach from 1928.

Six eurythmists first stand in the following basic formation [1st picture, left] and then move into this position [2nd picture, left] while eurythmizing the consonants bmdnri (other sounds or gestures could also be chosen). This contraction of the outer square and the emergence of the two inner points expresses internalization. The performers now remain in this position for a while, expressing a certain change in color mood through eurythmy. In a suggested e as the basic posture, the colors white, yellow, red, and green are eurythmized one after the other. This can be repeated three times.

Now follows the elegiac resolution [3rd image, right]: it is expressed in a solemn, calm manner. Everyone moves at the same time and walks around the hexagon in a slightly inward-curving arc. During the transition from one place to another (6 steps), a sound is held in eurythmic formation. - As the form contracts, the first six sounds of “human evolution” are eurythmized; the following six sounds can now be taken on this walk: g ch f s b h t. With the t, everyone then returns to their initial place.

This poem was also given only as an example of the mood of the upbeat. We performed it once in Berlin, but not until March/April 1918, “Der Tod und Frau Laura” (Death and Mrs. Laura) by C. F. Meyer with the same sounds.

Three-part upbeat for ballads or poems of a serious nature. [...]

This series [of consonants of human evolution] can be chosen, but other sounds or soul gestures can also be used. For example: grief, despair, intimacy, and so on.

The three upbeats can also be eurythmized between the stanzas of a poem, if it seems appropriate.

These sounds apply only to this music by van der Pals; others may also be used.

I think that at that time the three upbeats would have been called: the first “cheerful upbeat,” the second “tragic upbeat,” and the third “elegiac upbeat.” Today, the second is called elegiac, which does not correspond to the original designation. At least not according to my memory.