Wachsfigurenkabinett, five short operas (1929-30; three not completed), libretti by Erich Bormann
Das Leben und Sterben des heiligen Teufels
Der Mann, der vom Tode auferstand (unfinished; completed by Günter Bialas and Hans Werner Henze)
Chaplin-Ford-Trott, 'scenic jazz cantata' (unfinished; completed by Wilfried Hiller)
Fürwahr? (unfinished; completed by Henze)
Die Witwe von Ephesus
Des Simplicius Simplicissimus Jugend (1934-35; revised 1956-57 as Simplicius Simplicissimus), libretto by Hermann Scherchen, Wolfgang Petzer and Hartmann after Jakob von Grimmelhausen
Cantata (1929) for 6-part a cappella choir on texts by Johannes R. Becher and Karl Marx
Profane Messe (1929) for a cappella chorus on a text by Max See
Kantate for soprano and orchestra on texts by Walt Whitman (1936); later retitled Lamento and in 1938 revised as Symphonisches Fragment, whence Symphony No.1
Friede Anno '48 (1936-37) for soprano solo, mixed chorus and piano; revised 1955 as Lamento for soprano and piano
Gesangsszene (1962-63) for baritone and orchestra on a text from Sodom and Gomorrah by Jean Giraudoux