sign in sign up
<<
Home , Joyce DiDonato, Malcolm Martineau, Seven Early Songs (Berg)

WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 2

WHLive0011 Also Available Made & Printed in England

NASH ENSEMBLE Beethoven Trio in Bb Mendelssohn Octet SIR baritone WHLive0001 MALCOLM MARTINEAU piano Songs by Beethoven, Wolf, Butterworth Vaughan Williams and Bridge 0002 ARDITTI QUARTET WHLive Nancarrow No. 3 Ligeti String Quartet No. 2 DAME soprano Dutilleux String Quartet ‘Ainsi la nuit’ GRAHAM JOHNSON piano 0003 WHLive Fallen Women and Virtuous Wives Songs by Haydn, Strauss, Brahms and Wolf WHLive0004 ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC Concerti and Concerti Grossi by Handel, JS Bach and Vivaldi tenor WHLive0005 ANDRÁS SCHIFF piano Schubert Songs WHLive0006 NASH ENSEMBLE Schumann Märchenerzählungen Moscheles Fantasy, Variations & Finale DAME MARGARET PRICE soprano Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor GEOFFREY PARSONS piano WHLive0007 Songs by Schubert, Mahler and R Strauss JOYCE DIDONATO mezzo-soprano WHLive0008 piano Songs by Fauré, Hahn and Head KOPELMAN QUARTET Arias by Rossini and Handel Schubert String Quartet in D minor WHLive0009 ‘Death and the Maiden’ YSAŸE QUARTET Tchaikovsky String Quartet in Eb minor Fauré String Quartet in E minor WHLive0010 Stravinsky Concertino Three Pieces for String Quartet Double Canon Debussy String Quartet in G minor Available from all good record shops WHLive0012 and from www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/live WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 3

1 d

Soile Isokoski soprano Marita Viitasalo piano

Songs by Sibelius, Strauss and Berg

s A BBC recording e WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 4

Soile Isokoski soprano Marita Viitasalo piano

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) 6 Songs 01 Våren flyktar hastigt 01.47 02 En slända 04.12 03 Illalle 01.28 04 Vänskapens blomma 02.09 05 Den första kyssen 02.03 06 Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte 03.43 (1885–1935) Sieben frühe Lieder 07 Nacht 04.10 08 Schilflied 02.14 09 Die Nachtigall 02.02 10 Traumgekrönt 02.31 11 Im Zimmer 01.12 12 Liebesode 01.50 13 Sommertage 02.15

1

Page 2 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 5 WHLive0011

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949) 5 Lieder 14 Das Rosenband 03.06 15 Meinem Kinde 02.28 16 Du meines Herzens Krönelein 02.13 17 Morgen 03.57 18 Cäcilie 02.51 Encores GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937) 19 Summertime 03.21 OSKAR MERIKANTO (1868–1924) 20 Ma elän 02.01

Total time: 54.08

Produced by David Papp Recorded by Chris Muir Edited by Tony Faulkner Recorded live at , London, 23 June 2006 Director: John Gilhooly – General Manager: Helen Peate, Marketing Manager: Claire Simons Photographs of Soile Isokoski by Pertti Nisonen Photograph of Marita Viitasalo by Heikki Tuuli Designed by Studio B, The Creative People email: [email protected] Manufactured by Repeat Performance Multimedia, London

The BBC word mark and logo are trade marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence from BBC Worldwide. BBC logo © BBC 1996 2

Page 3 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 6

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) 6 Songs Våren flyktar hastigt Op. 13 No. 4 (1891) En slända Op. 17 No. 5 (1904) Illalle Op. 17 No. 6 (1898) Vänskapens blomma Op. 57 No. 7 (1909) Den första kyssen Op. 37 No. 1 (1900) Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte Op. 37 No. 5 (1901)

Sibelius’s first language, like that of many Finns of his generation, was Swedish. Although he started learning Finnish when he went to school at the age of eight and although the rhythms of the Kalevala echo unmistakably through much of his instrumental music, as a song composer he was far happier with Swedish poetry than with Finnish. Indeed, he wrote only five songs in Finnish and not far short of ninety in Swedish, many of them settings of poems by a Swede-Finn of an earlier generation, Johan Ludvig Runeberg. It is clear from one of the earliest of the Runeberg settings Våren flyktar hastigt that his verse translated easily into melodic terms for Sibelius – whose characterisation, incidentally, is even more imaginative in the orchestral version he made 24 years later. There is also an orchestral version of En slända, although just about all the interest of the song is in the extraordinarily liberated, largely unaccompanied vocal line. The Finnish words of Illalle, from the same set as En slända, induced a quite different kind of vocal rhythm, and to such thrilling effect that it seems a pity that Sibelius turned to Finnish so rarely – even if it had meant less time to devote to such Swedish verse as Vänskapens blomma, the staunch sentiment of which is so faithfully reflected in the Op. 57 Josephson set. Den första kyssen, on the other hand, is a characteristic Runeberg setting in the melodic line derived so naturally from the first line and the expressive variety secured by its broad contrasts in vocal colour, its emphatic piano entries and its harmonically tortured last line. Developing in style from romans to opera by way of a chilling change of harmony in the third stanza, the other Runeberg song in Op. 37, Flickan

3 kom ifrån sin älsklings möte, is an outstandingly dramatic inspiration.

Page 4 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 7 WHLive0011

ALBAN BERG (1885–1935) Sieben frühe Lieder (1905–8, revised 1928) Nacht Schilflied Die Nachtigall Traumgekrönt Im Zimmer Liebesode Sommertage

Berg’s Seven Early Songs we owe, in a sense, to the composer’s wife Helene. It was his love for her that inspired him to write some of them in the early days of their relationship before their marriage in 1911 and it was she who, seventeen years later, persuaded him to extract them from what he had hoped was oblivion and to prepare them for publication. He had plenty to choose from. Before he started his studies with Schoenberg in 1904 he had been unable to write anything but songs and even then he produced little else until he completed his Op. 1 in 1908. Berg’s extraordinary promise was clear to Schoenberg from the start: “When I saw the compositions he showed me I recognised at once that he was a real talent.” By 1908 when he wrote Nacht, much of the melodic and harmonic beauty of which derives from the whole-tone phrase to which he sets the first line, he had developed well beyond that. Schilflied, which was written at much the same time, is a rather more conventional song, as is Die Nachtigall which was written a year earlier and shows something of the Brahms influence Schoenberg detected in his pupil. If Die Nachtigall is the most immediately attractive of the collection, the Rilke setting, Traumgekrönt, which was written for Helene not long after their first meeting in 1907, is probably the most inspired. Like Nacht, it spontaneously shapes its own construction. The earliest of the seven songs by a year or more, Im Zimmer is so short that it needs little motivic organisation to hold it together.

Liebesode – written, apparently, before Berg met Helene – is a particularly sensual 4

Page 5 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 8

inspiration, closely worked thematically but erotically evocative at the same time. The last and latest of the songs, Sommertage, is also the most prophetic of the mature Berg. For all its passion, it is also rigorously unified by means of variants of the rising phrase that first appears in the left hand of the piano and runs through every section of the song.

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949) 5 Lieder Das Rosenband Op. 36 No. 1 (1897) Meinem Kinde Op. 37 No. 3 (1897) Du meines Herzens Krönelein Op. 21 No. 2 (1888) Morgen Op. 27 No. 4 (1894) Cäcilie Op. 27 No. 2 (1894)

One reason why Richard Strauss was such a prolific song composer was that he was married to a highly accomplished soprano. Most of the eighty or so songs completed between 1887, when he first met Pauline de Ahna, and 1906, when he temporarily abandoned song to concentrate on opera, were written specifically for her. Not surprisingly in the circumstances, many of them are inspired by poetic expressions of domestic bliss of one kind or another – like Das Rosenband, the luxurious sentiment of which must have been as pleasing to Pauline as its voluptuous closing cantilena. The speculatively tender cradle song Meinem Kinde, written in anticipation of the event, was presented to Pauline, with the rest of Op. 37, on the birth of their son Franz. The difference between Du meines Herzens Krönelein, which is surely not a portrait of Pauline, and Morgen, which is one of a group of four songs presented to her on their wedding day six years later, is a measure of the inspiration he found in her. The safe though appropriately modest Schubertian accompaniment of the earlier song contrasts significantly with the daring piano part of Morgen, which carries the melodic interest in its expressively sustained line while the voice reacts to the rapture of the situation in quiet wonder. Cäcilie, another of the wedding- 5

Page 6 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 9 WHLive0011

present set, is said to have been written in a few hours on the very eve of the ceremony. Its ecstatic vocal line and its sweeping momentum certainly suggest that Hart’s declaration to his wife Cäcilie found an immediate and spontaneous response in the composer. Gerald Larner © 2006

6

Page 7 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 10

SOILE ISOKOSKI soprano

A native of Finland, Soile Isokoski graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and made her concert debut there in 1986. In 1987 Ms. Isokoski won 2nd prize in the BBC Singer of the World Competition and subsequently won 1st prize in the Elly Ameling and Tokyo International Singing Competitions. After her opera debut in the role of Mimí in La bohème at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki she went on to capture audiences and critics in the opera houses of , , , Hamburg, London, and and also at the festivals in Salzburg, Savonlinna, and Orange. Ms. Isokoski continues to work together with many renowned conductors including Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Seiji Ozawa, Sir , Sir , , , Sir , , , , Valery Gergiev and . She has a wide-ranging concert repertoire and regularly gives recitals with her permanent accompanist Marita Viitasalo. These, and other recitals, have taken her to London (Wigmore Hall), Paris, , Berlin (Philharmonic Hall), Munich, Vienna (Musikverein), Rome, Athens, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tokyo. They have also recorded works by numerous Scandinavian composers as well as Schubert and Schumann. Among her many recordings are the Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss in collaboration with Marek Jankowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Gramophone Editor’s Choice Award) as well as ’s Italian Songbook together with Bo Skovhus and Marita Viitasalo (). In honour of her notable contribution to Finnish music Ms. Isokoski was awarded the Pro-Finlandia medal.

7

Page 8 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 11 WHLive0011

MARITA VIITASALO piano

Marita Viitasalo was born in the south of Finland and studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki where she received her concert diploma. She completed other exams at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and in 1976 she was subsequently awarded her concert diploma after a further four years of study at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna with Professor Dieter Weber. Ms. Viitasalo’s solo career was initiated with the prize in the important Finnish Maj Lind Competition. She has regularly worked with many of the main orchestras in Finland and Scandinavia and has given concerts in Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Tokyo and Nagano to mention but a few. She is particularly devoted to the impressionist composers and has furthermore earned herself a considerable reputation as a sensitive performer of Chopin, Ravel, Debussy and of course Sibelius. Since 1987 Ms. Viitasalo has been the constant duo partner for Soile Isokoski. Together they have given recitals all over the world and they have won over audiences at Wigmore Hall, at the Edinburgh Festival and in Vienna, Paris, New York, Washington, Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Geneva, Frankfurt and many cities in Japan. Marita Viitasalo can be heard on several recordings of piano music by Sibelius, Debussy and Ravel. Apart from these solo CDs she has made numerous recordings with Soile Isokoski of Scandinavian works as well as songs by Schubert and Schumann. In September 2001 she recorded Wolf’s Italian Songbook with Ms. Isokoski and Bo Skovhus which she has already performed live at the Edinburgh Festival, and in Vienna, Stockholm, Barcelona, Brussels and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt to mention but a few. Apart from her concert performing Marita Viitasalo is also professor of piano at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and since 1989 she has been the Artistic Director of the Espoo Piano Festival. 8

Page 9 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 12

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) 6 Songs 6 Songs Våren flyktar hastigt Op. 13 No. 4 (1891) Spring is swiftly flying Op. 13 No. 4 (1891) (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) Våren flyktar hastigt, Spring is swiftly flying, Hastigare sommarn, swifter still flies summer, Hösten dröjer länge, autumn is delaying Vintern ännu längre. winter drags more slowly. Snart, I sköna kinder, Soon the flower of girlhood Skolen I förvissna will forever wither, Och ej knoppas mera. ne’er again to blossom. Gossen svarte åter: Then the heart makes an answer. Än i t höstens dagar gläda vårens Yet through autumn live glad memories of minnen, springtime, Än I vinterns dagar räcka sommarns Through the winter stretch the harvestings of skördar, summer. Fritt må våren flykta, Spring may go a flying, Fritt må kinden vissna, cheeks for me may wither, Låt oss nu blott älska, now’s the time for loving, Låt oss nu blott kyssas. now’s the time for kissing.

En slända Op. 17 No. 5 (1904) A dragonfly Op. 17 No. 5 (1904) (Oscar Levertin) (Oscar Levertin) Du vackra slända, som till mig flög in, O beautiful dragonfly that flew in När tyngst min längtan över boken drömde, as I dreamed over my book with heavy heart, Du kom med hela sommarn till mitt sinn. you brought all summer to my senses. Du kom och jag allt gammalt svårmod glömde. You came and I forgot my melancholy. Blott dig jag såg, min dag jag lycklig dömde, du I saw only you that happy day, O beautiful vackra slända. dragonfly. Men bäst jag jublade att du var min But just when I rejoiced that you were mine Och livets skänk I sång pä knä berömde, and life’s gift in song, worshipped and praised, Du flög den samma väg som du kom in, du trolska you flew out the same way you came, O bewitching 9 slända. dragonfly.

Page 10 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 13 WHLive0011

All avskedsgråt i välgångsord förrinn! Parting tears ebbed in words of farewell! Ej beska fanns I bägarn, som vi tömde There was no bitterness in the cup we drained. Att du var sol, jag skugga blott vi glömde. We forgot that you were sun, I only shadow. Flyg ljus, fly blå, än sommarlycka finn, Fly away, blue light of summer happiness, Välsignade, som en gäng varit min, min vackra blessed and once mine, my beautiful slända. dragonfly.

Illalle Op. 17 No. 6 (1898) To Evening Op. 17 No. 6 (1898) (Aukusti Valdemar Forsman-Koskimies) (Aukusti Valdemar Forsman-Koskimies)

Oi, terve! tumma, vieno tähti-ilta, Welcome, dark, mild and starry evening! Sun haaveellista hartauttas lemmin Your gentle fervour I adore Ja suortuvaisi yötä sorjaa hemmin, and caress the dark tresses Mi hulmuaapi kulmais kuulamilta. That flutter round your brow. Kun oisit, ilta, oi, se tenhosilta, If only you were the magic bridge Mi sielun multa siirtäis lentoisammin that would carry my soul away, Pois aatteen maille itse kun ma emmin, No longer burdened Ja siip’ ei kanna aineen kahlehilta! by the cares of life! Ja itse oisin miekkoinen se päivä, And if it were the happy day Mi uupuneena saisin luokses liitää, when, overcome with weariness, I might join you Kun tauonnut on työ ja puuha räivä, when work is over and duty done, Kun mustasiipi yö jo silmään siitää when night unfolds its black wings Ja laaksot, vuoret verhoo harmaa häivä – and a grey curtain falls over hill and dale, Oi, ilta armas, silloin luokses kiitää! O evening, how I would hurry to you!

Vänskapens blomma Op. 57 No. 7 (1909) The flower of friendship Op. 57 No. 7 (1909) (Ernst Josephson) (Ernst Josephson) Ack, vänskap, ljuva blomma, O Friendship, fairest flower, När alla mig förfölja, when I am persecuted by everyone, Kom, smyg dig till mitt bröst! come, creep to my breast! Jag skall dig troget gömma, I will faithfully conceal you, Med tusen kyssar hölja, cover you with a thousand kisses, Du lycka ger och tröst. For you bring happiness and solace. Ack, vänskap, ljuva blomma, O Friendship, fairest flower, När mina dagar sluta when my days are at an end 10

Page 11 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 14

Och dödens köld mig når – and the chill of death draws nigh – Då skall du säkert komma then you will surely come Och av din balsam gjuta and pour your balsam I mína hjärtesår! into the wounds of my heart!

Den första kyssen Op. 37 No. 1 (1900) The first kiss Op. 37 No. 1 (1900) (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) På silvermolnets kant satt aftonstjärnan. The evening star sat on the edge of a silver cloud. Från lundens skymning frågte henne tärnan: From the dusk of the grove a maiden asked her: Säg, aftonstjärna, vad i himlen tänkes, tell me, evening star, what is thought in heaven När första kyssen åt en älskling skänkes? when the first kiss is given to a lover? Och himlens blyga dotter hördes svara: And heaven’s shy daughter was heard to reply: På jorden blickar ljusets änglaskara, the angelic host of light looks down onto the earth Och ser sin egen sällhet speglad åter; and it sees its own joy reflected: Blott döden vänder ögat bort och gråter. only death turns its eyes aside and weeps.

Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings mote Op. 37 No. 5 The girl came from her lover’s tryst Op. 37 No. 5 (1901) (1901) (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) (Johan Ludvig Runeberg) Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte, The girl came from her lover’s tryst. Kom med röda händer – Modern sade: She came with red hands. Her mother said: ‘Varav rodna dina händer, flicka?’ ‘why are your hands red, O daughter?’ Flickan sade: ‘Jag har plockat rosor, The girl said: ‘I have been picking roses, Och på törnen stungit mina händer.’ and I pricked my hands on the thorns.’ Åter kom hon från sin älsklings möte, Again she returned from her lover’s tryst. Kom med röda läppar – Modern sade: She came with red lips. Her mother said: ‘Varav rodna dina läppar, flicka?’ ‘why are your lips red, O daughter?’ Flickan sade: ‘Jag har ätit hallon, The girl said: ‘I have been eating raspberries, Och med saften målat mina läppar.’ and coloured my lips with their juice.’ Åter kom hon från sin älsklings möte, Again she returned from her lover’s tryst. Kom med bleka kinder – Modern sade: She came with pale cheeks. Her mother said: ‘Varav blekna dina kinder, flicka?’ ‘why are your cheeks pale, O daughter?’ Flickan sade: ‘Red en grav, o Moder! The girl said: ‘prepare a grave, O mother! 11 Göm mig där, och ställ ett kors däröver, Hide me there, and place a cross above it,

Page 12 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 15 WHLive0011

Och på korset rista, som jag säger: and, on the cross, carve what I tell you: En gäng kom hon hem med röda händer; once she came home with red hands, Ty de rodnat mellan älskarns händer. for they had reddened between her lover’s hands; En gång kom hon hem med röda läppar; once she came home with red lips Ty de rodnat under älskarns läppar. for they had reddened from her lover’s lips. Senast kom hon hem med bleka kinder; Finally she came home with pale cheeks; Ty de bleknat genom älskarns otro.’ for they had paled through her lover’s infidelity.’

ALBAN BERG (1885–1935) ALBAN BERG (1885–1935) Sieben Frühe Lieder Seven Early Songs (1905–8, revised 1928) (1905–8, revised 1928) Nacht Night (Carl Hauptmann) (Carl Hauptmann) Dämmern Wolken über Nacht und Tal. Clouds loom over night and valley, Nebel schweben, Wasser rauschen sacht. mists hover, waters softly murmur. Nun entschleiert sich’s mit einem Mal. Now at once all is unveiled. O gib acht! gib acht! O take heed! take heed! Weites Wunderland ist aufgetan. A vast wonderland opens up, Silbern ragen Berge traumhaft groß, silvery mountains soar dreamlike tall, Stille Pfade silberlicht talan silent paths climb silver-bright valleywards Aus verborg’nem Schoß. from a hidden womb. Und die hehre Welt so traumhaft rein. And the glorious world so dreamlike pure. Stummer Buchenbaum am Wege steht A silent beech-tree stands by the wayside Schattenschwarz – ein Hauch vom fernen Hain shadow-black – a breath from the distant grove Einsam leise weht. blows solitary soft. Und aus tiefen Grundes Düsterheit And from the deep valley’s gloom Blinken Lichter auf in stummer Nacht. lights twinkle in the silent night. Trinke Seele! trinke Einsamkeit! Drink soul! drink solitude! O gib acht! gib acht! O take heed! take heed!

12

Page 13 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 16

Schilflied Reed song (Nikolaus Lenau) (Nikolaus Lenau) Auf geheimem Waldespfade Along a secret forest path Schleich’ ich gern im Abendschein I love to steal in the evening light An das öde Schilfgestade, to the desolate reedy shore Mädchen, und gedenke dein! and think, my girl, of you! Wenn sich dann der Busch verdüstert, When the bushes then grow dark, Rauscht das Rohr geheimnisvoll, the reeds pipe mysteriously, Und es klaget und es flüstert, lamenting and whispering, Daß ich weinen, weinen soll. till I must weep, must weep. Und ich mein’, ich höre wehen And I seem to hear the soft sound Leise deiner Stimme Klang, of your voice, Und im Weiher untergehen and your lovely singing Deinen lieblichen Gesang. drowning in the pond.

Die Nachtigall The nightingale (Theodor Storm) (Theodor Storm) Das macht, es hat die Nachtigall It is because the nightingale Die ganze Nacht gesungen; has sung throughout the night, Da sind von ihrem süßen Schall, that from the sweet sound Da sind in Hall und Widerhall of her echoing song Die Rosen aufgesprungen. the roses have sprung up. Sie war doch sonst ein wildes Blut, She was once a wild creature, Nun geht sie tief in Sinnen; now she wanders deep in thought; Trägt in der Hand den Sommerhut in her hand a summer hat, Und duldet still der Sonne Glut bearing in silence the sun’s heat, Und weiß nicht, was beginnen. not knowing what to do. Das macht, es hat die Nachtigall It is because the nightingale Die ganze Nacht gesungen; has sung throughout the night, Da sind von ihrem süßen Schall, that from the sweet sound Da sind in Hall und Widerhall of her echoing song Die Rosen aufgesprungen. the roses have sprung up.

13

Page 14 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 17 WHLive0011

Traumgekrönt Crowned with dreams () (Rainer Maria Rilke) Das war der Tag der weißen Chrysanthemen, – That was the day of the white chrysanthemums – Mir bangte fast vor seiner Pracht … its brilliance almost frightened me … Und dann, dann kamst du mir die Seele nehmen And then, then you came to take my soul Tief in der Nacht. at the dead of night. Mir war so bang, und du kamst lieb und leise, – I was so frightened, and you came sweetly and Ich hatte grad im Traum an dich gedacht. gently, Du kamst, und leis wie eine Märchenweise I had been thinking of you in my dreams. Erklang die Nacht … You came, and soft as a fairy tune the night rang out…

Im Zimmer In the room (Johannes Schlaf) (Johannes Schlaf) Herbstsonnenschein. Autumn sunshine. Der liebe Abend blickt so still herein. The lovely evening looks in so silently. Ein Feuerlein rot A little red fire Knistert im Ofenloch und loht. crackles and blazes in the hearth. So! – Mein Kopf auf deinen Knie’n. – Like this! – with my head on your knees. – So ist mir gut; Like this I am content; Wenn mein Auge so in deinem ruht. When my eyes rest in yours like this. Wie leise die Minuten ziehn! … How gently the minutes pass! …

Liebesode Ode to love (Otto Erich Hartleben) (Otto Erich Hartleben) Im Arm der Liebe schliefen wir selig ein. In love’s arms we fell blissfully asleep. Am offnen Fenster lauschte der Sommerwind, The summer wind listened at the open window, Und unsrer Atemzüge Frieden and carried the peace of our breathing Trug er hinaus in die helle Mondnacht. – out into the moon-bright night. – Und aus dem Garten tastete zagend sich And from the garden a scent of roses Ein Rosenduft an unserer Liebe Bett came timidly to our bed of love Und gab uns wundervolle Träume, and gave us wonderful dreams, Träume des Rausches – so reich an Sehnsucht! ecstatic dreams – so rich in longing! 14

Page 15 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 18

Sommertage Summer days (Paul Hohenberg) (Paul Hohenberg) Nun ziehen Tage über die Welt, Days, sent from blue eternity, Gesandt aus blauer Ewigkeit, journey now across the world, Im Sommerwind verweht die Zeit. time drifts away in the summer wind. Nun windet nächtens der Herr The Lord at night now garlands Sternenkränze mit seliger Hand star-chains with his blessed hand Über Wander- und Wunderland. across lands of wandering and wonder. O Herz, was kann in diesen Tagen In these days, O heart, what can Dein hellstes Wanderlied denn sagen your brightest travel-song say Von deiner tiefen, tiefen Lust: of your deep, deep joy? Im Wiesensang verstummt die Brust, The heart falls silent in the meadows’ song, Nun schweigt das Wort, wo Bild um Bild words now cease when image after image Zu dir zieht und dich ganz erfüllt. comes to you and fills you utterly.

RICHARD STRAUSS RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949) (1864–1949) 5 Lieder 5 Lieder Das Rosenband Op. 36 No. 1 (1897) The rose garland Op. 36 No. 1 (1897) (Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock) (Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock) Im Frühlingsgarten fand ich sie; I found her in the spring garden, Da band ich sie mit Rosenbändern: I bound her fast with a rose garland: Sie fühlt’ es nicht und schlummerte. oblivious, she slumbered on. Ich sah sie an; mein Leben hing I gazed on her; with that gaze Mit diesem Blick an ihrem Leben: my life became entwined with hers: Ich fühlt’ es wohl, und wußt’ es nicht. this I sensed, and did not know. Doch lispelt’ ich ihr leise zu, I murmured softly to her Und rauschte mit den Rosenbändern: and rustled the garland of roses: Da wachte sie vom Schlummer auf. then she woke from slumber. Sie sah mich an; ihr Leben hing She gazed on me; with that gaze Mit diesem Blick’ an meinem Leben, her life became entwined with mine, 15 Und um uns ward Elysium. And Paradise bloomed about us.

Page 16 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 19 WHLive0011

Meinem Kinde Op. 37 No. 3 (1897) To my child Op. 37 No. 3 (1897) (Gustav Falke) (Gustav Falke) Du schläfst und sachte neig’ ich mich You sleep and softly I bend down Über dein Bettchen und segne dich. over your cot and bless you. Jeder behutsame Atemzug Every cautious breath you take Ist ein schweifender Himmelsflug, soars up towards heaven, Ist ein Suchen weit umher, searches far and wide to see Ob nicht doch ein Sternlein wär’, if there might not be some star, Wo aus eitel Glanz und Licht from whose pure radiance and light Liebe sich ein Glückskraut bricht, love may pluck a herb of grace, Das sie geflügelt herniederträgt to descend with it on her wings Und dir aufs weiße Deckchen legt. and lay it on your white coverlet.

Du meines Herzens Krönelein Op. 21 No. 2 You, my heart’s coronet Op. 21 No. 2 (1887-8) (1887-8) (Felix Dahn) (Felix Dahn) Du meines Herzens Krönelein, du bist von lautrem You, my heart’s coronet, you are of pure Golde, gold, Wenn Andere daneben sein, dann bist du noch viel when others stand beside you, you are more lovely holde. still. Die Andern tun so gern gescheut, du bist gar sanft Others love to appear clever, you are so gentle and und stille; quiet; Daß jedes Herz sich dein erfreut, dein Glück ist’s, that every heart delights in you, is your fortune not nicht dein Wille. your will. Die Andern suchen Lieb’ und Gunst mit tausend Others seek love and favours with a thousand false falschen Worten, words, Du ohne Mund- und Augenkunst bist wert an allen you, without artifice of mind or eye, are esteemed Orten, in every place, Du bist als wie die Ros’ im Wald, sie weiß nichts you are like the rose in the forest, knowing nothing von ihrer Blüte, of its flowers, Doch Jedem, der vorüberwallt, erfreut sie das yet rejoicing the heart of every Gemüte. passer-by.

16

Page 17 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 20

Morgen Op. 27 No. 4 (1894) Tomorrow Op. 27 No. 4 (1894) (John Henry Mackay) (John Henry Mackay) Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen And tomorrow the sun will shine again, Und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde, and on the path that I shall take, Wird uns, die Glücklichen, sie wieder einen it will unite us, happy ones, again Inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde ... amid this sun-breathing earth ... Und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogen-blauen, And to the shore, broad, blue-waved, Werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen, we shall, quiet and slow, descend, Stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen, speechless, we shall gaze into each other’s eyes, Und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes and the speechless silence of bliss shall fall Schweigen ... on us ...

Cäcilie Op. 27 No. 2 (1894) Cecily Op. 27 No. 2 (1894) (Heinrich Hart) (Heinrich Hart) Wenn Du es wüßtest, If you knew Was träumen heißt what it is to dream Von brennenden Küssen, of burning kisses, Von Wandern und Ruhen of walking and resting Mit der Geliebten, with one’s love, Aug’ in Auge gazing at each other Und kosend und plaudernd – and caressing and talking – Wenn du es wüßtest, If you knew, Du neigtest Dein Herz. your heart would turn to me. Wenn Du es wüßtest, If you knew Was bangen heißt what it is to worry In einsamen Nächten, on lonely nights, Umschauert vom Sturm, in the frightening storm, Da Niemand tröstet with no soft voice Milden Mundes to comfort Die kampfmüde Seele – the struggle-weary soul – Wenn Du es wüßtest, If you knew, Du kämest zu mir. you would come to me. Wenn Du es wüßtest, If you knew 17 Was leben heißt, what it is to live

Page 18 WHLive0011 Booklet 14/8/06 2:28 pm Page 21 WHLive0011

Umhaucht von der Gottheit enveloped in God’s Weltschaffendem Atem, world-creating breath, Zu schweben empor, to soar upwards, Lichtgetragen, borne on light, Zu seligen Höh’en – to blessed heights – Wenn du es wüßtest, If you knew, Du lebtest mit mir! you would live with me!

Translations of Sibelius songs printed with permission of Ltd

Translations of Berg and Strauss songs by Richard Stokes from The Book of Lieder – the original texts of over 1000 songs with a foreword by Ian Bostridge (Faber and Faber).

www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

18

Page 18