the artists programme

wednesday august 2 at 1:00 pm | christ church cathedral

Tyler Duncan schumann: dichterliebe baritone and brahms: vier ernste gesänge Erika Switzer 19th-century pianoforte Robert Schumann (1810-1856): Dichterliebe, op 48 (1840)

1. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai 2. Aus meinen Tränen sprießen 3. Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne 4. Wenn ich in deine Augen seh’ 5. Ich will meine Seele tauchen 6. Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome 7. Ich grolle nicht 8. Und wüßten’s die Blumen, die kleinen 9. Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen 10. Hör’ ich das Liedchen klingen 11. Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen 12. Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen 13. Ich hab’ im Traum geweinet 14. Allnächtlich im Traume seh’ ich dich 15. Aus alten Märchen 16. Die alten, bösen Lieder

19th-Century Pianoforte by Broadwood (see page 2 for details) interval

Supported by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): David McMurtry Vier ernste Gesänge, op 121 (1896) (Four Serious Songs) Pre-concert chat with 1. Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh host Matthew White at 12:15: 2. Ich wandte mich und sahe an Tyler Duncan & Erika Switzer 3. O Tod, wie bitter bist du 4. Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelzungen redete

THE UNAUTHORISED USE OF ANY VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDING AN INSERT WITH THE TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE CONCERT DEVICE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED earlymusic.bc.ca Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs Vancouver Bach Festival 2017  1 the performers

Tyler Duncan Erika Switzer

Canadian baritone Tyler Duncan Erika Switzer is an internationally recently performed at the active pianist, teacher, and arts Metropolitan Opera as Fiorello in administrator. She enjoys long- Rossini’s Barber of Seville, and as term partnerships with several Morales in Bezet’s Carmen with notable singers, including the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy soprano Martha Guth, mezzo- in Tokyo and Kyoto Japan. At the soprano Hai-Ting Chinn, tenor Spoleto Festival he debuted as Colin Balzer, and baritone Tyler Mr. Friendly in the 18th-century Duncan. Erika Switzer has ballad opera Flora, returning been heard on the stages of the next season as the Speaker New York’s Weill Recital Hall in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. His concerts include Mahler’s 8th (Carnegie) and Frick Collection, at the Philadelphia Chamber Symphony with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Music Society and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, as well Symphony; Bach and Mendessohn’s Magnificat with the New York as all across Canada at festivals including Vancouver’s Music on Philharmonic; Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Munich Bach Main, Montreal’s André Turp Society and Ottawa’s ChamberFest. Choir; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Calgary Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with Tafelmusik, the Montreal and Toronto During her seven-year sojourn to Germany, she presented Symphony Orchestras. recitals at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and the Winners & Masters series in Munich, and she won numerous awards, He has performed at Germany’s Halle Händel Festival, Verbier including pianist prizes at the Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, and Festival, Vancouver Early Music Festival, Montreal Bach Festival, Wigmore Hall International Song Competitions. Erika Switzer is Oregon Bach Festival, Lanaudière Festival, Stratford Festival, on the music faculty at Bard College and the Vocal Arts Programs Berkshire Choral Festival, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. of the Bard Conservatory of Music. As co-creator of Sparks & Wiry Cries, she contributes to the future of art song performance Frequently paired with pianist Erika Switzer, Tyler Duncan has given through publication of The Art Song Magazine, presentation of acclaimed recitals in New York, Boston, and Paris, and throughout recitals in New York City (Casement Fund Song Series), and the Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, and South Africa. commission of new works. Learn more at sparksandwirycries.org.

Early Music Vancouver’s 19th-Century Pianoforte by Broadwood (London, 1870)

The most recent addition to EMV’s important collection of historical instruments was a generous gift by Dr. Patricia M. Lee and Dr. Nicholas H. Lee.

This is an original 19th-century instrument by Broadwood, one of the oldest and most renowned piano makers in the world. Established in the mid-1700s, Broadwood has built pianos in England for over two centuries and continues to make some of Europe’s finest pianos today. This small grand piano of 1870, built in a beautiful walnut burl, was typical for the time; these instruments in the Empire Revival style were quite popular in late 19th-century parlors and country house boudoirs. A decal inside the casing reads “Consigned to Balmoral” which suggests that it may have been made for Queen Victoria’s residence at the Scottish castle she loved so much.

2  Vancouver Bach Festival 2017 Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs [email protected] poetry and music schumann's dichterliebe and brahms' vier ernste gesänge

Poetry and music have much in common. They exploit sound as their primary medium, and share structural features such as rhythm, meter, volume or accent, pitch, and syntax. During the renaissance of lyric verse in the early nineteenth century, poetry and music became inextricably linked in the genre of the German lied. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe believed that music completed the lyric poem, commenting in a letter that when poetry is set to music, “something unique happens. Only then is the poetic inspiration, whether nascent or fixed, sublimated (or rather fused) into the free and beautiful element of sensory experience. Then we think and feel at the same time, and are enraptured thereby.” The lied paired poignant, self-reflexive poetry about individuals’ confrontations with nature and society with the intimate, accessible, and richly expressive solo human voice accompanied by the marvellous, new, piano-forte. Schumann: Dichterliebe story of intense and changing emotions. Often, Schumann employs the piano preludes and postludes to link songs by Robert Schumann was a voracious reader of poetry, but until recalling past material or foreshadowing the content of the 1839 he had composed only piano music. Suddenly (and most next song. happily for us), the convergence of some new aesthetic ideas, his pragmatic need to compose marketable music by which he It may seem surprising that Schumann chose to publish songs might earn a living, and the emotional crisis of his court battle about the trauma of rejected love during the year in which with Friedrich Wieck for Clara’s hand in marriage, resulted he won a lawsuit against his father-in-law-to-be (who was in an explosion of song writing – 140 Lieder composed in a sentenced to two weeks in jail for defamation of Schumann’s single year. He wrote to Clara that he “found himself walking character!) and was finally permitted to marry his beloved round his room singing like a nightingale.” Stylistically, Clara, but stress of the legal battle, the fear of losing Clara Schumann’s songs are like sung piano pieces. He became a forever, the instability of his own mental health, and the new master of marrying a quasi-verbal vocal line with a musically pressure to support a family weighed heavily on him. Fourteen independent piano part. years after the publication of Dichterliebe, he attempted suicide, terrified that his delusions would cause him to harm The poems of Heinrich Heine were among Schumann’s his family. Johannes Brahms had then recently met and favourites. Heine’s poems are short, usually one to three become close to the Schumann family, and would remain a verses, using simple vocabulary and folk-like meters and close friend of Clara Schumann for the rest of her life. rhyme schemes. Their form and style, however, is a façade for content that is sophisticated, sardonic, and sometimes angry. Many of his colleagues found Heine’s work confusing and at Brahms: Vier ernste Gesänge odds with the goals of lyric poetry. Schumann met Heine in These four lieder were Brahms’ response to news of Clara’s 1828 and wrote in his diary about a man with a perpetually imminent death. Rather than choosing contemporary poetry, ironic smile with whom he felt immediate friendship and Brahms selected biblical texts from Ecclesiastes and I had spent an entire day wandering through Munich. In fact, Corinthians that express the vanity of human existence and Schumann’s piano music is not unlike Heine’s poetry – short the redemptive power of love. Expressing his characteristically pieces with biting rhythms and often ambiguous meanings. reserved attitude towards matters of faith, Brahms described In another diary entry, Schumann wrote that he preferred his settings as “damnably serious and at the same time… Heine’s “bizarrerie” to the pretentiousness of critics. impious.” He moved away from the melodious approach to Schumann winnowed Heine’s Lyrisches Intermezzo, a song of his youth to an intensely declamatory vocal style that collection of sixty-five poems published in his Buch der harkens back to the sacred monody of the Baroque and paired Lieder (1827), down to twenty poems, which he set to music it with a dramatic and virtuosic piano part. In a letter to their in only nine days. When the song cycle, which Schumann mutual friend Joseph Joachim, he expressed his reflection on titled Dichterliebe was published about a year later, he had an elderly artist’s experience of love and loss, writing, “The further distilled it to sixteen songs. In so doing, he became thought of losing her can terrify us no longer, not even me the co-creator of the cycle’s text, transforming Heine’s loosely lonely man for whom there is all too little alive in the world. organized collection into a narrative set. In it, an artist And when she is gone from us, will our faces not light up with remembers his experience of love (songs 1-4), rejection pleasure when we remember her? That wonderful woman and loss (song 5-11), and struggle to come to grips with his whom we were privileged to take delight in throughout a long sorrow (songs 12-16). Schumann’s work is the embodiment life – to love and admire her ever more greatly. Only thus do of the Romantic ideal of finding unity amid variety. Each we mourn her.” song is a unique and vivid miniature that contributes to a – Christina Hutten earlymusic.bc.ca Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs Vancouver Bach Festival 2017  3 texts and translations

Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe Texts by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

1 (Op. 48, No. 1)

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, In the wonderfully fair month of May, als alle Knospen sprangen, as all the flower-buds burst, da ist in meinem Herzen then in my heart die Liebe aufgegangen. love arose. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, In the wonderfully fair month of May, als alle Vögel sangen, as all the birds were singing, da hab’ ich ihr gestanden then I confessed to her mein Sehnen und Verlangen. my yearning and longing.

2 (Op. 48, No. 2)

Aus meinen Tränen sprießen From my tears spring viel blühende Blumen hervor, many blooming flowers forth, und meine Seufzer werden and my sighs become ein Nachtigallenchor, a nightingale choir, und wenn du mich lieb hast, Kindchen, and if you have love for me, child, schenk’ ich dir die Blumen all’, I’ll give you all the flowers, und vor deinem Fenster soll klingen and before your window shall sound das Lied der Nachtigall. the song of the nightingale.

3 (Op. 48, No. 3)

Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne, The rose, the lily, the dove, the sun, die liebt’ ich einst alle in Liebeswonne. I once loved them all in love’s bliss. Ich lieb’ sie nicht mehr, ich liebe alleine I love them no more, I love only die Kleine, die Feine, die Reine, die Eine; the small, the fine, the pure, the one; sie selber, aller Liebe Bronne, she herself, source of all love, ist Rose und Lilie und Taube und Sonne. is rose and lily and dove and sun.

4  Vancouver Bach Festival 2017 Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs [email protected] 4 (Op. 48, No. 4)

Wenn ich in deine Augen seh’, When I look into your eyes, so schwindet all’ mein Leid und Weh! then vanish all my sorrow and pain! Doch wenn ich küsse deinen Mund, Ah, but when I kiss your mouth, so werd’ ich ganz und gar gesund. then I will be wholly and completely healthy. Wenn ich mich lehn’ an deine Brust, When I lean on your breast, kommt’s über mich wie Himmelslust, I am overcome with heavenly delight, doch wenn du sprichst: Ich liebe dich! ah, but when you say, “I love you!” so muß ich weinen bitterlich. then I must weep bitterly.

5 (Op. 48, No. 5)

Ich will meine Seele tauchen I want to plunge my soul in den Kelch der Lilie hinein; into the chalice of the lily; die Lilie soll klingend hauchen the lily shall resoundingly exhale ein Lied von der Liebsten mein. a song of my beloved. Das Lied soll schauern und beben, The song shall quiver and tremble, wie der Kuß von ihrem Mund’, like the kiss from her mouth, den sie mir einst gegeben that she once gave me in wunderbar süßer Stund’! in a wonderfully sweet hour!

6 (Op. 48, No. 6)

Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome, In the Rhine, in the holy stream, da spiegelt sich in den Well’n there is mirrored in the waves, mit seinem großen Dome with its great cathedral, das große, heilige Köln. great holy Cologne. Im Dom da steht ein Bildniß In the cathedral, there stands an image auf goldenem Leder gemalt. on golden leather painted. In meines Lebens Wildniß Into my life’s wilderness hat’s freundlich hineingestrahlt. it has shined in amicably. Es schweben Blumen und Eng’lein There hover flowers and little angels um unsre liebe Frau; around our beloved Lady, die Augen, die Lippen, die Wänglein, the eyes, the lips, the little cheeks, die gleichen der Liebsten genau. they match my beloved’s exactly.

Please turn page quietly, and only after the music has ended. earlymusic.bc.ca Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs Vancouver Bach Festival 2017  5 7 (Op. 48, No. 7)

Ich grolle nicht, und wenn das Herz auch bricht, I bear no grudge, even as my heart is breaking, ewig verlor’nes Lieb! Ich grolle nicht. eternally lost love! I bear no grudge. Wie du auch strahlst in Diamantenpracht, Even though you shine in diamond splendor, es fällt kein Strahl in deines Herzens Nacht, there falls no light into your heart’s night, das weiß ich längst. that I’ve known for a long time. Ich grolle nicht, und wenn das Herz auch bricht. I bear no grudge, even as my heart is breaking. Ich sah dich ja im Traume, I saw you, truly, in my dreams, und sah die Nacht in deines Herzens Raume, and saw the night in your heart’s cavity, und sah die Schlang’, die dir am Herzen frißt, and saw the serpent that feeds on your heart, ich sah, mein Lieb, wie sehr du elend bist. I saw, my love, how very miserable you are. Ich grolle nicht. I bear no grudge.

8 (Op. 48, No. 8)

Und wüßten’s die Blumen, die kleinen, And if they knew it, the blooms, the little ones, wie tief verwundet mein Herz, how deeply wounded my heart is, sie würden mit mir weinen they would weep with me zu heilen meinen Schmerz. to heal my pain. Und wüßten’s die Nachtigallen, And if they knew it, the nightingales, wie ich so traurig und krank, how I am so sad and sick, sie ließen fröhlich erschallen they would merrily unleash erquickenden Gesang. refreshing song. Und wüßten sie mein Wehe, And if they knew my pain, die goldenen Sternelein, the golden little stars, sie kämen aus ihrer Höhe, they would descend from their heights und sprächen Trost mir ein. and would comfort me. Die alle können’s nicht wissen, All of them cannot know it, nur Eine kennt meinen Schmerz; only one knows my pain, sie hat ja selbst zerrissen, she herself has indeed torn, zerrissen mir das Herz. torn up my heart.

9 (Op. 48, No. 9)

Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen, There is a fluting and fiddling, Trompeten schmettern darein. and trumpets blasting in. Da tanzt wohl den Hochzeitreigen Surely, there dancing the wedding dance die Herzallerliebste mein. is my dearest beloved. Das ist ein Klingen und Dröhnen, There is a ringing and roaring ein Pauken und ein Schalmei’n; of drums and shawms, dazwischen schluchzen und stöhnen amidst it sobbing and moaning die lieblichen Engelein. are dear little angels.

6  Vancouver Bach Festival 2017 Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs [email protected] 10 (Op. 48, No. 10)

Hör’ ich das Liedchen klingen, I hear the little song sounding das einst die Liebste sang, that my beloved once sang, so will mir die Brust zerspringen and my heart wants to shatter von wildem Schmerzendrang. from savage pain’s pressure. Es treibt mich ein dunkles Sehnen I am driven by a dark longing hinauf zur Waldeshöh’, up to the wooded heights, dort lös’t sich auf in Tränen there is dissolved in tears mein übergroßes Weh’. my supremely great pain.

11 (Op. 48, No. 11)

Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen, A young man loves a girl, die hat einen Andern erwählt; who has chosen another man, der Andre liebt’ eine Andre, the other loves yet another und hat sich mit dieser vermählt. and has gotten married to her. Das Mädchen nimmt aus Ärger The girl takes out of resentment den ersten besten Mann the first, best man der ihr in den Weg gelaufen; who crosses her path; der Jüngling ist übel dran. the young man is badly off. Es ist eine alte Geschichte It is an old story doch bleibt sie immer neu; but remains eternally new, und wem sie just passieret, and for him to whom it has just happened dem bricht das Herz entzwei. it breaks his heart in two.

12 (Op. 48, No. 12)

Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen On a shining summer morning geh’ ich im Garten herum. I go about in the garden. Es flüstern und sprechen die Blumen, The flowers are whispering and speaking, ich aber wandle stumm. I however wander silently. Es flüstern und sprechen die Blumen, The flowers are whispering and speaking, und schau’n mitleidig mich an: and look sympathetically at me: Sei uns’rer Schwester nicht böse, “Do not be angry with our sister, du trauriger, blasser Mann. you sad, pale man.”

Please turn page quietly, and only after the music has ended. earlymusic.bc.ca Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs Vancouver Bach Festival 2017  7 13 (Op. 48, No. 13)

Ich hab’ im Traum geweinet, I have in my dreams wept, mir träumte du lägest im Grab. I dreamed you lay in your grave. Ich wachte auf, und die Träne I woke up and the tears floß noch von der Wange herab. still flowed down from my cheeks. Ich hab’ im Traum geweinet, I have in my dreams wept, mir träumt’ du verließest mich. I dreamed you forsook me. Ich wachte auf, und ich weinte I woke up and I wept noch lange bitterlich. for a long time and bitterly. Ich hab’ im Traum geweinet, I have in my dreams wept, mir träumte du wär’st mir noch gut. I dreamed you still were good to me. Ich wachte auf, und noch immer I woke up, and still now strömt meine Tränenflut. streams my flood of tears.

14 (Op. 48, No. 14)

Allnächtlich im Traume seh’ ich dich, Every night in my dreams I see you, und sehe dich freundlich grüßen, and see your friendly greeting, und lautaufweinend stürz’ ich mich and loudly crying out, I throw myself zu deinen süßen Füßen. at your sweet feet. Du siehest mich an wehmütiglich, You look at me wistfully und schüttelst das blonde Köpfchen; and shake your blond little head; aus deinen Augen schleichen sich from your eyes steal forth die Perlentränentröpfchen. little pearly teardrops. Du sagst mir heimlich ein leises Wort, You say to me secretly a soft word, und gibst mir den Strauß von Zypressen. and give me a garland of cypress. Ich wache auf, und der Strauß ist fort, I wake up, and the garland is gone, und’s Wort hab’ ich vergessen. and the word I have forgotten.

friday august 4 at 1:00 pm | christ church cathedral conversions: mendelssohn, moscheles and bach Byron Schenkman Michael Unterman 19th-century pianoforte cello

Pianist Byron Schenkman and cellist Michael Unterman present a recital based on composers from the Mendelssohn circle in Leipzig, each of whom was born Jewish but converted to Christianity to conform to societal norms. The works by Ignaz Moscheles and Felix Mendelssohn in particular are notable for the ways in which they riff off of Lutheran roots in surprising ways.

This performance will also feature the Pianoforte by Broadwood (London, 1870)

details and ticket information: earlymusic.bc.ca

8  Vancouver Bach Festival 2017 Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs [email protected] 15 (Op. 48, No. 15)

Aus alten Märchen winkt es From old fairy-tales it beckons hervor mit weißer Hand, to me with a white hand, da singt es und da klingt es there it sings and there it resounds von einem Zauberland’; of a magic land, wo bunte Blumen blühen where colorful flowers bloom im gold’nen Abendlicht, in the golden twilight, und lieblich duftend glühen and sweetly, fragrantly glow mit bräutlichem Gesicht; with a bride-like face. Und grüne Bäume singen And green trees sing uralte Melodei’n, primeval melodies, die Lüfte heimlich klingen, the breezes secretly sound und Vögel schmettern drein; and birds warble in them. Und Nebelbilder steigen And misty images rise wohl aus der Erd’ hervor, indeed forth from the earth, und tanzen luft’gen Reigen and dance airy reels im wunderlichen Chor; in fantastic chorus. Und blaue Funken brennen And blue sparks burn an jedem Blatt und Reis, on every leaf and twig, und rote Lichter rennen and red lights run im irren, wirren Kreis; in crazy, hazy rings. Und laute Quellen brechen And loud springs burst aus wildem Marmorstein, out of wild marble stone, und seltsam in den Bächen and oddly in the brooks strahlt fort der Widerschein. shine forth the reflections. Ach! könnt’ ich dorthin kommen, Ah! If I could enter there und dort mein Herz erfreu’n, and there gladden my heart, und aller Qual entnommen, and have all anguish taken away, und frei und selig sein! and be free and blessed! Ach! jenes Land der Wonne, Oh, that land of bliss, das seh’ ich oft im Traum, I see it often in dreams, doch kommt die Morgensonne, but come the morning sun, zerfließt’s wie eitel Schaum. and it melts away like mere froth.

Please turn page quietly, and only after the music has ended. earlymusic.bc.ca Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs Vancouver Bach Festival 2017  9 16 (Op. 48, No. 16)

Die alten, bösen Lieder, The old, angry songs, die Träume bös’ und arg, the dreams angry and nasty, die laßt uns jetzt begraben, let us now bury them, holt einen großen Sarg. fetch a great coffin. Hinein leg’ ich gar manches, In it I will lay very many things, doch sag’ ich noch nicht was. though I shall not yet say what. Der Sarg muß sein noch größer The coffin must be even larger wie’s Heidelberger Faß. than the Heidelberg Tun. Und holt eine Totenbahre, And fetch a death-bier, von Bretter fest und dick; of boards firm and thick, auch muß sie sein noch länger they also must be even longer als wie zu Mainz die Brück’. than Mainz’s great bridge. Und holt mir auch zwölf Riesen, And fetch me also twelve giants, die müssen noch stärker sein who must be yet mightier als wie der starke Christoph than mighty St. Christopher im Dom zu Köln am Rhein. in the Cathedral of Cologne on the Rhine. Die sollen den Sarg forttragen, They shall carry the coffin away, und senken in’s Meer hinab; and sink it down into the sea, denn solchem großen Sarge for such a great coffin gebührt ein großes Grab. deserves a great grave. Wißt ihr warum der Sarg wohl How could the coffin so groß und schwer mag sein? be so large and heavy? Ich senkt’ auch meine Liebe I also sank my love Und meinen Schmerz hinein. with my pain in it.

Translations by James C.S. Liu, with assistance from Alison Hickey, Emily Spear, Kathy Gerlach, and especially invaluable input from James Wilkinson.

interval

10  Vancouver Bach Festival 2017 Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs [email protected] Johannes Brahms: Vier Ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs) Texts from the Bible

Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh (Ecclesiastes 3: 19-22)

Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh; For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts, wie dies stirbt, so stirbt er auch; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; und haben alle einerlei Odem; yea, they have all one breath; und der Mensch hat nichts mehr denn das Vieh: so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: denn es ist alles eitel. for all is vanity. Es fährt alles an einem Ort; All go unto one place; es ist alles von Staub gemacht, all are of the dust und wird wieder zu Staub. and all turn to dust again. Wer weiß, ob der Geist des Menschen Who knoweth the spirit of man aufwärts fahre, that goeth upward, und der Odem des Viehes unterwärts unter and the spirit of the beast die Erde fahre? that goeth downward to the earth? Darum sahe ich, daß nichts bessers ist, Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, denn daß der Mensch frählich sei in seiner Arbeit, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; denn das ist sein Teil. for that is his portion: Denn wer will ihn dahin bringen, for who shall bring him to see daß er sehe, was nach ihm geschehen wird? what shall be after him?

Ich wandte mich und sahe an (Ecclesiastes 4: 1-3)

Ich wandte mich und sahe an So I returned, and considered Alle, die Unrecht leiden unter der Sonne; all the oppressions that are done under the sun: Und siehe, da waren Tränen derer, and behold the tears of such Die Unrecht litten und hatten keinen Tröster; as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; Und die ihnen Unrecht täten, waren zu mächtig, and on the side of their oppressors there was power; Daß sie keinen Träster haben konnten. but they had no comforter. Da lobte ich die Toten, Wherefore I praised the dead Die schon gestorben waren which are already dead Mehr als die Lebendigen, more than the living Die noch das Leben hatten; which are yet alive. Und der noch nicht ist, ist besser, als alle beide, Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, Und des Bösen nicht inne wird, who hath not seen the evil work Das unter der Sonne geschieht. that is done under the sun.

Please turn page quietly, and only after the music has ended. earlymusic.bc.ca Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs Vancouver Bach Festival 2017  11 O Tod, wie bitter bist du (Ecclesiastes 4: 1-3)

O Tod, wie bitter bist du, O, death, how bitter you are, Wenn an dich gedenket ein Mensch, in the thoughts of a a man Der gute Tage und genug hat who has good days, enough Und ohne Sorge lebet; and a sorrow-free life Und dem es wohl geht in allen Dingen and who is fortunate in all things, Und noch wohl essen mag! and still pleased to eat well! O Tod, O, death, wie bitter bist du. how bitter you are, O Tod, wie wohl tust du dem Dürftigen, O death, how well you serve him who is in need Der da schwach und alt ist, Who is feeble and old, Der in allen Sorgen steckt, and is beset by all sorrows, Und nichts Bessers zu hoffen, and has nothing better to hope for Noch zu erwarten hat! or to expect; O Tod, O death, wie wohl tust du! how well you serve.

Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelzungen redete (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3, 12-13)

Wenn ich mit Menschen und mit Engelszungen redete, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, Und hätte der Liebe nicht, and have not charity, So wär’ ich ein tönend Erz, I am become as sounding brass, Oder eine klingende Schelle. or a tinkling cymbal. Und wenn ich weissagen könnte, And though I have the gift of prophecy, Und wüßte alle Geheimnisse and understand all mysteries, Und alle Erkenntnis, and all knowledge; Und hätte allen Glauben, also and though I have all fatih, Daß ich Berge versetzte, so that I could remove mountains, Und hätte der Liebe nicht, and have not charity, So wäre ich nichts. I am nothing. Und wenn ich alle meine Habe den Armen gäbe, And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, Und ließe meinen Leib brennen, and though I give my body to be burned, Und hätte der Liebe nicht, and have not charity, So wäre mir’s nichts nütze. it profiteth me nothing. Wir sehen jetzt durch einen Spiegel For now we see through a glass, In einem dunkeln Worte; darkly; Dann aber von Angesicht zu Angesichte. but then face to face; Jetzt erkenne ich’s stückweise, now I know in part; Dann aber werd ich’s erkennen, but then I shall know Gleich wie ich erkennet bin. even as also I am known. Nun aber bleibet Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe, And now abideth faith, hope, agape (love) Diese drei; these three; Aber die Liebe ist die größeste unter ihnen. but the greatest of these is agape.

12  Vancouver Bach Festival 2017 Text Insert - Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Brahms’ Four Serious Songs [email protected]