Classical Music | Soprano

Recorded on 10/07/2009, uploaded on 01/29/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Richard Strauss composed his 8 Gedichte aus “Letzte Blätter” von Hermann Gilm in 1885. By no means his first essays in the genre of the German Lied, these eight songs were, however, the first Strauss felt confident enough to assign an opus number to, and the collection was published in 1887 by Joseph Aibl Verlag in Munich. Though Strauss’s many songs perhaps do not receive the attention and praise they deserve, the song of opus 10 mark the beginning of the composer’s lifelong devotion to the German Lied. Of its eight songs, “Zueignung,” “Allerseelen,” and “Die Nacht” standout from the remainder of the collection, and are among Strauss’s most well-known creations for the voice.

Opening the set is “Zueignung” (“Dedication”). In a majestic C major, Strauss’s setting perfectly matches the devotion and solemnity of Gilm’s text. Unhurried triplet arpeggios and a sturdy bass supports the voice’s hymn-like melody as it arches effortlessly before coming to a deceptive close in the key of the subdominant. The first two stanzas are set to near similar music. During the third, however, Strauss builds to a lush and powerful climax, letting the voice soar to a high A, and emphasizing the only repeated word in the poem, “heilig” (“blessed”). The voice quickly retreats from this peak, but the piano continues on, delaying the final appearance of the phrase that has closed each of the poem’s stanzas—Habe dank” (“Have thanks”). The voice’s final leap upwards prompts the piano to ascend upward into its highest register, bringing the song to a majestic close.      Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.