Classical Music | Tenor

Recorded on 12/31/1969, uploaded on 06/07/2015

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

In the fifth song, “Ich will meine Seele tauchen” (“I want to plunge my soul”), Heine recalls the imagery of the lily in “Die Rose, die Lillie.” From it will sound an unsung song—the echo of a kiss once given. Taking his cue for Heine, Schumann likewise recalls the fleeting music of the third song. Even the key of B minor (the relative minor of D major), reflects with sadness the earlier song. The strophic vocal melody, wonderfully contained with the range of a diminished fifth, is enchantingly beautiful. However, it is the piano that is perhaps the most interestingly feature of the song. The outer voices, with their gentle pulse and opposing motion, mesmerizingly encase the vocal melody as rippling arpeggios fill out the inner harmony. As the vocal melody concludes, the piano enters with its own melody, shadowed by the bass. The melody is fleeting, just as the beloved’s kiss, and ultimately fades into the final repetitive chords that close the song.      Joseph DuBose

Recorded live on August 19th of 1965 at the Salzburg Festival.

courtesy of YouTube