Classical Music | Tenor

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

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

With “Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome,” the focus turns to the beautiful Rhine and the city of Cologne. Mirrored in the waves of the river (“da spiegelt sich in den Well’n”) is the great Cologne Cathedral. After the lush Romanticism of the previous songs, the Baroque-like austerity of “Im Rhein” is a sudden change, yet matches the imagery of Heine’s text perfectly. The ponderous bass, consisting entirely a half and whole notes, which save for a brief interruption persists through the song’s entirety, instantly conjures up the sound of organ pedals in the great cathedral. Atop this stern bass, descending arpeggios evoke the Rhine itself. The vocal melody, at least at first, is equally firm, mirroring the progression of the bass with stately rhythms. The focus narrows in the second stanza to a painting of the Virgin Mary kept in the cathedral. Here, the music softens, not only in dynamics but with the addition of fuller harmonies. The poet then compares the facial features (“die Augen, die Lippen, die Wänglein”) to those of his beloved, noting that they match exactly. The tenderness of the vocal melody during this last stanza is thwarted by it closure on the leading tone, leaving the piano to bring about its resolution as the austere music of the opening returns to form the song’s lengthy coda.     Joseph DuBose

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

courtesy of YouTube