Classical Music | Tenor

Recorded on 12/31/1969, uploaded on 06/20/2015

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

In the penultimate song, “Aus alten Märchen winkt es” (“From old fairy tales beckons”), the thoughts and dreams of the poet finally turn from the painful rejection of his beloved. He now dreams of a strange, magical land drenched in golden twilight (“Wo bunte Blumen blühen / Im gold'nen Abendlicht”), filled with the songs of nature (“Und grüne Bäume singen / Uralte Melodei'n”), and spectral figures that dance to the strange chorus of music (“Und Nebelbilder steigen / Wohl aus der Erd' hervor, / Und tanzen luft'gen Reige”). Longingly, the poet yearns to enter this magical dreamland of bliss where he will finally be free of his pain and suffering. Yet, despite his most ardent wish, each morning the idyllic land fades all too quickly from his mind (“Doch kommt die Morgensonne, / Zerfließt's wie eitel Schaum”). In E major, Schumann’s setting opens in a rustic 6/8 meter with a piano introduction that foreshadows the vocal melody. The galloping rhythm of both the melody and accompaniment persists through much of the song, at times even adopting an almost Mendelssohnian sprightliness. The mood, however, turns more earnest at the penultimate stanza, which Schumann specifically marks “Mit innigster Empfindung” (“With deepest feeling”). As the poet longs for his fantastical dreamland, the tempo is slowed and the vocal melody is now accompanied by more sustained harmonies in the piano. Chromatic harmonies lead to the close of the vocal melody, as the poet’s visions slips from his reach with each morning. Following a brief pause, the piano concludes the song with a hushed restatement of the introduction.      Joseph DuBose

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

courtesy of YouTube