Hugo Wolf may be praised today as one of the finest composers of German Lied in the latter decades of the 19th century, but during his career he struggled in vain to shed his reputation as a songwriter. He wished to follow the example of his great idol, Richard Wagner, and become a successful composer of opera. However, his career was tragically cut short before he could realize this dream. He worked frantically on an opera entitled Manuel Venegas in 1897. However, he completed only fifty pages before the ravaging effects of syphilis stripped away the last of his sanity. Yet, despite his failure at opera, Wolf did succeed at a different kind of large-scale composition, the Liederbuch, or songbook, of which he produced several during his career. The year 1888 marked the beginning of an incredibly productive period for the composer, which saw the completed of three of these collections. First came the Mörike-Lieder. After only a short break, during which time Wolf took up residence with the Ecksteins, he composed the nineteen Eichendorff-Lieder. Before the year ended, he would also begin work on his Goethe-Lieder.
The seventh song of the Eichendorff-Lieder, “Die Zigeunerin” (“The Gypsy Woman”) is a somewhat comic tale of a gypsy and her lover, whose boastfulness leads to his rejection by her. In A minor and marked to be played “Mässig” (“moderately”), Wolf opens his setting of Eichendorff’s lyric with a halting chordal accompaniment colored with poignant appoggiaturas. The vocal melody is unhurried, and keenly realizes the nomadic nature of the gypsy. At the penultimate line of the first stanza, Wolf affects a dramatic modulation into the distant key of B-flat minor. After a brief pause, the second stanza begins with a slightly quicker tempo and a lively, comical accompaniment. The haughty vocal melody effectively portrays the braggadocio, while his concluding conceited laughter provides an effective means for Wolf to make a seamless transition into the final stanza. Set to similar music as the opening, the last stanza completes the song’s ternary form, while the gypsy’s closing strains provide a mesmerizing ending.Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Mezzo-Soprano
Hugo Wolf
Die Zigeunerin Play
Recorded on 08/11/2011, uploaded on 09/26/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Hugo Wolf may be praised today as one of the finest composers of German Lied in the latter decades of the 19th century, but during his career he struggled in vain to shed his reputation as a songwriter. He wished to follow the example of his great idol, Richard Wagner, and become a successful composer of opera. However, his career was tragically cut short before he could realize this dream. He worked frantically on an opera entitled Manuel Venegas in 1897. However, he completed only fifty pages before the ravaging effects of syphilis stripped away the last of his sanity. Yet, despite his failure at opera, Wolf did succeed at a different kind of large-scale composition, the Liederbuch, or songbook, of which he produced several during his career. The year 1888 marked the beginning of an incredibly productive period for the composer, which saw the completed of three of these collections. First came the Mörike-Lieder. After only a short break, during which time Wolf took up residence with the Ecksteins, he composed the nineteen Eichendorff-Lieder. Before the year ended, he would also begin work on his Goethe-Lieder.
The seventh song of the Eichendorff-Lieder, “Die Zigeunerin” (“The Gypsy Woman”) is a somewhat comic tale of a gypsy and her lover, whose boastfulness leads to his rejection by her. In A minor and marked to be played “Mässig” (“moderately”), Wolf opens his setting of Eichendorff’s lyric with a halting chordal accompaniment colored with poignant appoggiaturas. The vocal melody is unhurried, and keenly realizes the nomadic nature of the gypsy. At the penultimate line of the first stanza, Wolf affects a dramatic modulation into the distant key of B-flat minor. After a brief pause, the second stanza begins with a slightly quicker tempo and a lively, comical accompaniment. The haughty vocal melody effectively portrays the braggadocio, while his concluding conceited laughter provides an effective means for Wolf to make a seamless transition into the final stanza. Set to similar music as the opening, the last stanza completes the song’s ternary form, while the gypsy’s closing strains provide a mesmerizing ending. Joseph DuBose
More music by Hugo Wolf
Elfenlied, from Gedichte von Eduard Morike
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
Wohl denk ich oft, from Drei Gedichte von Michelangelo
Alles endet, was entstehet, from Drei Gedichte von Michelangelo
Italian Serenade in G Major
Fühlt meine Seele, from Drei Gedichte von Michelangelo
Neue Liebe
Lebe wohl
Die Spröde
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte
Performances by same musician(s)
Anzoleta avanti la regata, from La regata veneziana
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
Anzoleta co passa la regatta, from La regata veneziana
Anzoleta dopo la regata, from La regata veneziana
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte
Das verlassene Mägdlein
Ich hab' in Penna einen Liebsten
Classical Music for the Internet Era™