Classical Music | Soprano

Recorded on 08/01/2012, uploaded on 12/04/2012

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.

“Zueignung” (“Dedication”) opens the set in a majestic C major and with a hymn-like melody that perfectly matches the devotion of Gilm’s text. Second is “Nichts” (“Nothing”), set in a brilliant E major and a brisk Vivace tempo pushed along by a lilting dotted rhythm, as the voice gives utterance to Gilm’s rather playful verse. Following this sprightly song is the haunting and ethereal “Die Nacht” (“The Night”). The poet now entreats his beloved to draw near—“Seel an Seele” (“soul to soul”)—before the night carries her away, as it does all the glories of daytime. Strauss’s setting is particularly enchanting, building from softly reiterated eighth notes that open the song to a lush and affectionate climax upon the poem’s final words. Closing the first half of the collection, then, is “Die Georgine” (“The Dahlia”), a beautiful song whose enchanting vocal melody is underpinned by rich late Romantic harmonies.

Fifth in the collection is “Geduld” (“Patience”). Strauss here sets Gilm’s text in A-flat major, heavily colored by the darker hues of the minor mode, and propelled forward by an anxious piano accompaniment in a compound meter. Next is “Die Verschweigenen” (“The Discreet Ones”), a brief song in A minor, and which makes frequent use of Neapolitan harmonies to emphasize the dark tone of Gilm’s poem. The penultimate song is “Die Zeitlose” (“The Saffron”). Brief like the song before, it also has undertones of death, as the initial sunny G major tonality slips permanently into a darker G minor. Lastly, the beautiful “Allerseelen” (“All Souls’ Day”) closes the collection. An instant success, it was frequently performed by Strauss and his wife the soprano Pauline de Ahna. A reverent remembrance of youthful, springtime love, and an invitation to return that blissful moment, Strauss’s music is set in the key of E-flat major with a warm, quasi-religious tune in the piano and a nostalgic melody in the voice. Towards the end, both piano and voice unite as the song reaches its climax, after which the piano provides a brief and tender coda.       Joseph DuBose

Zueignung
Nichts
Die Nacht
(Die Georgine, not performed)
Geduld
Die Verschwiegenen
Die Zeitlose
Allerseelen

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.