by Ken
As I mentioned in last night's preview, I was then about to head out for a chamber-scale performance of Mahler's Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony, the Songs of a Wayfarer, and Das Lied von der Erde. It was actually pretty nice -- at least an experience of the music was had, something that isn't at all guaranteed these days.
The chamber version of Das Lied, first proposed and begun by Arnold Schoenberg, then finally realized in 1983 by Rainer Riehn, has become strangely popular. It's really no more than a stopgap, a way to experience this masterpiece on the cheap, but it does have charms of its own, and when I realized that I actually have six recordings of it, I decided we'd hear one song from each of the dozen soloists involved.
Then I made the large decision to go ahead with the full Das Lied that was promised last month. And we've covered the piece so much that I further decided not to say anything more. Oh, eventually I'll probably throw in some links to earlier posts (you'll find some in the February 2 post noted above). But for now I thought I'd let the songs stand on their own.
MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth):
i. "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde"
("The Drinking Song of the Sorrow of the Earth")
Now beckons the wine in the golden goblet,Mahler's full-orchestra version
but drink not yet, first I'll sing you a song!
The song of sorrow
shall in gusts of laughter through your souls resound.
When sorrow draws near,
wasted lie the gardens of the soul.
Withered and dying are joy and song.
Dark is life, is death.
Master of this house!
Your cellar holds its fill of golden wine!
Here, this lute I name my own!
To strike the lute and to drain the glasses,
these are the things that go together.
A full goblet of wine at the right time
is worth more than all the kingdoms of this earth!
Dark is life, is death.
The firmament is blue eternally, and the earth
will long stand fast and blossom in spring.
But thou, O man, how long then livest thou?
Not a hundred years canst thou delight
in all the rotten trash of this earth!
Look there, down there! In the moonlight, on the graves
squats a mad spectral figure!
It is an ape! Hear how his howling
screams its way through the sweet fragrance of life!
Now take the wine! Now it is time, companions!
Drain your golden goblets to the dregs!
Dark is life, is death!
-- English translations by Deryck Cooke
Jon Vickers, tenor; London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips, recorded March 1981
Francisco Araiza, tenor; Vienna Philharmonic, Carlo Maria Giulini, cond. Orfeo, recorded live at the Salzburg Festival, Aug. 2, 1987
Schoenberg-Riehn chamber version
Hans Peter Blochwitz (t); Ensemble Musique Oblique, Philippe Herreweghe, cond. Harmonia Mundi, recorded in Metz (Lorraine, France), April 1993
Jorma Silvasti, tenor; Sinfonia Lahti Chamber Ensemble, Osmo Vänskä, cond. BIS, recorded in Järvenpää (Finland), May 22-24, 1994
ii. "Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Lonely One in Autumn")
Autumn mists drift blue over the lake;Mahler's full-orchestra version
covered with rime stands every blade of grass;
it is as though an artist had strewn dust of jade
over the delicate blossoms.
The sweet fragrance of the flowers has faded;
a cold wind bows down their stems.
Soon will the withered golden petals
of the lotus flowers be floating on the water.
My heart is weary. My little lamp
has burnt out with a splutter: it puts me in mind to sleep.
I come to you, beloved resting place!
Yes, give me peace; I have need of consolation.
I weep much in my loneliness;
the autumn in my heart persists too long.
Sun of love, will you never shine again
to tenderly dry up my bitter tears?
Mildred Miller, mezzo-soprano; New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded April 1960
Alfreda Hodgson, contralto; BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, Jascha Horenstein, cond. Broadcast performance, Apr. 28, 1972
Schoenberg-Riehn chamber version
Birgit Remmert, mezzo-soprano; Ensemble Musique Oblique, Philippe Herreweghe, cond. Harmonia Mundi, recorded in Metz (Lorraine, France), April 1993
Doris Soffel, mezzo-soprano; MDR (Middle German Radio) Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi, cond. MDR Edition, recorded in Leipzig, Apr. 6-9, 1999
iii. "Von der Jugend" ("On Youth")
In the middle of the little poolMahler's full-orchestra version
stands a pavilion of green
and of white porcelain.
Like the back of a tiger
arches the bridge of jade
over to the pavilion.
In the little house friends are sitting,
beautifully dressed, drinking, chatting;
several are writing verses.
Their silken sleeves slip
backwards, their silken caps
perch gaily on the back of their necks.
On the little pool's still
surface everything appears
fantastically in a mirror image.
Everything is standing on its head
in the pavilion of green
and of white porcelain;
Like a half-moon stands the bridge,
upside-down its arch. Friends,
beautifully dressed, are drinking, chatting.
Fritz Wunderlich, tenor; Philharmonia/New Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, cond. EMI, recorded 1965-66
Peter Seiffert, tenor; City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle, cond. EMI, recorded December 1995
Schoenberg-Riehn chamber version
Wolfgang Müller-Lorenz, tenor; MDR (Middle German Radio) Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi, cond. MDR Edition, recorded in Leipzig, Apr. 6-9, 1999
John Elwes, tenor; Smithsonian Chamber Players and Santa Fe Pro Musica, Kenneth Slowik, cond. Dorian, recorded in Saint-Irénée (Québec), August 2003
iv. "Von der Schönheit" ("On Beauty")
Young maidens are plucking flowers,Mahler's full-orchestra version
plucking lotus flowers by the river's edge.
Amid the bushes and the leaqves they sit,
gathering flowers in their laps, and calling
to one another teasingly.
Golden sunlight weaves around their forms,
mrrors them in the shining water.
Sunlight mirrors their slender limbs
and their sweet eyes,
and the breeze lifts with wheedling caresses
the fabric of their sleeves,
bears the magic
of their pleasing fragrance through the air.
O look, racing along, what handsome lads,
there on the riverbank, on spirited horses,
afar off shining like the sun's rays;
now between the branches of the green willows
they canter along, lads in the flush of youth!
The horse of one of them whinnies joyfully,
and shies and tears away,
over the flowers and the grass his hooves are scudding,
trampling in sudden onslaught the fallen flowers.
Hey! How flutters in frenzy his mane!
How hotly steam his nostrils!
Golden sunlight weaves around these forms,
mirrors them in the shining water.
And the loveliest of the maidens sends
long looks of yearning after him.
Her proud bearing is only pretense.
In the flashing of her big eyes,
in the darkness of her passionate glance,
still surges painfully towards him the tumult of her heart.
-- English translation by Deryck Cooke
Birgit Finnilä, contralto; Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling, cond. Berlin Classics, recorded Feb. 6, 1983
Jard van Nes, contralto; Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eliahu Inbal, cond. Denon, recorded Mar. 24-25, 1988
Schoenberg-Riehn chamber version
Monica Groop, mezzo-soprano; Sinfonia Lahti Chamber Ensemble, Osmo Vänskä, cond. BIS, recorded in Järvenpää (Finland), May 22-24, 1994
Jean Rigby, mezzo-soprano; Premiere Ensemble, Mark Wigglesworth, cond. BMG, recorded in The Maldings, Snape, Aldeburgh (England), June 30-July 2, 1993
v. "Der Trunkene im Frühling"
("The Drunk in Spring")
If life is but a dream,Mahler's full-orchestra version
why then toil and fret?
I drink till I can drink no longer,
the whole livelong day!
And when I can drink no longer,
since gullet and soul are full,
then I stagger to my door
and sleep stupendously!
What do I hear on awakening? Hark!
A bird sings in the tree.
I ask him if the spring is here;
I feel as if it were a dream.
The bird twitters, "Yes!
Spring is here -- came overnight!"
In deepest wonder I listen.
The bird sings and laughs.
I feel my glass again,
and drain it to the dregs,
and sing, until the moon shines bright
in the black firmament.
And when I can sing no longer,
then I go back to sleep;
for what does spring matter to me?
Let me be drunk!
Reiner Goldberg, tenor; Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Kegel, cond. Weitblick, live performance, Apr. 5, 1977
Ernst Häfliger, tenor; New York Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded April 1960
Schoenberg-Riehn chamber version
James Wagner, tenor; Ensemble Contrechamps, Armin Jordan, cond. Cascavelle, recorded at Radio Berne (Switzerland), Feb. 16, 1994
Robert Tear, tenor; Premiere Ensemble, Mark Wigglesworth, cond. BMG, recorded in The Maldings, Snape, Aldeburgh (England), June 30-July 2, 1993
vi. "Der Abschied" ("The Farewell")
The sun is going down behind the mountains.Mahler's full-orchestra version
In every valley evening is descending,
bringing its shadows, which are full of coolness.
O look! where like a silver bark afloat,
the moon through the blue lake of heaven soars upwards.
I sense the shivering of a delicate breeze
behind the dark fir trees.
The flowers grow pale in the twilight.
The earth is breathing, full of rest and sleep;
all desire now turns to dreaming.
Weary mortals wend homewards,
so that, in sleep, forgotten joy
and youth they may learn anew.
The birds huddle silent on the branches.
The world is falling asleep!
It blows cool in the shadow of my fir trees.
I stand here and wait for my friend.
I wait for him, to take the last farewell.
I long, O my friend, to be by your side,
to enjoy the beauty of this evening.
Where are you lingering? You leave me long alone!
I wander to and fro with my lute
on pathways that billow with soft grass.
O beauty! O eternal life- and love-intoxicated world!
Orchestral interlude
He alighted from his horse and handed him the drink
of farewell.
He asked him whither he was going,
and also why, why it had to be.
He spoke; his voice was veiled:
"You, my friend --
In this world fortune was not kind to me!
Whither I go? I go, I wander in the mountains,
I seek rest for my lonely heart!
I journey to the homeland, to my resting place;
I shall never again go seeking the far distance.
My heart is still and awaits its hour!
The dear earth everywhere
blossoms in spring and grows green again!
Everywhere and eternally the distance shines bright and blue!
Eternally . . . eternally . . .
Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano; Philharmonia/New Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, cond. EMI, recorded 1965-66
Jessye Norman, soprano; London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips, recorded March 1981
Maureen Forrester, contralto; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, cond. RCA-BMG, recorded Nov. 7 and 9, 1959
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, cond. EMI, recorded October 1959
Schoenberg-Riehn chamber version
Hedwig Fassbender, mezzo-soprano; Ensemble Contrechamps, Armin Jordan, cond. Cascavelle, recorded at Radio Berne (Switzerland), Feb. 16, 1994
Russell Braun, baritone; Smithsonian Chamber Players and Santa Fe Pro Musica, Kenneth Slowik, cond. Dorian, recorded in Saint-Irénée (Québec), August 2003
AND HERE'S A COMPLETE PERFORMANCE --
THE FIRST DAS LIED RECORDING
MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)
i. "Das Trinklied von Jammer der Erde" ("The Drinking Song of the Sorrow of the Earth")
ii. "Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Lonely One in Autumn")
iii "Von der Jugend" ("On Youth")
iv. "Von der Schönheit" ("On Beauty")
v. "Der Trunkene in Frühling" ("The Drunk in Spring")
vi. "Der Abschied" ("The Farewell")
Charles Kullman, tenor (in i, iii, v); Kerstin Thorborg, mezzo-soprano (in ii, iv, vi); Vienna Philharmonic, Bruno Walter, cond. EMI, recorded live, May 24, 1936 (digital transfer by F. Reeder)
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