Faculty recital: Helen Allen, soprano 1/8/24

HELEN ALLEN, soprano

PHILIP EVERINGHAM, piano

Program

Josephine Lang (1815–1880)

1. Den Abschied schnell genommen ("Say Goodbye Swiftly"), Op. 15, No. 1 
2. Herbst-gefühl ("Autumn Feeling") 
3. Am Flusse ("By the River"), Op. 14, No. 2 

Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949)

1. Ich und Du ("I and You"), Op. 11, No. 1
2. Mir glänzen die Augen ("My Eyes Sparkle"), Op. 33, No. 1
3. Venus Mater ("Mother Venus"), Op. 11, No. 4

—INTERMISSION—

Joseph Marx (1882–1964)

1. Waldseligkeit ("Bliss in the Forest")
2. Selige Nacht ("Blissful Night")
3. Und gestern hat er mir Rosen gebracht ("And Yesterday He Brought Me Roses")
4. Hat dich die Liebe berührt ("If Love Has Touched You")

Felix Mendelssohn (-Bartholdy) (1809–1847)

1. Sonntagslied ("Sunday Song"), Op. 34, No. 5
2. Auf Flügeln des Gesanges ("On Wings of Song"), Op. 34, No. 2
3. Venetianisches Gondellied ("Venetian Gondola Song"), Op. 57, No. 5
4. Wanderlied ("Hiking Song"), Op. 57, No. 6

Notes and Translations

JOSEPHINE LANG (1815–1880) was a gifted German pianist, singer and composer whose early musical studies were with her mother, an operatic soprano, and were followed several years later by counterpoint lessons from Felix Mendelssohn. She was tutored briefly by Robert Schumann who noted in a published review her outstanding talent as both singer and composer.  Lang began composing by the age of 13 and teaching singing and piano by the 1830s. Similarly to Schumann, Lang experienced her “year of song” in 1840 while being courted by poet Christian Reinhold Köstlin who would become her husband and father to their six children. After an almost fourteen-year hiatus from composing during marriage, with a reduced output of songs, Lang would effectively return to her craft after Köstlin’s death in 1856. Though largely unknown, of Lang’s 46 published opus numbers, approximately 150 of these compositions are lieder, the vast majority of her output. Her melodies have been called “daring,” and even intuitive for the singer, while the accompaniments are mainly supportive.

Represented here are three songs published during her marriage — “Den Abschied schnell genommen” and “Am Flusse” in 1848 — and after her death, “Herbst-gefühl” in 1882. 

Den Abschied schnell genommen ("Say Goodbye Swiftly"), Op. 15, No. 1

Just say goodbye swiftly,
Do not hesitate, do not complain,
Faster than the tears come, 
Pull yourself away undaunted!

Free yourself from each other’s arms
No matter how it hurts your heart.
What in life has been found 
Is in life also separated.

If you carry anguish, if you must carry it,
Then carry it with a firm mind!
Your sighs, your laments will whirl into the air;
Your sighs, your laments will waft into the air!

If the pain should not conquer you
Then you must conquer the pain,
And withered flowers shall wrap themselves,
Refreshed, around your wounded heart!

— Poet: Johann Ludwig Ferdinand von Deinhardstein (1794–1859)

Herbst-gefühl ("Autumn Feeling")

Tired shine of the sun!
Pale blue sky!
The meadow dreams silently
Of the bliss that has faded and gone.

On the last rose,
Full of life,
The final, pale petal, loose,
Falls away.

Golden discoloration creeps 
Through the grove!
Even passing away and dying 
Now seem sweet to me.

— Poet: Karl Friedrich von Gerok (1815–1890)

Am Flusse ("By the River"), Op. 14, No. 2

Rushing waves, playing in the light,
When they crash they pay no attention!
There are thousands of stars 
Floating in the river; 
Immediately again the waves steal one for a kiss,
Many a thousand for a kiss!
Immediately again they reach out for a kiss!

In pain and in jest the songs play in my heart
With unchanging joy.
If one song has faded away,
I don’t think about it
Because another comes rushing back.
Another and another one
Comes rushing back!

A spark quickly catches from the light
In which my life flows away so drunkenly.
In the light of love, 
Full of heavenly peace,
O blessed works rush on!

— Poet: Christian Reinhold Köstlin (1813–1856)

HANS PFITZNER’s (1869–1949) 115 songs, although not as well-known as his contemporaries’ Richard Strauss, Max Reger, Gustav Mahler or Hugo Wolf, occupy an interesting and unfortunately often neglected part of the singer’s repertoire. This evening’s three songs are examples of this varied and beautiful output. While his Second Vienna School colleagues Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern were experimenting with twelve tone music, Pfitzner turned his musical ear back in time. Along with composers such as Strauss, he composed operas, concertos and chamber music that have their influence from Brahms and Schumann with all the romanticism and chromaticism of the 20th century.

Pfitzner referred to himself as the Last Romanticist. Every part of the three songs you will hear show us this is a true description of his compositions. The poets he chose to set to music are the same poets his more traditional contemporaries were setting. Of particular note is the text from his song, Venus Mater. This text is the same text with a few verb tense changes that are found in Strauss’ gorgeous Wiegenlied. While Strauss plays a gentle arpeggiated accompaniment under his Wiegenlied, Pfitzner creates a beautiful world of inner voices singing gently to one another with rich harmonic arpeggios increasing the emotional intensity of the lullaby.  

Ich und Du is an intense and heartfelt expression of love set quietly and sincerely. Of special note is the beautiful way he sets the text about the drops of water on the lily. One can almost see the trembling droplets as they cascade to the bottom of the cup of their reciprocal love. The second song, Mir glänzen die Augen, is a love song filled with the reckless and wild abandon of love at its height. Filled with trills and roulades from singer and pianist, the young lover rejoices in her rapturous and wild love affair. The sheer recklessness of their love can be heard in the midst of the song in the piano’s wild rhythms and harmonic shifts as they sound of the mare destroying her garden and the self-assured way her lover leaves his tunic on her gatepost. She begs him to leave while her eyes remain glittering with love.  

Ich und Du ("I and You"), Op. 11, No. 1

We dreamt of one another
And have awakened.
We live in order to love each other,
And sink back into the night.

You stepped out of my dream,
And I stepped out of yours.
We die, if one or the other
Is entirely lost.

On a lily trembles
Two drops, pure and round.
They join into one
And roll down to the bottom of the cup.

— Poet: Chistian Friedrich Hebbel (1813–1863)

Mir glänzen die Augen ("My Eyes Sparkle"), Op. 33, No. 1

My eyes sparkle
As bright as the sky;
Come on and come by,
You lean hussar!

Come on and come by
And back again!
Perhaps you'll find
Your happiness!

Why does your black horse
Munch my mignonettes?
Is that the thanks
For the love I gave?

Why are your spurs
Tangling my yarn?
Why does your bright tunic
Hang there on my hedge?

Clear off from there
On your crude horse,
And leave my radiant
Bright eyes alone!

— Poet: Gottfried Keller (1819–1890)
— Translation: Richard Stokes

Venus Mater ("Mother Venus"), Op. 11, No. 4

Dream, dream, you my sweet, my life,
of heaven that brings the flowers;
blossoms shimmer there, they live
from the song your mother sings.

Dream, dream, bud born of my anxiety,
of the day the flower unfolded;
of that morning bright with blossom,
where your soul opened to the world.

Dream, dream, blossom of my love,
of the silent, of the sacred night,
where the flower of his love
made this world my heaven.

— Poet: Richard Dehmel (1863–1920)

— INTERMISSION —

JOSEPH MARX (1882–1964), an esteemed composer, professor and music critic of Austrian descent, was a contemporary of the musical giants Hugo Wolf and Erich Korngold.  He wrote 158 Lieder which form the majority of his compositional output. Though he wrote in other genres including orchestral, chamber, and choral music, he is remembered mostly for his songs. Thickly textured with broad, lyric phrases, his songs often demand an operatic vocal quality and heft.  Tonally, Marx held with the likes of Wolf and Richard Strauss, resisting the bent of his more avant-garde contemporaries like Arnold Schönberg as well as many of his own students.  Marx was a champion of both tonality and tradition, and perhaps all the more so due to the Nazi regime’s infestation of Austria pre-WWII.  

These representative selections of Marx lieder were composed between 1908-1912 and feature the creations of the poets of his day.

Waldseligkeit ("Bliss in the Forest")

The forest begins to rustle,
Night is approaching the trees,
As if they were listening blissfully,
Touch each other gently.

And under their branches,
I am all alone,
I am all my own:
All yours!

— Poet: Richard Dehmel (1863–1920)

Selige Nacht ("Blissful Night")

In the arms of love we fell asleep blissfully,
At the open window, the summer wind listened
And wafted our peaceful breaths
into the bright moonlit night.

And from the garden cautiously found its way
A scent of roses to our bed of love
And gave us wonderful dreams,
Dreams of intoxication -- so full of desire!

—  Poet: Otto Erich Hartleben (1864–1905)

Und gestern hat er mir Rosen gebracht ("And Yesterday He Brought Me Roses")

And yesterday he brought me roses.
They gave off their fragrance the whole night,
Wooing him who thinks of me,
So I offered him the dream of a night,
And today I go forth smiling silently,
Carrying his roses with me
And I wait and listen,
And when the door opens
My heart trembles — 
Oh would he come to me!
And I kiss the roses that he brought me
And go pursue the dream of that night!

— Poet: Thekla Lingen (1866–1931)

Hat dich die Liebe berührt ("If Love Has Touched You")

If love has touched you,
Silently among the noisy crowds
You will walk on golden cloud,
Surely guided by God.

Just as if lost,
You let your glances wander,
Granting others to enjoy their pleasures
While you have only one desire.

Shy, enraptured in yourself
You would like to deny, in vain,
That now the crown of life
Radiantly adorns your forehead.

— Poet: Paul Heyse (1830-1914)

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (-BARTHOLDY) (1809–1847) is considered one of the most versatile German musicians of his time, excelling as a conductor, composer, pianist and organist. His music played an important role in the 1830s–40s. His compositional techniques bear the influence of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Weber.  Though a respected authority in his time, Mendelssohn suffered a negative reputation posthumously for multiple reasons. His music was criticized for being too simplistic and sentimental, while his character was defamed during the rise of the Nazi party in 20th century Germany (owing to his Jewish heritage). Mendelssohn composed in many of the traditional genres, including opera, oratorio, art song, symphonies, chamber music, string quartets, works for piano, etc. Interestingly, his vocal duets and solo voice compositions are considered somewhat insignificant in comparison to his other works. The four songs programmed here are from Opuses 34 and 57, the former composed between 1832-1837 and the latter 1841-1842.

Sonntagslied ("Sunday Song"), Op. 34, No. 5

All around in the forest and fields
There are many distant bells.
The winds only blow secretly
And the birds sing softly,
And the sound of the organ
And the choir singing moves
Along the valley in an uplifting manner.

How am I so alone in the house
In quiet rooms?
Everyone went out for the festival,
But I can dream secretly here.
There they rejoice in joy and fun,
And my heart aches softly.

Listen! Listen —
What is the sound of shawms,
What is moving so happily into the distance?
To the church flows with bright singing
A lonely bridal procession.
And I, I am so alone!
Oh, if only someone were with me!

— Poet: Karl Klingemann (1798–1862)

Auf Flügeln des Gesanges (On Wings of Song), Op. 34, No. 2

On wings of song, darling, I carry you away,
Away to the open fields of the Ganges,
Where I know the most beautiful place.
There lies a red-flowering garden in the quiet moonlight;
The lotus flowers await their darling little sister.

The violets giggle and kiss and look up at the stars,
The roses secretly tell each other fragrant fairy tales
In each other's ears.
The pious, clever gazelles hop over and listen;
And in the distance the holy stream's waves roar.

There we shall sink down under the palm tree
And drink love and peace and dream a blissful dream.

— Poet: Heinrich Heine (1797–1856)

Venetianisches Gondellied (Venetian Gondola Song), Op. 57, No. 5

When through the town square
The evening air blows,
Then you’ll know, Ninetta,
Who stands here waiting.
You know who, despite the veil
And mask, knows you.
You know how with longing
My heart burns.

A sailor's dress I will wear at that moment,
And trembling I’ll say to you:
“The boat is ready!
Oh, come now, while the clouds
Still surround the moon.
Oh come, now!
Let us slip away through the lagoons, beloved!”

When the evening air blows
Through the town square,
Then you’ll know, Ninetta,
Who stands here waiting.

— Poet: Thomas Moore (1779–1852)

Wanderlied (Hiking Song), Op. 57, No. 6

Warm air comes flowing blue,
Spring, spring it must be!
The sound of horns shot towards the forest,
Brave eyes shine brightly;
And the confusion becomes more and more colorful,
Becomes a magically wild river,
Down into the beautiful world
Does this stream’s greeting lure you.

And I don't like to keep myself!
The wind drives me far from you;
I want to ride on the river,
Blissfully blind from the splendor!
A thousand voices enticingly strike;
High morning blows flaming;
Go forth! I don't want to ask
Where the journey ends.

— Poet: Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857)