Mussorgsky - The Seminarist

Modest Mussorgsky, one of the great natural musicians of the 19th century,  died of alcohol-induced epilepsy in 1881 at the age of 42. He began his early adult life as an officer in the Russian military, but after serving only a year or two resigned his commission and began to devote himself to music. Mussorgsky had been a child prodigy on the piano, but his technical training in musical theory, harmony and counterpoint was sparse.

Mussorgsky planned and began many more compositions than he ever finished. He either planned or began eleven operas, but he completed only one, the well-known Boris Godunov, that for many years was only heard in Rimsky-Korsakov's version done after Mussorgsky's death.  He wrote many pieces for piano solo and his best-known work Pictures At An Exhibition is more well known in the orchestration done by Ravel than the original piano version.

One area of composition in which he excelled was songs for voice and piano, of which he wrote over 70 examples. He was the first great song composer that integrated the inflection and stress of the Russian language with music.  He wrote his first songs while still a teenager, but it wasn't until 1866 that he became adept as a composer of unique songs in and for the Russian language.

He wrote The Seminarist in 1867 and it is set to Mussorgsky's own words. It is a comic song that deals with a young seminary student's ardor for a priest's daughter. The song begins with monotonous chanting of Latin nouns, an exercise seminary students were put through to teach them Latin. This chanting of Latin nouns occurs throughout the song, and interspersed with the chants are the amorous dreamings of the seminary student as well as the thumping he receives from the girl's father after he catches the seminary student flirting with her during church. The Russian Orthodox Church censor banned the song from being circulated or printed in Russia as the song was considered to be disrespectful of the church. Mussorgsky wrote two versions of the song, and the church banned both versions, to Mussorgsky's delight:

The Seminarist
Panis, piscis, crinis, finis, ignis, lapis, pulvis, cinis…
Woe is me! Woe is me!
Orbis amnis et canalis, orbis amnis et canalis...
The priest gave me a thumping,
And blessed me with a beating,
And made me lose my memory with the blow of his holy hand.
Fascis, axis, funis, ensis, fustis, vectis, vermis, mensis…
The priest Semyon has a beautiful daughter,
Her cheeks are rosy, Her eyes are sensual,
Her breast like that of a swan,
That swells under her shirt.
Fastis, axis, funis, ensis, fustis, vestis, vermis, mensis…
Ah, Styosha, my Stoyosha,
How I would kiss you,
And embrace you!
Postis, follis, cucumis, atque, pollis, atque pollis, cucumis, cucumis… 
The other day during the service for holy and
famous Mitrodora
I read a part of the Scriptures.
But peeped at Styosha all the time
And glanced at the left side of
the choir stall and gave her a wink.
Then her devil of a Father saw it
and wrote it in his little book,
And my master blessed me three times
on the ears,
And with all his power beat the Latin lessons into my head with a stick.
Orbis, amnis, et canalis, et canalis, sanguis, unguis, et canalis, et canalis… 
Thus it was that I happened to experience temptation
from the devil In God’s own holy temple.
Amnis et canalis, sanguis, unguis, et canalis, et canalis, et canalis…..
.

Bruckner - Symphony In F Minor

Symphony in F Minor was Bruckner's first attempt in the form. Bruckner wrote it as part of an assignment from his last composition teacher Otto Kitzler. It was written in 1863 and was never performed in Bruckner's lifetime. In fact, the symphony wasn't performed until 1924, and didn't have its first modern performance until 1974.  It was one of only two symphonies that Bruckner did not write after he moved to Vienna.  It was Otto Kitzler, cellist, conductor and teacher, that introduced Bruckner to Wagner as well as other composers by way of using examples of their music in his lessons.  Bruckner was ten years older than Kitzler, and they remained friends until Bruckner's death in 1896.

Although Bruckner dismissed the Symphony as Schularbeit (Schoolwork), he never destroyed it in later years as he did with other works that didn't please him.  As it is the first symphony known to have been written by Bruckner, whether the music was good or bad wouldn't detract from its curiosity value. But the symphony shows flashes of the Bruckner to come as well as the composers that had an early influence on him.

The symphony is scored for woodwinds in pairs, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and the usual complement of strings. It is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro molto vivace - The symphony begins with a quiet, short motive in the strings that is answered by a louder motive in a fuller orchestration. These two motives comprise the first theme and are repeated along with other material until a second more flowing theme is given in the strings. The woodwinds then take up the second theme until it is brushed away with a loud motive in the brass. Yet another motive is played by the oboe and signals the end of the exposition, which is not repeated (at least in the recording linked at the end of this article, for the repeats are in the score). The development section perhaps shows more craft than inspiration. The opening motive pops up in the horns along with other material. Motives and fragments of themes come and go until a seamless segue to the recapitulation begins. Changes in key along with different lead-ins to themes give variety as the music moves to a coda that refers to parts of themes before the music increases in volume and ends.

II. Andante molto -  Bruckner was known for his adagio movements in his symphonies and glimpses of the great slow movements that were to come can be heard in this second movement.  The opening leads to a theme played by a pleading oboe. Bruckner alternates violins with woodwinds with a gentle lower string accompaniment. The music has a continual melodic feels until a minor key episode interrupts. The woodwinds and horns try to change the mood, but the minor key interruption returns but only briefly.  The music from the beginning of the movement is heard again and it is then that the listener realizes that this movement is also in sonata form, for this is a recapitulation. A coda further develops fragments of themes until the opening motive leads to a quiet ending with horn and timpani.

III. Scherzo, Schnell -  This is the movement that foreshadows the kind of music Bruckner was going to compose.  This scherzo already has the rhythmic drive and qualities of dynamics of the later Brucknerian scherzos, although not quite the intensity.  The trio section is in a slower tempo and in contrast to the scherzo, and shows the influence that Schumann had on Bruckner at this time.

IV. Allegro -  This may have been the movement that Kitzler meant specifically when he said the symphony was uninspired, for as a whole the movement isn't one of Bruckner's better works. But he was still a student (a 39-year old student at that) and as his following symphonies show, he was a fast learner.  It is in sonata form, and like the first movement the recording linked to does not repeat the exposition. The coda shifts the key to F major from F minor and the work ends with full orchestra.

Beethoven - Seven Bagatelles, Opus 33

The Romantic vision of Beethoven with wild eyes and disheveled hair hunched over his writing desk illuminated by an almost spent candle as he scribbled out serious masterpiece after serious masterpiece, is about as far from the truth as it gets. Beethoven was an early riser and did most of his composing in the morning.  He spent many of his afternoons wandering about in the countryside with his sketchbook in his pocket so he could capture any ideas that would come to him.  He spent his evenings in various activities such as reading or in the local tavern, but seldom composing.

The raw material for his compositions that were contained in his sketchbooks were mulled over, added to or subtracted from as his artistic taste dictated. Many of his longer works went through a long period of gestation and revision before they came to their final form. While Beethoven's craft and skill as a composer is evident, his frame of mind did not always lean towards storming the heavens.

Beethoven had a sense of humor that worked its way into his compositions. Sometimes the long and serious works had moments of humor, as is heard in the third movement of the Sixth Symphony In F Major 'Pastorale', where the orchestra mimics a village band, or the imitation of an oomp-pah-pah band in the quite serious 4th movement of the Ninth Symphony In D Minor.  The piano sonatas also have their humorous moments (and movements) as well.  Sometimes Beethoven's sense of humor took over a complete piece, as happened in some of the Bagatelles For Solo Piano, opus 33. 

The term bagatelle is of French or Italian origin and means something of little value, a trifle, and was first used as early as 1717 by the French Baroque composer François Couperin. Beethoven wrote three sets of bagatelles, a total of 24 with opus numbers as well as an additional 6 individual bagatelles without opus numbers. One of the without opus number bagatelles is arguably one of Beethoven's most well known pieces, Für Elise.  His first set of bagatelles opus 33, was written in 1802-1803 and contains seven works. It would be a mistake to take the term bagatelle literally. These are short pieces, but they aren't all fluff and stuff. Pieces like these were Beethoven's laboratory; he used them to experiment in writing for the instrument he knew very well:

I. Andante grazioso, quasi allegretto -  Written in the key of E-flat major, the first bagatelle of the set is graceful, though somewhat heavily seasoned with grace notes in the melody. A short middle section in a minor key provides contrast, after which the first section is repeated.

II. Scherzo. Allegro -  It is not certain if all seven of the pieces in this opus were written between 1802-1803, but this scherzo follows a general pattern of music Beethoven labeled as 'scherzo' at about the same time. Piano sonata Opus 14, No. 2 In G Major of 1799 includes a scherzo as the final movement. Symphony No. 2 In D Major, Opus 36 written in 1803 also has a scherzo movement.  Beethoven followed the experiments of Haydn in writing scherzos, but Beethoven's were quite unique. This scherzo is in C major and begins with a rhythmically quirky figure:

With sudden changes in dynamics, a mix of slurred notes and staccato notes and rests, Beethoven trips the ear as we try to grasp the pulse of the music. This first section is repeated, and just as the listener is beginning to get the feel of the rhythm Beethoven changes things abruptly with a section in A minor that has the melody played in octaves in the right hand to a triplet accompaniment. Like a swelling ocean wave a crescendo from piano to fortissimo spans a 3-bar section, and rapidly dies down to piano, only to do it again before the end of the minor section. The minor section is repeated, and the opening scherzo returns. The trio is of a more mellow mood, as runs of thirds in the right hand spell out the simple theme. The trio repeats, after which the scherzo returns but with some syncopation thrown in for good measure. A short coda begins to wind down the music, but the final bars hammer out a C major chord in the right hand alternating with a low C in the left.  The accents shift for a few bars until the music ends on the low C in the second beat of a measure.

III. Allegretto - The third piece is in F major. The first phrase is in the home key, but Beethoven throws the ear another curve ball when the second phrase unexpectedly shifts to the key of D major. This section repeats. The next section begins with a very short development of the initial phrase before the initial phrase is repeated. This section also repeats. Another development section begins and leads back to the beginning material which is now decorated with grace notes. A short coda ends the work solidly in F major.

IV. Andante -  A graceful theme in A major begins the piece, and shifts to a contrasting section in A minor. The A major theme returns and is varied. The melody shifts to the bass, and a shor coda brings the music to a quiet ending.

V. Allegro ma non troppo - Written in C major, this is another scherzo in all but name. Ascending arpeggios bring the music to rest upon a high A after some hand crossing, after that both hands descend in triplets before the hands move in contrary motion. The right hand plays trills to the chords in the left hand.  The next section has both hands playing triplet figures along with long bass notes in the left and the melody in the right. The middle section is in C minor, with the melody in right hand octaves with low triplets in the bass. The C major scherzo begins again, but it not a verbatim repeat as Beethoven makes changes.  A coda of longer duration begins and ends the piece in C major.

VI. Allegretto, quasi andante - Written in D major, this piece carries the added instruction Con una certa espressione parlante (with a kind of speaking voice) along with the tempo indication. It is a gentle, lyrical and short bagatelle that ends not long after it begins.

VII. Presto -  After the gentleness of the preceding bagatelle, this one comes as a surprise. Written in A-flat major, the music begins with pianissimo thirds in the left hand for 4 measures in a beginning that may have been an experiment for what was to become a similar opening in the scherzo of Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major 'Eroica'. The motive of this scherzo staggers into the picture in the right hand:

 The second section follows the same general pattern. The next section begins with a low note in the bass played fortissimo, with pianissimo arpeggios in both hands for eight measures.  This section has the added effect of Beethoven instructing the player to hold the damper pedal down the entire time, thus the bass note rings out while the arpeggios quietly spread over the bass, an effect that could only be done on the piano. The first section repeats with slight variations. The extended pedal music also repeats. One more time the first section repeats, again with slight variations.  Large chords played forte in both hands begin the coda, are then repeated in a different chord position and fortissimo. The right hand plays a variant of the opening motive under strongly accented chords and the movement comes to a quiet ending.

Sarasate - Concert Fantasy On Themes From Gounod's 'Faust'

The French composer Charles Gounod is remembered mostly for his operas, with Faust being his most popular. The opera was loosely based on Johann Goethe's play Faust : eine Tragödie, Part One.  The legend of Faust, a scholar that trades his soul to the devil so he can gain unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures, is a German legend that was first published in 1593, but the legend is probably much older than that.  Goethe's version was published in 1808, with a second part published after his death.

Gounod's opera premiered in 1859 but it wasn't until a revival of the work in 1862 that it became popular. At one time Faust was the most popular opera in the repertoire, and Pablo de Sarasate was evidently quite  taken with the opera, for he wrote two fantasies on themes from it, with the later opus 13 fantasy being the subject of this post.

The writing of fantasies on other composer's works was a mainstay of 19th century concert life as well as music publishing.  Tunes from popular operas (the 'hits' of the 19th century) were used by many performer/composers to showcase their virtuosity.  Hearing opera performed live was beyond many music lovers, and the fantasies, variations (or as Liszt called them paraphrases) on popular tunes was a way music lovers could hear the latest works.

Charles Gounod

Sarasate wrote Concert Fantasy On Themes From Gounod's 'Faust'  in 1874 for violin and piano and as with many of his other fantasies on popular works by other composers, he made a version for soloist and orchestra.

The work begins with dramatic chords played by the piano. The soloist enters and the fireworks begin straight away.  After some appropriately heavy and 'damned' music followed by more lyrical music, Sarasate segues to music from Act 2, At The City Gates.  Faust has already made his pact with  Méphistophélès. At the city gate Méphistophélès sings his aria Le veau d'or (The Golden Calf), a spiteful song about greed and the wickedness of man.  Sarasate translates some of the harshness of the original with the embellishments he gives to the aria.  The set of themes are from the Garden Scene, Act 3 of the opera. Méphistophélès and  Faust are in Marguerite's garden where Faust attempts to seduce her.  Faust kisses her, but she sends him away. But soon she longs for him and calls for his return. The final theme used is from the final scenes of Act 2, the famous Waltz From Faust.

Beethoven - Piano Trio In D Major Opus 70, No. 1 'Ghost'

The form of the piano trio, usually for the combination of violin-cello-piano (but also any two instruments with piano) became popular in the home during the 18th century. In the 37-year span of 1760-1797 Joseph Haydn wrote 45 piano trios. The early ones were dominated by the keyboard with the other instruments more or less accompanying.  With his later piano trios Haydn began to balance out the three instruments until they were in almost equal partnership. Mozart wrote 6 piano trios and did even more than Haydn in balancing out the contribution of the three instruments.

Both older composers influenced Beethoven, who worked the form to perfection with his 12 trios. The most well-known of the piano trios for violin-cello-piano is the Piano Trio In B-flat Major Opus 97 'Archduke'  written in 1811.  Three years previous to that work he wrote the two piano trios of Opus 70.  The first trio of that opus is in D Major, and is close in popularity to the 'Archduke' .  This trio also has the nickname Ghost, taken from the atmosphere of the 2nd movement. The Ghost trio was Beethoven's return to the form after he wrote his first trios ten years before.  Unlike most of his other piano trios, this one is in only three movements:

I. Allegro vivace e con brio - The first movement begins with a declaration of equality between all three instruments as they all play the same motive over a 4-octave span:

This motive acts as an introduction, but it recurs in different guises through the first movement. After the introduction, a theme is heard in the cello. This theme is related to the introductory material and goes through a short development before another theme is heard first in the strings, and then the piano. The exposition is repeated. The development begins with the introductory material and dissects it into smaller pieces that goes through imitative statements between the instruments. The recapitulation reworks the introductory material to a different key before the first theme is heard. This theme is also reworked and expanded. The second theme is given a slightly different treatment until a short coda brings back the first theme once more until a fragment of the introduction closes this short sonata form movement.

II. Largo assai ed espressivo -  Written in D minor, this movement is the longest of the trio. The movement begins with a stark dialogue between strings and piano:

With foreign harmonies and unstable tonality, the movement is one of the most strange Beethoven ever wrote. There is evidence that at the writing of this trio Beethoven was also thinking about writing an opera based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, with the music of this movement based on sketches of music for the Witches' Scene.  With deep tremolos in the piano like a creeping spectre and sharply accented chords like the howling of a damned spirit, it is no wonder the nickname of Ghost has lasted for so many years. After one last howl, the music tries to settle into a more calm major key mood, but the end comes quickly with short and dry notes in the piano and pizzicato in the strings on the key note of D.

III. Presto -  The finale resembles the opening movement as both are rather short in length and begin with a short motive that returns:

But the final movement is in a much needed more humorous mood to balance out the 2nd movement. All tension is broken as the finale makes its way to the end.

Bruckner - Motet 'Os Justi Meditabitur' WAB 30

After Anton Bruckner's father died in 1837, he was sent to the  monastery in the town of St. Florian as a choirboy.  While there he studied singing as well as organ and violin playing. The monastery of St. Florian in the town had a pipe organ that was originally built in the late Baroque era, which Bruckner played quite often.  The organ came to be called in later years the Bruckner Organ and the composer was buried underneath it after his death in 1896.

Bruckner was Austrian and Catholic with the years he spent in St. Florian as a youth and later as a young adult were formative. He was a devout Catholic all his life and some of the first music he was acquainted with was sacred music. While he is more well known for his symphonies, he wrote a considerable amount of music for the church. At first his compositions reflected his younger days as it was traditional and conservative, but by the time he had completed his studies with Simon Sechter (whom he began lessons with after he had been composing for a few years) he had been exposed for the first time to the music of Wagner and Liszt. 

He was slow to develop as a composer (he didn't write his first symphony until 1863 when he was 39 year old, and this symphony was an assignment from one of his last teachers). His progress as a composer can be seen clearly from his sacred compositions, the first which was written in 1836 up to the last written in 1892, but most of his vocal works differed from the symphonic works. The sacred works reflect Bruckner's faith in that they were written simply (and the later ones very skillfully) and reverentially.  

The motet Os Justi Meditabitur was written in 1879 at about the same time as the 6th Symphony.  It written in response to a group of church music reformers known as the Cecilians.  This group of Catholic priests and musicians was in reaction to the modernization of church music since the Enlightenment.  Bruckner's work is a motet that was intended as a gradual, a piece of music connected with the ritual of the Eucharist (Communion in the Protestant church).  The motet is written in the key of F but uses no sharps or flats in either the key signature or the written notes, thus it is in Lydian mode, the fifth mode of eight in the system of church modes instituted sometime in the 8th century.  The motet is for a usual four-part a capella choir, but there are two places in the work where it is written in eight parts. Bruckner dedicated the work to Ignaz Traumihler, who was choir director at St. Florian as well as a Cecilian.  The text is taken from Psalm 36 in the Latin Vulgate, verses  30-31:

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
The law of his God is in his heart:
and his feet do not falter.
Alleluia

Monteverdi - Beatus Vir SV 268

The Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi was born in 1567 and is considered one of the most important musicians in the history of music. He was a transitional composer that was as adept at composing music in the style of the Renaissance era as he was in the newer style of the Baroque era.

He received training in music as a choir member as well as at the University of Cremona.  He worked as a singer and violist and had some motets published as early as 1582. He also became music director and conductor at various courts until he was appointed music director and conductor at St. Mark's Basilica in Rome.

He composed nine volumes of madrigals in his many years as a composer (over 150 works) and it was in the later volumes of madrigals that he began to include more and more compositions in the new Baroque style of composition. As with any innovator, Monteverdi received his share of criticism as his new style was attacked for being crude and taking license with the traditional composing methods. Monteverdi weathered the criticism and continued to innovate the art of music. He began to compose opera in 1607 with L'Orfeo, based on the Greek tragedy of Orfeus. This is the oldest opera that is still performed with any regularity.  Monteverdi wrote for an orchestra of about forty players and was one of the first composers to assign music to specific groups of instruments, although the work wasn't orchestrated in the modern sense and still followed the Renaissance tradition of giving the players a certain amount of freedom in  execution. The video below gives an idea of how Monteverdi's orchestra may have sounded as the first few minutes of L'Orfeo are played:


 Monteverdi also composed many sacred compositions such as the collection titled Selva morale e spirituale (Moral And Spiritual Forest) that was printed in 1640 and 1641. This collection contains 37 works for various combinations of voices and instruments. Included in this set is one of Monteverdi's most recognized works, his setting of Psalm 111 from the Latin Vulgate (Psalm 112 in the Protestant Bible), known from the first two Latin words of the psalm as Beatus Vir.  It is scored for 6 - part choir (2 sopranos, 1 alto, 2 tenors, 1 bass)  2 violins, 3 viols or trombones and continuo. It was composed around 1630. The motet begins with a feeling of rejoicing. The middle section becomes more subdued and dramatic until  the rejoicing returns with the opening music of the Beatus vir. The music ends with a beautiful and reverent Amen.

Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum, in mandatis ejus volet nimis.
Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.
Potens in terra erit semen ejus, generatio rectorum benedicetur.
His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Gloria et divitiae in domo ejus, et iustitia ejus manet in saeculum saeculi.
Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis, misericors et miserator et iustus.
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
Iucundus homo, qui miseretur et commodat, disponet res suas in judicio,
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
quia in aeternum non commovebitur. In memoria aeterna erit iustus,
Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
ab auditione mala non timebit. Paratum cor ejus, sperare in Domino,
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
non commovebitur, donec despiciat inimicos suos.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
Dispersit dedit pauperibus; justitia ejus manet in saeculum saeculi, cornu ejus exaltabitur in gloria. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
Peccator videbit et irascetur, dentibus suis fremet et tabescet. Desiderium peccatorum peribit.
The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

Rachmaninoff - Vocalise Opus 34, No. 14

The term vocalise can be traced back to the Italian/French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully as well as other French composers of the Baroque period who wrote songs without words that were known for their value as exercises in vocal technique, as etudes for the voice. Later vocalise were written specifically for teaching purposes.  In the 19th century these exercises for voice were sometimes written with piano accompaniment to further train the singer in execution and style.  The beginning of the 20th century saw composers writing wordless music for soloists as well as choruses. These works treated the voice more as music of expression rather than technical studies.


Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote his opus 34 set of Fourteen Songs to various texts with the final song Vocalise being one of his most popular and well known works. The songs of opus 34 were originally written for solo voice and piano, with Vocalise being the final song written in 1915.  The other 13 songs in the set are seldom performed, but Vocalise was an audience favorite from the start. The song has been transcribed for many different instrumental combinations, with individual instruments like the violin or cello playing the vocal part. Rachmaninoff himself transcribed the work for soprano and orchestra and orchestra alone.

Vocalise is one of Rachmaninoff's most beautiful melodies. The soloist sings no words, but in a constant vowel sound. The soloist covers two octaves as the melody begins in a whisper, reaches a climax and ends in a whisper.  As with many of Rachmaninoff's melodies, there is a hue of Russian melancholy about it. The original version is written in the key of C-sharp minor.

Beethoven - Adelaide, Opus 46

Germany has a long tradition of Lieder (songs) that began as early as the 12th century with the sung poems of the troubadors as well as church music and folk song.  Late in the 18th century the Romantic Movement began in Europe, and flowered in Germanic countries somewhat later than other areas. Writers, poets and playwrights such as Goethe, Heine, Herder and many others attempted to create a synthesis of philosophy, art and science.  As the movement grew, so did the use of highly dramatic, emotional and psychological prose. But not all Germanic Romantic literature was serious. There was room for humor as well as tension, simple words that reflected the wonder of nature as well as author's soul-searching seriousness.

Lieder for solo voice and bass continuo that were written in the Baroque era gave way to songs written for voice with keyboard accompaniment. C.P.E. Bach was an early composer of this kind of lied which moved away from the complexity of polyphony and figured bass to a simpler style. Haydn, Mozart and other composers of the Classical era continued to develop the form, but lied was considered a lesser form in the late 18th century.

Before Beethoven arrived in Vienna in 1792 he had already written lieder in Bonn.  Beethoven had become a voracious reader, perhaps to try and make up for a poor general education. He came to know the early Romantic writers and set many poems to music.  With over 60 lieder, Beethoven showed at least a passing interest in the form. He carried on a young tradition of voice and piano compositions that led the way to the first true master of German Lieder, Franz Schubert.

One of Beethoven's most popular songs  is set to a poem by Friedrich von Matthisson, a poet of the Romantic movement.  The song was written after Beethoven settled in Vienna. It was published in 1797 and was dedicated to the poet. In 1800 Beethoven sent a copy of the song to Matthisson along with a letter:

Friedrich von Matthisson

MOST ESTEEMED FRIEND,- You will receive with this one of my compositions published some years since, and yet, to my shame, you probably have never heard of it. I cannot attempt to excuse myself, or to explain why I dedicated a work to you which came direct from my heart, but never acquainted you with its existence, unless indeed in this way, that at first I did not know where you lived, and partly also from diffidence, which led me to think I might have been premature in dedicating a work to you before ascertaining that you approved of it. Indeed, even now I send you "Adelaide" with a feeling of timidity. You know yourself what changes the lapse of some years brings forth in an artist who continues to make progress; the greater the advances we make in art, the less are we satisfied with our works of an earlier date. My most ardent wish will be fulfilled if you are not dissatisfied with the manner in which I have set your heavenly "Adelaide" to music, and are incited by it soon to compose a similar poem; and if you do not consider my request too indiscreet, I would ask you to send it to me forthwith, that I may exert all my energies to approach your lovely poetry in merit. Pray regard the dedication as a token of the pleasure which your "Adelaide" conferred on me, as well as of the appreciation and intense delight your poetry always has inspired, and always will inspire in me. When playing "Adelaide," sometimes recall 

Your sincere admirer, 
BEETHOVEN.

Beethoven's worrying about whether Matthison liked the song turned out to be for nothing. A collection of Matthison's poems was published in 1825 and in the introduction Matthison wrote:

Several composers have animated this little lyrical fantasy through music; I am firmly convinced however that none of them so threw the text into the shade with their melody as did the genius Ludwig van Beethoven in Vienna.

Adelaide was very popular in Beethoven's day and it went through many editions. As written, the song couild be sung by soprano or tenor voice, but it has been transposed to make it more suitable for other voices:

Adelaide
Alone does your friend wander in the Spring garden,
Mildly encircled by magic light
That quivers through swaying, blossoming boughs,
Adelaide!

 In the mirroring stream, in the snow of the Alps,
In the dying day's golden clouds,
In the fields of stars, your image shines,
Adelaide!

Evening breezes whisper in the tender leaves,
Silvery lilies-of-the-valley rustle in the grass,
Waves murmur and nightingales pipe:
Adelaide!

One day, o wonder! upon my grave will bloom
A flower from the ashes of my heart;
And clearly on every purple leaf will gleam:
Adelaide!

Loewe - Sir Olaf Opus 2, No. 2

The Erlking (Erlkönig in German)  is a Scandinavian folktale that was introduced to Germany in the 18th century and is most closely associated with the poem written by Johann Goethe in 1782 and set to music by Franz Schubert.  Goethe's Erlking poem was inspired by a translation by Johann Herder of a much older poem originally published in 1739 in Denmark. Scholars reckon that the original Danish poem dates from sometime in the Middle ages, which in turn may have been passed down from old Breton legends.

Johann Herder

The poem that Herder translated didn't deal with the Erlking directly, but with the Erlking's daughter. The Danish poem was known as Oluf han rider, (Olaf he rides).  The ballad tells of Sir Olaf riding through the woods to his wedding. On the way he meets a group of elves dancing in the forest and the Erlking's daughter repeatedly asks him to dance with her. Olaf refuses repeatedly her offers of gold until the Erlking's daughter becomes angry and strikes him a painful blow. Sir Olaf makes it back to his home and mother. The next morning Olaf is found by his bride dead under his red cloak.

Carl Loewe set the poem in 1821 and it was published in 1824 in his opus 2 set of songs. Loewe was a well regarded baritone singer as well as a composer and conductor. He wrote in many different genres but was most well known for over 400 songs.  The beginning of the 21st century has seen an increased interest in Loewe and his songs, especially in Germany.

SIR OLAF
Sir Olaf rides late and far to
summon his wedding guests.
Elves are dancing on a green bank,
and the Erlking's daughter offers him her hand.
"Welcome, Sir Olaf, come dance with me
and I will give you golden spurs."

"I cannot dance, I do not wish to dance - for tomorrow is my wedding-day."
"Come closer, Sir Olaf, come dance with me,
and I will give you a shirt of silk, a shirt of silk so white and fine -
my mother bleached it with moonbeams!"
"I may not dance, I do not wish to dance -
for tomorrow is my wedding-day."

"Come closer, Sir Olaf, come dance with me
and I will give you a heap of gold."
"A heap of gold I would gladly take,
but I cannot and should not dance with you."
"If you will not dance with me, Sir Olaf,
then plague and sickness will follow you!"

She dealt him a blow to the heart,
and all his life he had never felt such pain.
Then she heaved him up upon his horse:
"Ride home to your worthy lady then!"
And when he came to the door to his house,
his mother, trembling, stood before him.

"Tell me, my son, and tell me true,
Why are you so pale and sick?"
"And should I not be pale and sick?
I was in the Erlking's realm."
"Tell me, my son, so dear, What should I tell your bride?"
"Tell her that I rode to the wood,
To test my horse and hound."

At early morning when day had hardly dawned,
his bride arrived with the wedding crowd. They poured mead and wine:
"Where is Sir Olaf, my bridegroom?"
"Sir Olaf rode to the wood,
To test his horse and hound."
The bride lifted up the cloth scarlet red,
Under it lay Sir Olaf: he was dead.

Mahler - Songs From Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Des Knaben Wunderhorn or The Boy's Magic [Hunting] Horn is one of the most important early Romantic era collections of German poetry and songs that was published in three volumes from 1805 to 1808.  The poems were idealized Romantic versions of folk poems as well as original poems written by the editors of the collection.  The collection was very popular across German-speaking Europe and was an influence on early German nationalism.

Poems from the collection were set to music by many composers, including Gustav Mahler. He first
read the collection in 1887 and was immediately attracted to the unsophisticated naivety of  the style of the poems as well as the subject matter of the poems. Mahler, a great lover of nature, explained his attraction to these songs in a letter of 1905:

I have devoted myself heart and soul to that poetry (which is essentially different from any other kind of ‘literary poetry’ and might almost be called something more like Nature and Life - in other words, the sources of all poetry—than art) in full awareness of its character and tone.

He set two dozen poems from the collection in his life; for piano and voice, for orchestra and voice and for orchestra with no voice. Indeed, his first four symphonies incorporate various Wunderhorn songs in vocal as well as instrumental versions. A twelve song collection published in 1899 was titled Humoresken. This set was written for voice and orchestra between 1892 and 1898. Two other songs were removed from this collection and replaced by two others. Modern day performance practices can add or subtract songs at the conductor's discretion. The version in the link below contains 14 songs:

Revelge - (Reveille) -  Mahler was a composer who used the sounds and impressions of street music he heard during his youth in his works. One of his first musical memories was of a military band as he related to a friend:

"One day when I was not yet four, a funny thing happened. A military band, something I delighted in all my childhood came marching past our house one morning. I no sooner heard it than I shot out of the living room. Wearing scarcely more than a chemise I trailed after the soldiers with my little accordion until some time later a couple of ladies from nearby discovered me at the marketplace. By that time I was feeling a bit frightened and they said they would only promise to take me home if I played them something the soldiers had been playing, on my accordion. I did so straight away, upon a fruit stand where they set me, to the utter delight of the market women, cooks, and other bystanders."

The music for this poem about a fallen drummer boy is a intense military march as soldiers proceed on their way, leaving the drummer boy for dead. The atmosphere turns eerie toward the end of the song when the strings play col legno in depicting the skeletons of the dead soldiers standing in rank and file.  Written in 1899, this was one of the replacement songs for one of the original twelve.

In the morning between three and four,
we soldiers must march
up and down the alley,
trallali, trallaley, trallalera,
my sweetheart looks down!

Oh, brother, now Iʼve been shot,
the bullet has struck me hard,
carry me to my billet,
trallali, trallaley, trallalera,
it isnʼt far from here!

Oh, brother, I canʼt carry you,
the enemy has beaten us,
may dear God help you!
Trallali, trallaley,
trallali, trallaley, trallalera,
I must, I must march on until death!

Oh, brothers, oh, brothers,
you go on past me
as if I were done for!
Trallali, trallaley,
trallali, trallaley, trallalera,
youʼre treading too near to me!

I must nevertheless beat my drum,
I must nevertheless beat my drum,
trallali, trallaley, trallali, trallaley,
otherwise I will die,
trallali, trallaley, trallala.

His brothers, thickly covering the ground,
lie as if mown down.
Up and down he beats the drum,
he wakes his silent brothers,
trallali, trallaley, trallali, trallaley,
they battle and they strike their enemy,
enemy, enemy,
trallali, trallaley, trallalerallala,
a terror smites the enemy!

Up and down he beats the drum,
there they are again before their billets,
trallali, trallaley, trallali, trallaley.
Clearly out into the alley!

They draw before the sweetheartʼs house,
trallali, trallaley,
trallali, trallaley, trallalera,
they march before his sweetheartʼs house, trallali.

In the morning there stand thebones
in rank and file like tombstones,
in rank, in rank and file.

The drummer stands in front
for her to see.
Trallali, trallaley,
trallali, trallaley, trallalera,
for her to see!

Verlorne Mühʼ! - (Lost Effort) -  A song that has a woman trying to entice a man (with something ot nibble on no less) who will not be enticed.

She:
ʻLaddie, let's go!
Laddie, let's go out and look at the lambs!
Shall we?
Look at the lambs?
Come, come, dear laddie!
Come, I beg you!ʼ

He:
ʻSilly lassie,
I donʼt like you at all!ʼ

She:
You want perhaps,
You want perhaps a little bit to nibble?
Fetch yourself something out of my bag!
Fetch it, dear laddie!
Fetch it, I beg you!ʼ

He:
ʻSilly lassie,
Iʼll nibble nothing of yours at all!ʼ

She:
Should I give you my heart?
So you'll always think of me?
Always!
Take it! Dear laddie!
Take it, I beg you!ʼ

He:
Silly lassie,
I donʼt care for you at all!

Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt - (St. Anthony of Paduaʼs Sermon To The Fish) -  A swirling figure in the strings represents water as the fish listen to the sermon. But at the end of the sermon they leave unchanged. This song was the inspiration for the scherzo of Mahler's 2nd Symphony 'Resurrection'.

At sermon time Anthony
finds the church empty!
He goes to the rivers
and preaches to the fish!
They flap with their tails!

They gleam in the sunshine!

The carp with roe
have all congregated;
their jaws gaping,
intent on listening!
Never did a sermon
so please the fish!

Sharp-snouted pike,
that fight continually,
swam up in a hurry
to hear the holy man!
Even those odd creatures
that continually fast:
I mean the codfish,
appear for the sermon!
Never did a sermon
so please the codfish!

Good eels and sturgeon
that people of quality relish,
even they condescend
to attend the sermon!
Crayfish, too, and turtles,
usually slow movers,
climb hurriedly from the depths
to hear this voice!
Never did a sermon
so please the crayfish!

Fish big and fish small!
Of quality and common!
They raise their heads
like rational creatures!
At Godʼs command
they listen to the sermon.

When the sermon is finished,
each one turns away!
The pike remain thieves,
the eels great lovers;
the sermon was pleasing,
they all stay the same!

Das Irdische Leben - (The Earthly Life) -  A morbid song (written by a composer whose emotions could run to the exceedingly morbid) with words set against divided strings that play a restless accompaniment. Mahler makes the music as stark as the words.

Mother, oh mother, Iʼm hungry!
Give me some bread or I shall die!
Just wait! Just wait, my dear child!
Tomorrow we shall hurry to harvest!

And when the grain was harvested,
the child still cried out:
Mother, oh mother, Iʼm hungry!
Give me some bread or I shall die!
Just wait! Just wait, my dear child!
Tomorrow we shall hurry and go threshing!

And when the grain was threshed,
the child still cried out:
Mother, oh mother, Iʼm hungry!
Give me some bread or I shall die!
Just wait! Just wait, my dear child!
Tomorrow we shall hurry and bake!

And when the bread was baked,
the child lay on the funeral bier!

Trost im Unglück -  (Solace In Misfortune) -  A man soothing himself after a lost love.

Now then! The time has come!
My horse, it must be saddled!
Iʼve made up my mind,
I must ride away!
Off you go!
I have my due!
I love you only in folly!

Without you I can well live!
Yes, live!
Without you I can well exist!
So Iʼll sit on my horse
and drink a glass of cool wine,
and swear by my beard,
to love you forever!

You think, you are the handsomest
in the whole wide world,
and also the most pleasant!
But you are far, far off the mark!
In my fatherʼs garden
thereʼs a flower growing!

Iʼll keep waiting
till it is bigger!
And off you go!
I have my due!
I love you only in folly!
Without you I can well live!
Without you I can well exist!


You think Iʼm going to take you!
That I would not think of ever!
I am ashamed of you,
when I am in public!

Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen - (Where the Fair Trumpets Sound) -  Two lovers part as the man goes off to war.  The trumpets softly remind the man of his fate, and he describes his probable fate: the home of the green grass of the grave.

Who then is outside and who is knocking,
that can so softly awaken me?

It is your dearest darling,
get up and let me come to you!
Why should I go on standing here?
I see the red of morn arise,
the red of morn, two bright stars.
I long to be with my sweetheart!
With my dearest darling.

The maiden got up and let him in;
she bade him welcome, too.
Welcome, my dear lad!
You have been standing so long!
She offered him her snow-white hand.

From far away the nightingale sang,
then the maiden began to weep.
Ah, do not weep, beloved mine
after a year you will be my own.
My own you shall become,
as is no other on earth!
Oh love on the green earth.
Iʼm off to war, on the green heath,
the green heath is so far away!
Where there the fair trumpets sound,
there is my home, my home of green grass!

Wer hat dies Liedel erdacht? - (Who Thought Up This Little Song?) -  A song of a lover in a house on a mountain, with some pretty silly lyrics, quite typical of some of the poems of the Wunderhorn collection.

Up there on the mountain,
in the high house,
in the house!
There peers out a dear maiden!
There is her home!
She is the innkeeperʼs daughter!
She lives on the green heath!

My heart has a wound!
Come, sweetheart, make it well!
Your dark brown little eyes,
they have wounded me!
Your rosy mouth
makes hearts well.
It makes young people rational,
brings the dead back to life,
makes the ill healthy,
yes, healthy.

Who then thought up this little song?
Three geese have brought it over the water!
Two grey and one white!
And whoever cannot sing this little song,
they can whistle it!
Yes!

Lob des hohen Verstands - (Praise Of Lofty Judgement) -  A singing match between a cuckoo and a nightingale, with an ass as the judge. The beginning of the song inspired the motives for the finale of Mahler's 5th Symphony.

Once in a deep valley
the cuckoo and the nightingale
struck a wager.
Whoever sang the masterpiece,
whether won by art or won by luck,
Would take the prize.

The cuckoo spoke: ʻIf you agree,
I have chosen the judge,ʼ
and he at once named the ass.
ʻFor since he has two large ears,
he can hear all the better,
and recognize what is right!ʼ

Soon they flew before the judge.
When he was told the matter,
he decreed that they should sing!
The nightingale sang out sweetly!
The ass spoke: ʻYou muddle me up!
You muddle me up! Heehaw! Heehaw!
I canʼt get it into my head!ʼ

There upon the cuckoo began quickly
his song in thirds and fourths and fifths.
It pleased the ass, and he spoke out:
ʻWait! Wait! Wait!
I will pronounce thy judgement,
yes, pronounce.

You have sung well, nightingale!
But, cuckoo, you sing a good chorale!
And hold the beat precisely!
I speak from higher understanding!
And even if it cost a whole country,
I thus pronounce you the winner, the winner!ʼ
Cuckoo, cuckoo! Heehaw!

Der Tamboursg'sell - (The Drummer Boy) -  Another song about a drummer boy, this time one that is condemned to death by hanging. The words are accompanied by a slow funeral march. This song was the last poem set in 1905.

I am a poor drummer boy!
They are leading me out of the dungeon!
If Iʼd remained a drummer,
I would not be imprisoned!

Oh, gallows,
you look so frightening!
I wonʼt look at you any more!
Because I know thatʼs where I belong!

When soldiers march past,
that are not billeted with me.
When they ask who I was:
Drummer of the first company!

Good night! You marble rocks!
You mountains and hills!
Good night, officers,
corporals and musketeers!
Good night!
Good night, officers!
Corporals and grenadiers!

I cry out with a clear voice:
I take leave of you!
Good night!

Das himmlische Leben - (The Heavenly Life) -  This song was not included in the original set of Wunderhorn songs for voice and orchestra. It is used as the final movement of Mahler's 4th Symphony.

We enjoy heavenly pleasures and
therefore avoid earthly ones.
No worldly tumult is to be heard in heaven
 All live in greatest peace.
We lead angelic lives,
yet have a merry time of it besides.
We dance and we spring,
We skip and we sing.
Saint Peter in heaven looks on.

John lets the lambkin out,
and Herod the Butcher lies in wait for it.
We lead a patient,
an innocent, patient,
dear little lamb to its death.
Saint Luke slaughters the ox
without any thought or concern.
Wine doesn't cost a penny in the heavenly cellars;
The angels bake the bread.

Good greens of every sort grow
in the heavenly vegetable patch,
good asparagus, string beans,
and whatever we want.
Whole dishfuls are set for us!
Good apples, good pears and good grapes,
and gardeners who allow everything!
If you want roebuck or hare,
on the public streets they come running right up.

Should a fast day come along,
all the fishes at once come swimming with joy.
There goes Saint Peter running
with his net and his bait
to the heavenly pond.
Saint Martha must be the cook.

There is just no music on earth
that can compare to ours.
Even the eleven thousand virgins
venture to dance,
and Saint Ursula herself has to laugh.
There is just no music on earth
that can compare to ours.
Cecilia and all her relations
make excellent court musicians.
The angelic voices gladden our senses,
so that all awaken for joy.

Lied des Verfolgten im Turm - (Song of the Prisoner in the Tower) -  Another military style song that incorporates a dialog between a prisoner and his sweetheart that stands outside the tower he is imprisoned in.

The prisoner:
Thoughts are free,
who can guess them;
they rush past
like nocturnal shadows,
no man can know them,
no hunter can shoot them,
it remains thus:
thoughts are free!

The maiden:
Summer is a time for merriment
on high, wild mountains.
There one finds a green place,
my loving sweetheart,
I do not wish to part from you!

The prisoner:
And if they lock me up
in a dark dungeon,
all this is but in vain;
for my thoughts
tear the bars apart
and the walls destroy,
thoughts are free!

The maiden:
Summer is a time for merriment,
on high, wild mountains.
There one is always quite alone,
on high, wild mountains.
There one hears no children yelling!
There the air invites one to himself,
yes, the air invites one to himself.

The prisoner:
So may it be the way it is!
And if it happens,
may it all happen in the silence,
only everything in the silence!
My wish and desire
can be restrained by no one!
It remains thus,
thoughts are free!

The maiden:
My sweetheart, you sing as cheerfully here
as a little bird in the grass.
I stand sadly at the prison door,
if I only were dead, if I only were with you,
alas, must I then always complain?

The prisoner:
And since you complain so,
Iʼll renounce you and your love!
And if I dare, nothing can worry me!
Then in my heart I can always
laugh and be jovial.
It remains thus:
Thoughts are free!
Thoughts are free!

Rheinlegendchen - (Rhine Legend) -  A dream of a maiden that longs to find a sweetheart by throwing her ring in the Rhine. 

Now I mow by the Neckar,
now I mow by the Rhine;
now I have a sweetheart,
now Iʼm alone!

What good is mowing
if the sickle doesnʼt cut;
what good is a sweetheart,
if he  doesnʼt stay with me!

So when I mow
by the Neckar, by the Rhine,
I will throw
my little gold ring in.

It will float in the Neckar
and float in the Rhine,
it shall swim right down
into the deep sea.

And when it swims, the little ring,
a fish will eat it!
The fish will land
on the kingʼs table!

The king would ask,
whose ring can it be?
Then I would say:
ʻThe ring belongs to me!ʼ

My sweetheart would spring
up hill and down hill,
would bring back to me
my fine little gold ring!

You can mow by the Neckar,
you can mow by the Rhine!
You can always toss in
your little ring for me!

Der Schildwache Nachtlied - (The Sentinelʼs Nightsong) -  Another dialog song.  Military style music of the sentinel  is interrupted by tender music that accompanies the words of his sweetheart.

I cannot and will not be cheerful!
When everyone is asleep,
then I must keep watch!
Yes, keep watch!
Must be sorrowful!

Dear lad, you mustnʼt be sad!
Iʼll wait for you
in the rose-garden!
In the green clover!

To the green clover I will not go!
To the armory!
Full of halberds!
I am posted!

If you are on the battlefield, may God help you!
On Godʼs blessing
is everything dependent!
Whoever believes it!

He who believes it is far away!
Heʼs a king!
Heʼs an emperor!
He wages war!
Halt! Whoʼs there!
Patrol!
Stand back!
Who sang here? Who sang just now?!
A solitary field sentinel
sang it at midnight!
Midnight!
Field sentinel

Urlicht - (Primeval Light) -  Another song that was used in Mahler's 2nd Symphony. For many years it was not included in performances of the Wunderhorn songs. 

O little red rose!
Man lies in greatest need!
Man lies in greatest pain!
I would rather be in heaven!

Then I came upon a broad path.
There came an angel and wanted to turn me away.
Ah no, I would not be turned away!
Ah no, I would not be turned away:
I am from God and want to return to God!
The loving God will give me a little of the light,
will illuminate me into eternal blessed life!

Wolf - Three Mörike Lieder

Hugo Wolf  was an Austrian composer who was a child prodigy. His father taught him the piano and violin beginning at four years of age.  He had little interest in other school subjects besides music and even after he entered the Vienna Conservatory of Music in 1875 was constantly at logger heads with his teachers. Rebellious by nature, he was expelled from the conservatory after two years because of his intense criticism of his masters whom he deemed too conservative.

While at the conservatory he met Richard Wagner who gave him encouragement, and he became a rabid disciple of Wagner.  He tried his hand at teaching but was temperamentally ill suited to it. Despite his somewhat irascible disposition, he could also be engaging and charming, enough that he gathered financial support from patrons so he could compose for a living.

After the death of Wagner in 1883 his style matured and his songs began to be noticed by Franz Liszt.  About this time he began working on larger compositions and also began to write a regular column of music criticism in the Vienna publication Wiener Salonblatt.  Between 1883 and 1887 Wolf wrote over 100 articles, and in keeping with his discipleship of Wagner, he took some incredibly vicious swipes at the music of Brahms as well as any other composer that he thought was in the Brahmsian camp. Wolf had this to say about Brahms' 4th Symphony:

He never could rise above the mediocre. But such nothingness, hollowness, such mousy obsequiousness as in the E minor symphony has never yet been revealed so alarmingly in any of Brahms' works. The art of composing without ideas has decidedly found in Brahms one of its worthiest representatives. Like God Almighty, Brahms understands the trick of making something out of nothing. Enough of this hideous game!

Eduard Mörike 

He gave up his music criticism column  in 1887 (but not before creating a lot of enemies) and began composing at fever pitch. Wolf's temperament had included bouts of crippling depression in his earlier years, and now the syphilis that he had contracted earlier in his life added to his mental problems. He composed rapidly during his good times, and sank deeper and deeper into depression and insanity in the bad times. He tried to complete an opera in 1897 before his mind was completely gone, but by 1899 he could no longer compose. He made an unsuccessful attempt at suicide by drowning, afterward he committed himself to an insane asylum where he died in 1903.

Wolf set many  poems of the Romantic German poet Eduard Mörike to music, 53 of them in 1888.  Mörike's poems are known for their humor and simple language.  Three of these Mörike lieder are discussed below. The accompanying link to a performance of the songs are sung by the late German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, a master of German Lied.

Bei einer Trauung (At A Wedding) -  Wolf refined and expanded the direction of the German Lied that Schubert and Schumann had begun; that the piano accompaniment is an equal of the soloist in importance. The piano part of this song gives a hint of what kind of a wedding this really is, even before the soloist sings a word. In plodding, funereal chords, with dissonant grace notes punctuating the sorrow, the piano sets the stage for a marriage of two people who are not in love.  It is the nature of Mörike's poetic style that makes the listener wonder if the poem is really an expression of sorrow or a tongue-in-cheek mockery of arranged marriages. Wolf's music seems to emphasize the sorrow.

With no one but aristocrats for witnesses
the couple is being married.
The organ proclaims that all is fine,
but nothing else does!

Just look - she is crying her eyes out,
and he is making a dreadful face,
For you see, I am afraid
that there is no love in this union.

Zur Warnung (Word of Warning) -   In the accompanying video, the singer begins this song in the hoarse, coarse voice of one who has spent a night drinking.  The perky and rather trite piano accompaniment of the 'garbage verse'  with its sudden change of mood is a good example of Wolf's talent for matching music to words. The 'name' Wendehals  is an actual variety of a bird of the woodpecker family in Germany.  The song is an all together delightful warning to poets with a hangover: have some hair of the dog that bit you if you must, but don't try and write any poetry.

After a night out
I woke up feeling lousy;
I thirsted but not for water,
my blood pounded, I felt disturbed and sentimental.
Almost poetically I begged my Muse for a song.
Pretending sympathy, she mocked me,
and gave me this piece of garbage:
"A nightingale is singing
by a waterfall; 
another bird as well, 
who signs its name Wendehals, 
Johann Jacob Wendehals,
who dances
by the plants
of the afore mentioned waterfall."
And so it went until I became very uneasy.
I sprang up: wine! That would be my salvation!
Mark it well, you weepy bards,
when you have a hangover, don't call upon the gods!

Abschied - (Farewell) -  A poem that probably reflected Wolf's own feelings about his critics (while ignoring his own harsh criticism of others). How he would have enjoyed kicking his critics in the ass and watching them bounce down the stairs! The music is of shifting moods, from the curt notes of the critic to the racket of the critic bouncing down the stairs. The joy at seeing the critic roll down the steps is portrayed by the pianist playing a noisy Viennese waltz peppered with accented grace notes:

One evening, without knocking, in came a gentleman:
"I have the honor to be your critic!"
Immediately he took the light in his hand
and gazed long at my shadow on the wall.
He stepped close and then stepped back: "Now, my good young man,
kindly see how your nose looks from the side!
You must admit it is a nose and a half!"
Good gracious - so it is!
My word! I never imagined - my whole life long -
that such a huge world-sized nose was on my face!

The man said various other things about this and that,
but I honestly don't remember what;
perhaps he thought I had something to confess.
Finally he stood up and I lit his way out.
As we stood at the top of the stairs,
I cheerfully gave him
a small kick in the ass,
and by golly! What a jolting,
tumbling, and crashing!
I have never seen such a thing,
my whole life long,
a man that went so quickly down the stairs!

Chopin - Waltzes Opus 69

The Waltz as a form of dance had its origins in the Austrian/German Ländler, a folk dance that includes stomping, leaping and twirling about, although mention of gliding and twirling dances where dancers were described as walzen (German for turning or spinning) are mentioned as early as the 16th century in some texts.

Composers such as Beethoven and Schubert wrote waltzes, but these pieces were the equivalent of modern dance music. They were functional and meant to be danced to.  Carl Maria von Weber's Invitation To The Dance written for piano was the first instance of a waltz written to be listened to instead of danced to. Chopin helped refine the concert waltz and his first attempts in the form used Weber's as a model.

Chopin wrote at least 36 waltzes, but only 18 verified waltzes still exist. The others are either destroyed, held by private owners while the fate of others is unknown. Chopin had only eight waltzes published during his lifetime, and on his death bed he instructed his publisher to destroy all of his unpublished works, but this was not done.  Five waltzes were published shortly after his death and another five later.  The two waltzes of Opus 69 were published in 1854, 5 years after his death.

Chopin painted by Maria Wodzińska

No. 1 In A-flat Major, Valse de l'adieu or Farewell Waltz - This waltz was written in 1835 during Chopin's early years in Paris and was given to Maria Wodzińska as a gift. Chopin had proposed to Maria (a talented artist and musician that studied with John Field) in 1835, and while her mother consented her father considered Chopin too sickly and their engagement ended in 1837.  Chopin's waltzes have been considered to be lesser compositions by some, and there are a few of the waltzes that can be considered trifles compared to other works. but taken as a whole, the waltzes reflect a wide range of moods from the giddy and extroverted to the melancholy and introverted. The A-flat Waltz of opus 69 is one of the introverted works of the set.  Despite being written in A major, a feeling of nostalgia (perhaps for his native Poland and the native Polish mazurka) can be heard in the main theme, no doubt because the minor mode is interwoven with the major to creates an ambiguity of sound that equates to the reverie of a mind dwelling on things past. The waltz ends gently with the main theme.

No. 2 In B Minor -  This waltz was written in 1829 before Chopin left Poland.  The main theme is in B minor that is more melancholy and restless than the previous waltz, partially on account of the chromaticism of the main theme. Once again Chopin mixes major and minor (or in this instance minor with major) as the first episode after the statement of the theme changes to B major, but the overall feeling doesn't change.  This piece is one of the least technically demanding waltzes, but that's no reason to dismiss it. Chopin was above everything else, a master of the piano miniature, with this waltz being a good example of his skill and artistry.