784.9 M82s 5
Moore
Singer and accompanist
SINGER AND ACCOM
The Performance of Fifty Songs
JAft
?,*
SINGER AND
ACCOMPANIST
The Performance of Fifty Songs
by
GERALD MOORE
METHUEN & CO. LTD. LONDON
Essex Street, Strand, W.C.2
First fiublishid in 1953
CATALOGUE NO. 545 1 /U
PRINIED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
Bl'TLER AND TANNER LTD,, FROME AND LONDON
To
ENID
PREFACE
IT has not been my intention in the following pages to attempt critical
analyses ot the fiftv songs under review ^although an analytical note
may 'Ccasionally have crept in) hut rather to explain how the execu-
tants might sing and play them; above all to suggest lines they could
think along when practising, rehearsing, and performing them. I hope
the word 'suggest' will be noted. I have used it advisedly: for there are
many roads to heaven and while I am confident that my road will not
lead to destruction, I do not claim that it is the only way. Let him
who disagrees with my ideas make his own investigation and find out
what suits him best. I shall be happy if this book has this stimulating
effect.
I believe that equal consideration has been given to the two
partners, but if more attention than is usual in a book on song interpret-
ation has been bestowed on the accompaniment I make no apology;
it has been done for the good of the song arid should prove of ultimate
benefit to the singer. 'There is no law, human or divine,' said Ernest
Newman (in 1907), 'to compel thr composer to limit his expressiveness
to the voice alone.'
The Schubert, Wolf, Faure songs (to mention three composers at
random) included here can be called great songs. To the question
'What are Beethoven's "Mailied", Rachmaninoff's "Spring Waters",
Harm's "OfFrande" doing in such distinguished company?' I would
answer that the first song presents difficulties to the singer, the second
teases the pianist, while the Hahn song is intriguing if only for its wide
dissimilarity to the undeniably finer settings of the same poem by
Debussy and Faure. The only rule I observed when selecting my fifty
songs was that they should be interesting; interesting either for their
intrinsic worth or for the problems they pose for the singer or the
accompanist or both partners.
The reader who is indulgent enough to imagine there is any benefit
to be reaped by a study of this book, should dip into it rather than
attempt to read it steadily from cover to cover. Let him see which of
these songs he possesses and then after numbering the bars on his
score to help him follow me on my wanderings through the song
have his music beside him as he reads. He will thus be in a much better
viii SINGER AND ACCOMPANIST
position to laugh with me or at me; to see how unerringly I hit the
nail on the head or how lamentable is my aim.
To two great friends I would like to express my deep gratitude: to
Mr. L. A. G. Strong for his encouragement and patience ever since he
approached me with the idea of this book, and to Mr. Alec Robertson
for his invaluable and constructive criticism on its completion.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
i WISH to express my thanks to MJSS Astra Desmond and to Messrs.
Richard (lapell, Martin Cooper, and Ernest Newman for permission
to (juote from their writings; to Mr. G. Bernard Hrophy for his trouble
and kindness in the selection of gramophone records; to Noel Douglas
Ltd., publishers, for allowing me to reprint the excerpt from 'Monsieur
Crochr"; and finally to all the publishers -enumerated at the end of
each song for their generous co-operation in allowing me to reprint
so many musical illustrations.
G.M.
CONTENTS
THE WHITE PEACE
MAI MED
WONNE DER WEHMUTH
FELDEINSAMKEIT
MEINE LIEBE 1ST ORUN
VERGEBLICHES STANDCHEN
VON EWIOER LIEBE
LOVELIEST OF TREES
EN SOURDINE
LES CLOCHES
MANDOLINE
THE NIGHTINGALE HAS A LYRE OF GOLD
EL PANO MORUNO
L'INVITATION AU VOYAGE
GLAIR DE LUNE
LYDIA
COME AWAY, COME AWAY, DEATH
O MISTRESS MINE
EL MAJO DISCRETO
THERE SCREECHED A BIRD
SLEEP
OFFRANDE
SHE NEVER TOLD HER LOVE
SEA FEVER
FRUHLINGSLIED
THE EVENING PRAYER
TAKE, O TAKE THOSE LIPS AWAY
BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND
SPRING WATERS
CHANSON A BOIRE
D'ANNE JOUANT DE L'ESPINETTE
DER ATLAS
DER DOPPELGANGER
ERLKONIG
ix
Arnold Box I
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 8
Johannes Brahms 1 1
Johannes Brahms 16
Johannes Brahms 20
Johannes Brahms 24
George Butterworth 33
Claude Debussy 38
Claude Debussy 45
Claude Debussy 49
Frederick Delius 53
Manuel de Fall a 58
Henri Duparc 63
Gabriel Faurt 71
Gabriel Faure 75
Gerald Finzi 78
Gerald Finzi 82
E. Granados 86
Edvard Grieg 91
Ivor Gurney 95
Reynaldo Hahn 101
Haydn 1 05
John Ireland 108
Mendelssohn 1 1 1
M . Moussorgsky 1 1 4
C. Hubert Parry 1 1 7
Roger Quilter 120
S. RachmaninoJJ 123
Maurice Ravel 1 2 7
Maurice Ravel 1 3 r
Franz Schubert ! 34
Fran^ Schubert 1 39
Franz Schubert 147
SINGER AND ACCOMPANIST
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
C. V. Stanford
Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
P. Tschaikowsky
R. Vaughan Williams
DIE FORELLE
MEERES 8TILLE
DER TOD UND DAS MADCHEN
DER NUSSBAUM
ZWEI VENETIANISCHE LIEDER. NO. I
ZWEI VENETIANISCHE LIEDER. NO. 2
THE PIBROCH
MOROEN
9CHLECHTE9 WETTER
AT THE BALL
9ILENT NOON
ANAKREONS GRAB HugO Wolf
AUF EINER WANDERUNG HugO Wolf
ICH HAB* IN PENNA EINEN LIEBSTEN WOHNEN Hugo Wolf
NUN WANDRE, MARIA HugO Wolf
ETHIOPIA SALITTING THE COLOURS Charles Wood
1NDKX
155
1 60
163
1 68
172
i?5
178
182
187
192
195
199
204
212
222
227
RECORD MAKES
In the lists at the end of each song the names of the makes of gramophone
records are abbreviated as follows:
G H.M.V.
C Columbia
D Dccca
P Pailophone
PD Polydor
V Victor
O Odeon
Pat Path6
T Telefunken
Sco Scolaphon
ALLO Allegro
Voc Vocalion
West Westminster
IRCC International Record Collectors' Club
U Ultraphon
L Lumen
Sel Selmer
Van Vanguard
BaM Boite a Musique
GSC Gramophone Shop of N.Y.
Cla Clangor
OL Oiseau Lyre
Sch Schirmer
XI
THE WHITE PEACE
Word* by FIONA MACLEOD Music by ARNOLD HAX
ASKED by the characteristically modest Arnold Bax which song he
would choose as a model of perfect song writing, John Coates replied
that anyone taking 'The White Peace' as a paragon would not go far
wrong. This song was a favourite with John McCormack as well as
Coates, and each of these great singers divergent in style and tempera-
ment though they were brought the same gifts to bear on it: a
perfect legato line and perfect enunciation.
This song is all the more difficult to sing because, in fact, it must
sound easy. Each bar is at least of five seconds duration so that great
breath control is needed to last out the phrase and to maintain an
unwavering tone. The listener should be aware of none of these
difficulties, he should be carried away by the music and words. We want
him to be at ease. To suffuse the whole song with 'the moonlight of a
perfect peace' infinite gentleness and calm deliberation are needed to
maintain an unbroken line and a steady stream.
The bountiful range of those opening bars deceives the unwary
singer.
on the sun - lit plain: Nor ev-er on an-v
5 6 7
K
run-n mg stream Nor on the un -cloud - ed main
* 9 10 //
Look at the composer's instructions, 'Piano. Very quiet.' Obviously
he wants one colour, one quality, one quantity of tone. Do not, then,
allow the low notes in bars 2, 10, and 11 to appear to come from a
different register of the voice than the higher ones. If, for instance, the
first note is taken in the chest, the second in the head voice, this is the
effect you are likely to produce.
Ex. A ^
J
It lies not
S.A. o i
2 THE WHITE PEACE
Yes. It becomes in fact a yodel with a click between the E flat and the
G as the voice switches from the chest to the head.
Merely because the first breath is taken after 'hill' (4) and you
may be anxious for it, you must not mulct the B flat; it is a full crotchet
and wants full value. To ensure this, take time enough for the con-
sonants *11' to be heard (John McCormack's consonants could almost
be seen) and promise yourself a slow, deliberate breath in due course,
holding up the time for this breath if need be. On the other hand no
one should be aware that a breath is being taken on the quaver rest in
7. With 'main' held for over three beats, 9-10-1 1 becomes a very long
phrase and if it cannot be accomplished in one sweep, a quick imper-
ceptible breath can be taken after 'Nor' in bar 9.
The question posed in the first twelve bars of the song is not
answered until the second verse, it is therefore important that the
listener should understand every word the singer utters. While it is
good in 5 to run the V in 'nor' on to the word 'on' (i.e. 'norron') the
same does not apply to 'nor ever', 6-7. 'Ever' is separated from the
preceding 'nor'. 'Norrcvrr' is a confusing sound and might be mis-
taken for 'no never' or 'moreover'. Without altering the value of the
notes, get on to the 'nnY in 'running', bar 8, shortening the vowel.
This word is the only one suggestive of motion in the first verse;
by stressing the consonants you bring a sense of movement to the
word.
It should be noticed that while the vocal line is marked piano, the
accompaniment is pianissimo, and this instruction is very necessary, for
the solid-looking chords lie in the most sonorous register of the instru-
ment. They cannot be played too gently. The singer leans on them,
feels them like a soft cushion beneath him. Using both the soft and
sustaining pedals the pianist floats from one chord to the next with all
possible smoothness, being particularly careful not to make the quavers
in 5-6 too obtrusive or bumpy.
Ex.2 -" m j
p W ^_=^=^
N^_._-^-^^]
= t^ - -
If there has been shadow, it is now dissipated in the second verse.
Movement is introduced by the syncopation of the left hand ('very
quiet') and by the meandering quavers, the shafts of moonlight, in the
treble.
THE WHITE PEACE
Ex.3
Singing from 13 to 18 the same lovely tune he had from 3 to 8
(Ex. i) the singer still holds the tranquil mood, coloured however by
the crescendo diminuendo^ 14-15, and by the consoling chord on 'pain*.
The latter is marked piano, and rightly so: for the pain is soothed. Any
stabbing accent on this word or a pained expression on the singer's
face is entirely out of place (bar 16).
Quaver, semiquaver, triplet decorations in the above example
should match the words 'slow moving'. They should be spaced in such
a way that while allowing the singer all the time he needs to breathe
where a comma is marked, they do not appear to interrupt the even
flow of the music.
Only a slight swelling of tone is wanted at 15, for the words here
are in parenthesis. It is at The moonlight of a perfect peace floods
heart and brain' that a new and sudden warmth floods the music.
-pocof^.
dim
m
Floods heart and brain
/9
The mooc
light of a
^h
P
f
r j~i
d^LJt
\ -^ = v :
fa>r>+ r\'a/-><i W}r\r\f\^ V*art anr? Krairi
Of course a breath must be taken before 1 9 to enable the singer to
make that crescendo on the long D natural of 20 --then a quick breath
(which I have marked) to carry over to the word 'peace', (22). Phrase
21 and 22 must be an illuminating and a warming glow, rich with
tone. Serenity will be sacrificed, though, unless the singer holds to his
4 THE WHITE PEACE
legato line more securely than ever; especial care is wanted for the
quavers in 21. These quavers can be taken rubato by staying longer on
the G flat and slightly quickening the following three. It is a difficult
phrase to sing and by the time he reaches 'peace', 22, the singer will
feel relieved, but his relief must not be made evident by the skimping
of the word. Indeed 'peace' should be prolonged if possible. The game
is up if he can barely reach this point, compelled to shorten his E flat
through lack of breath.
There are many wide-stretched chords in the accompaniment
which should be spread as little as possible so as not to ruffle the quiet
pool of sound. I am in favour of adapting such chords to suit a small
hand. Thus, at 17, 18, instead of
Ex B
we have
Ex.C
which, in rny opinion, is preferable to an untidy spreading of the chords.
Often the right hand can come to the rescue of the left. Where broken
chords are indicated, however, they should be played unhurriedly (the
lasl chord of the song 28 - slowest of all) and naturally with the
sustaining pedal.
Reprinted by permission of J. & W. Chester Ltd.
G DA i 70 1 John McOormark (Gerald Moore)
MAILIED
Poem by GOETHE
Music by BEETHOVEN
Op. 52 No. 4
THE fact that Beethoven did not attain, in the lied, the glory of Schubert
or the subtlety of Wolf is not sufficient reason for dismissing him as a
song writer. So many of his songs I say it in all humility seem to be
failures, that one concludes that this field was not his natural medium
of expression. For all that, 'Adelaide', 'Wonne der WehmutrT, 'Die
Ehre Gottes aus der Natur 1 , 'In questa tomba oscura', and the cycle
'An die feme geliebte', have, each in their own way, qualities of
majesty or beauty or eloquence which make them great. They are alive
today and they still stir us. 1 would not place 'Mailied' in the same
category as the above, but I confess to an affection for it and am
convinced that, handled in the right way, it is delightful.
I remember performing this song with Alexandra Trianti. We took
it at a very fast tempo the whole thing lasted only just over one and
one-half minutes; a lot to cover in so short a time. Through its very
speed it swept the audience off its feet and provoked enthusiasm, for
its joy, redolent of the age of innocence, is infectious. Block harmony
looks very pedestrian, but bars 19 to 22 for example skip along so
lightly and are covered so quickly that the listener is quite unaware of
the square-seeming chords in the accompaniment.
Ex.1
die SOD - DP, wie lacht die
4 It sounds like a hymn tune' I was told, when listening to this passage
being played too slowly and too substantially. But it must never sound
like that: if it does then it is being played and sung in the wrong
spirit.
Taken at speed the song is not easy to sing as the words have to be
clear and only two breaths are taken in each of the first two verses.
(In verse I a breath at 22 and 30, in verse 2 at bars 59 and 67.) If
6 MAILIED
we adopt the Beethoven instruction allegro, if we count two beats to a
bar, the music sinks back on its heels and the singer will have to
breathe more frequently. Let us add the words 'con brio* to the com-
poser's allegro and carry through on our toes with one beat to a bar;
bars i to 14 prior to the singer's entry will thus be played in one sweep;
in a sweep, it is important to add, which embraces the singer who joins
in to add impetus rather than to retard it. The bus does not slow down
for the singer; she jumps on lightly and gracefully as it glides past her.
I have drawn an arrow at 14, Ex. 2, to emphasize that there is no
waiting on the pianist's part; the singer is impatient and if anything
may come in a split second ahead of time. Good luck to her.
Ex 2
Wie herr - hch
/4
leuch - let
16
The singer is always legato , always smiling, but her enunciation is
sharp so that Vie lacht die Flur' 'o Erd, o Sonne, o Gliick, o Lust' are
really full of zest.
She makes us feel that it is good to be alive. This feeling is exempli-
fied in the piano interlude, 38 to 51, to which the bird-like chirrups
in the treble, and the sudden fortes and pianos, all contribute.
Ex 3
From 1 08, to help the singer maintain her buoyancy, the accompani-
ment literally bounces. It is all staccato and although it is piano and
moves so quickly I try to raise my hands as high as possible between
each chord. There is no time to lift the hands more than a few inches,
but this, coupled with the fact that no sustaining pedal is used here,
ensures that every chord is detached and electric.
MAILIED
Ex.4
Set e - wi gluck - lich, wie du mich
sn ^ ( *4nfm4n\
E
E
PS
^"^ ~ '
^
licbst, sei e - wig__ gluck - lich, wie
I need hardly add that there is no rallentando whatsoever at the end of
the song.
Published by Augener Ltd.
Sco 6008 Mme Decroix-Savole
ALLO AL88 R. Herbert (F. Waldman)
WONNE DER WEHMUTH
Poem by GOETHE
Music by BEETHOVEN
Op. 83 No. j
THE fate of 'Wonne der Wehmuth' depends on the answer to this
question: will the soil, otherwise the singer's imagination, into which
the precious seed of Beethoven's creation is dropped be fertile I can
listen to many a great piece of music performed in a routine, even a
slipshod way, without a sense of personal outrage, because I love the
music so dearly. An amateur orchestra, for instance, struggling with
Schubert's 'Unfinished', playing slightly out of tune, with ragged
attack, having no thought for the relation of one phrase to another
but rather tackling each phrase as a separate obstacle fiercely to be
overcome, will rouse in my breast a warm feeling of friendly sympathy
but will not make me hate the symphony itself. This little gem of
Beethoven's, however, stands or falls by the quality of its performance,
and if it is indifferently sung or played one dislikes the very song itself.
I myself did so, until I heard it sung, as it really should be sung, by
the exquisite Elisabeth Schumann.
I regard andante as a misleading sign, for the tempo is slow, very
slow; the first two bars take almost twenty seconds to cover and the
performers would do well to take largo as a more fitting indication of
the music's pace. The singer needs infinite poise. Although the mood
is so emotional, her feelings are restrained, for the phrases which look
so short on paper become quite long in actual execution and call for
a sure command of the breath. The vocal line, despite all nuances, must
be steady, 'Trocknet riicht' in bars i and 2 with no introduction to
prepare us is immediately expressive, and the thirty-second note on
the second syllable of 'trocknef is leisurely: one clearly hears the final
consonant. These utterances together with the accompaniment's
descent in the latter half of each bar are full of eloquence.
g x j Andante esfresswo
Truck-net nicht,
trock-cet nicht,
WONNEDERWEHMUTH 9
I have indicated the points at which a slight increase and decrease
of tone are desirable, but these signs are mine, they are not Beethoven's,
and they should not be underlined; only suggested. So slight are these
nuances that I hesitate to mention them but they should be felt, for
these two bars are the kernel of the song, expressive and intense. The
singer needs plenty oi time for them and so does the accompanist, his
descending scale being played with a nan legato touch but with the
pedal joining each note. He listens carefully to ensure that each note
is less in quantity than the note before.
At bars 5 and 6 the piano echoes the singer's opening phrase, but
it will jar the listener if the pianist, not quite certain in his mind how to
shape the grace notes, accomplishes these turns clumsily. Counting
four crotchets to each half bar, I have found the following the smoothest
method:
etc
In the original, these turns are sixty-fourth notes (I have worked it out
mathematically!), but each note is played so slowly that it is full of
meaning. Please observe that the crescendo arid diminuendo signs are
Beethoven's.
Seeing the sforzandi in the accompaniment at Hand 9 the singer
should apply them particularly to the words 'Wie ode, wic todt die
Welt ihm erscheinf.
But if the singer needed great breath control at ;j and 4, how much
more taxing 14 and 15 will be. Many is the time I have heard the
tone waver on the spot where the composer lias written riiard\ here
too the singer is completely exposed without the cloak of an accom-
paniment to provide shelter.
Ex.3
Lit- - be uo-gluck hchrr Lie
Bars 17, 18, 19 are the climax of the song. Here the singer seems to
be staying an eternity on the G natural, yet the slow tempo must be
maintained. It is very natural for an accompanist here to make a
10
WONNE DER WEHMUTH
slight accelerando to help the inexpert singer over this formidable hurdle,
and I am so much on the alert at this point to render what aid I can,
that I found myself hastening these chords when rehearsing with
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf. This consummate artist begged me, however,
to keep inexorably to the slow tempo and the effect was glorious. What
mastery from the singer it needs!
I have suggested by a comma at 18 after 'Thranen 1 where the singer
may take a breath, and it is pretty certain most singers will need this
breath if the tempo is slow enough.
truck-Det Dicht, Thra
17
UD liick hch-er Lie
18
bt- !
i9
As a postscript I should like to say a word about the beginning of
this song. Since there is no pianoforte introduction it is an important
preliminary to sec that the singer knows the pitch of the note with
which she starts; quite often the two partners have not discussed and
have no clear understanding as to the way the accompanist should
communicate it. To poke at it with the index finger is not to be
recommended. The two most inoffensive means I know arc to play a
chord of E major the chord to last an exact half bar in length or,
carefully watching the singer, and after her breath has been taken, for
the accompanist to play his chord a fraction of a second before the
voice utters the note. The example below explains my meaning; but
I must add that the chord is played extremely softly.
Ex.5
If the singer has perfect pitch and needs no help, that is best of
all, but it is not easy to find G sharp if the preceding song in your group
was in a totally unrelated key.
Published by Augcner Ltd,
G DA 1 357 Elisabeth Schumann
T Aa78i Aullikki Rautawaara
ALLO AL88 R. Herbert (F. Waldman)
FELDEINSAMKEIT
Words by HERMANN ALMERS
Ex.1 Laogsam
(Slowly)
Music by JOHANNES BRAHMS
Op. 86 No. 2
ho - leu gru-Da Gras und ser - de Ian
_______ L.
mei - nen Blick nach- o
ben nach
*
ff
3 &
MOST of us, at some time or another, have had the experience of
lying in the grass, gazing upwards and feeling remote from the world
ii
12 FELDEINSAMKEIT
with only the cricket's chirrup in our ears and only the wide arch of
sky to meet our eyes. The billowy clouds sailing across the blue had a
mesmeric effect, so that while the body remained very much earth-
bound the mind was caught up with the eyes into 'the limitless realms
of the air'. 'Mir ist als ob ich langst gestorben bin 1 ; it was an unearthly
feeling, the soul seeming to have left the body. 'Feldeinsamkeit'
awakens in us an echo of some such tranquil enjoyment as this.
In the right hand of the accompaniment the chords withdraw
from earth's embrace and float up into the blue. The bass should
always be played fairly solidly, not only as a reminder that we are
earthbound, but because too ephemeral a tone will give insufficient
support to the singei whose long legato phrases make this song a stern
ordeal for him. Although the bass is substantial, the soft pedal is used
all the time. No change of sustaining pedal is necessary for the first two
bars, but thereafter, speaking generally, the pedal changes on the
first and third beats.
Always the accompanist, watching the vocal line, gives the singer all
the breathing space he needs. For instance, after 'lange' a breath may
be wanted and time must be allowed for it. This gap in the vocal line
can be covered up by the pianist joining the chord on 'lange' (5) to
the chord on the first syllable of 'meineri' (6). If the accompanist on
such an occasion as this ' breathes sympathetically' with the singer,
it is most unsympathetic of him, for it draws attention to the singer's
difficulty allowing the listener to hear the machinery creaking. This
is an instance which shows how necessary it is for performers to keep
their secrets to themselves. By taking the audience into our confidence
we disturb their repose, make them share the singer's trepidation,
aware of the pianist's too obvious solicitude. Success for the* singer lies
in his ability to make his difficulties unapparcnt. Therefore when he
breathes after l lange' the singer will take a quiet and leisurely breath;
a snatched breath would give the game away. He can only do this
with the accompanist's help.
To sing contemplatively it is necessary to sing softly, one does not
muse in a roaring jorte\ no crescendo should be made on the rising
phrases of 3 and 4. After the breath at the end of bai 5, the singer feels
like a giant refreshed, but he must restrain himself; listening carefully
to himself he makes his first note of bar 6 exactly the same in volume
as the preceding note.
The whole song is uniformly piano save where Brahms asks for a
slight increase in tone. That arch at 'meinen Blirk nach oben' is the
more graceful by reason of its slenderness; any thickening of it by
swelling the tone only coarsens it.
Six bars in each verse (12 to 17 in verse i, 29 to 34 in verse 2) are
notorious for their challenge to the singer.
FELDEINSAMKEIT
Him - meli,-blau -e S \\uc - der- s,am um - wo - ben, /"von
V.2. und zie - he be - Jig mit ^durch ew'-gt- Kau - me. ^ und
Him-mels>-bldU - t- ^ wun-der-sam um - wo - - bru
zie - he be - lig mit durch ew'-
Undoubtedly the ideal way to sing these bars is with only one division
for breath, at the comma after 'umwoben', bar 13, verse i, and after
'Raume', bar 30, verse 2, though this may be found impossible at the
slow tempo required. The singer who has not husbanded his resources
during bars 12, 13, 14 will be in dire straits towards the end of 15, 16,
17; then will be heard the quavering tone, the struggle to sustain
without support, the frenzied accelerando of the accompanist who realizes
that his partner is going to keep his appointment on the first beat of
i 7 ahead of schedule. I have heard singers come such a cropper here
that an expression of terror has appeared on their faces, a terror which
grows during the second verse in anticipation of the next hurdle,
29 to 34, which is even more difficult to negotiate than its counterpart
in verse i. It is better to be safe than sorry, therefore I have indicated
where it is best for breaths to be taken.
The semiquavers of the 'turn' in 16 arid 33 should be as slow as
possible, with plenty of time to 'look round' on the third beat, as if
the world were standing still.
Ex.3
No one who heard the incomparable Gerhard t do it will ever
forget it.
The second verse is richer and even more exacting than the first.
'Die schonen weissen Wolken zieh'n dahin' ('white clouds floating
gently above 1 ) is done in one sweep (at the corresponding bars in
verse I we were able to take a breath) and so is 'wie schone stille
Traume' ('like lovely peaceful dreams'). By smoothness and con-
tinuity of vocal line the singer will do justice to the sudden B flat minor
modulation with which Brahms has coloured the words.
FELDEINSAMKEIT
Ex.4
CJTJTJ' IT EEEE
tie - fe Blau, wie schb-oe stil-le Trau
me, wie
Suspension of all movement is suggested here by the merest thread
of tone. The crescendo is veiy slight and is there only to make it possible
to effect the diminuendo in 24. Mczza voce prevails throughout the second
verse.
*I feel as though I were dead' is the crux of the song and should
be delivered without expression: warmth of tone or a point-making of
'gestorben' will rob the phrase of its unearthliness.
Ex.5
mir ist, alt> ob ich lan^ht ge-btor - beo bin
It is unearthly but not morbid, and the fact that Brahms handles the
situation above in the same way that he treats it in the second of
FELDEINSAMKEIT 15
the Four Serious Songs Opus 121 No. 2, should not confuse the
performers.
Ex. 6 From Brahms Vier trnste gesang*
m
Da lob
Then I
te ich
did praib<
die Tod
the dead.
*
PP
**
You see in both examples the voice descending and the detached
stepping-down octaves in the accompaniment; you see Brahms in each
case inclining his head. But whereas the excerpt from the Four Serious
Songs is imbued with religious awe, the crucial phrase in Example 5
must be sung with serene wonderment, for the sensation is one of
elation, of a floating de-materialization: there is no movement, there is
only space and emptiness. To preserve this the pianist should resist a
tendency to hasten at bar 28. Nothing seems to be happening in this
bar, and that is how it should be.
Hermann Aimers and Johannes Brahms have given us a deeply felt
song which cannot be sung too slowly. It should take at least four
minutes to perform.
Published by N. Simrock
G D2<x>9 Elena Gerhardt
C 7204M Alexander Kipnis (Gerald Moore)
PD 30009 Heinrich Schlusnus (Franz Rupp)
G EWg Julia Culp (Fritz Lindernarm)
G EG3308 Gerhard Husch (Hans Udo Miillcr)
PD 19977 Leo Slezak
G 328 Leopold Demuth
C LXi403 Hans Hotter (Gerald Moore)
G DA635 John McGormack (Edwin Schneider)
Voc Ao2i6 Elena Gerhardt (Ivor Newton)
PD 622169 Leo Slezak
D Ki665 Paul Schoefflcr (Ernest Lush)
T A2040 Karl Schmitt- Walter (Franz Rupp)
V 10-1405 Lotte Lehmann (Paul Ulanowsky)
G 063285 Maria Muller (Ivor Newton)
West WL5053 A. Poell (V. Graef )
P PEi28 P. Munteanu (G. Favaretto)
MEINE LIEBE 1ST GRVN
Poem by FELIX SCHUMANN
Music by JOHANNES BRAHMS
Op. 63 No. 5
*MEINE Liebe ist grim' refutes Wolf's criticism that Brahms 'could not
exult 5 . It is true that the mood of unrestrained happiness did not come
easily to him. Sometimes he laboured in vain for it, as in the heavy-
footed *O liebliche Wangen', which his critics are quick to seize on in
substantiation of their charge.
But the composer's misses are surely outweighed by the bull's-eyes
he has scored in such songs as 'Der Gang zum Liebchen', Opus 48 No. i ;
'Auf dem Schiffe', Opus 97 No. 2; 'Fruhlingstrost', Opus 63 No. i;
and 'O komme holde Sommernacht', Opus 58 No. 4.
'Meine Liebe ist griin' is a paean of joy from beginning to end,
and those who have not found it so cannot have heard Gerhardt,
Lehmann, John Coates, and Kipnis sing it. The vocal line does indeed
seem to give the singer the 'wings of a nightingale' as it sweeps higher
and higher.
Ex * With animation
Mar
~^
^ \fl*i n* T i <-. - _ K*. i^t fyr-'iri
el ne Li
r r r r r
f rrrrrrj
The song must start with a burst from the very first note. It does
not gradually get into its stride, it shoots off like a rocket. Singer and
16
MEINE LIEBE 1ST GRUN IJ
pianist will be able to get together if a preliminary chord is played
(like a precautionary 'Are you ready?') before beginning the song,
This ensures a fair start.
The singer must make the most of his flights on to the higher notes.
The spacing of the notes in bars i and 2 allows for this; but the final
quavers of bar 7 can be slightly stressed. The marks on these notes are
my own. By hurrying the reiterated D naturals and final quavers of
bars 9 and 1 1 slightly, we are able to spend a little more time on the
top, in bars 10 and 12, while the final climax in bar 14 (G sharp and
F sharp) is quite spacious, with the tempo resumed in bar 15.
Ex, 2
10
*^ * *
// * IS 13 /4 16 16
The song takes little more than a minute to perform and it is
unnecessary to attempt any contrast in the treatment of the two
verses. They are musically the same. Bars i to 16 should be treated as
one line; the rests should not be regarded as punctuations, giving the
feeling of a succession of small phrases, Brahms very kindly put them
there to enable the singer to take in air. Snatched breaths are all the
singer will have time for, and if he feels he is hardly done by let him
remember that he is suffering in a good cause, for the impression he
seeks to create is one of breathless joy. I think Brahms must have had
this in mind by the wide drop of a sixth in bars 15 and 35, which
suggests not the evaporation of enthusiasm but breathlessness.
The performance of this song is frequently spoiled by the pianist.
He gets in the way of the singer. The latter has a clean line, while the
accompanist admittedly has a mass of notes to contain, with some
awkward leaps into the bargain. The success or failure of 'Meine Liebe
ist grim' depends very largely on the pianist, whose playing above all
wants vitality. But this does not necessarily mean that he gives an
equally weighted forte on every note of the song, though a glance at
the first three bars of Example i might suggest this. The following
markings (my own) will give an idea how the passages in the left hand
should be tackled (Example 3).
In the first two bars a kick is wanted on the low bass notes, and a
burst on to the top D sharp and on to the C sharps in bar 3. A diminu-
tion of tone is made in the descent of the arpeggiando to make the booms
of the bass notes and the bursts on the top notes stand out more clearly,
but the general level of tone being forte this is not to be overdone.
S.A. 3
i8
Ex, 3
MEINE LIEBE 1ST GRUN
At the singer's big sweeps on bars 9, 10, and 11,12 the accompaniment
is phrased to correspond with the vocal urge to the top notes on Tlieder-
busch' and 'Wonne', while the bass octaves in bars 13, 14 must be huge.
But what of the right hand? It is turning on the heat, supplying the
impetuosity. It syncopates throughout the whole song as shown in
Example i . While the singer takes his breath at bar 4 and most especi-
ally on his high notes in bars 10, 12, 14 the pianist clatters.
I hope it will not be thought that in Example 3 and my recom-
mendations following, I am showing how I can improve on Brahms.
I am only trying to indicate how a pianist can match the singer's
enthusiasm and be of immense support to him in this strenuous song.
The singer will not feel he is waging a lone battle against hopeless
odds.
In one place and in one place only do I deliberately contravene
Brahms' instruction, this is bars 19, 20, and of course the corresponding
bars 39, 40: it is when the piano is solo.
Ex 4
poco ten .
The above are Brahms' markings and I quarrel with ihefermata on the
first beat of bar 20. Played thus it seems to me that the lively tempo
(resumed on the second quaver of the bar) gets off to a very dusty
start. I prefer to make my fermata on the fourth beat of 19 waiting as
long as I like and then starting the quick tempo on the first beat of
bar 20, as follows:
MEINE LIEBE 1ST GRUN
The accent (piano) coming on the first beat of the bar draws the loose
reins together and off we gallop again.
I may be completely mistaken in my notion of the above but I
have played it for hundreds of singers and they have never been at
odds with me over this passage. In any case whether the student agrees
or disagrees with me he must see that there is no flagging in the
'symphony' after each verse, it should quicken right up to thefermata.
The last two bars of the song should be played in strict time.
Max Friedlander, in his admirable book Brahms's Lieder (O.U.P.)
says of these bars 'one can not say whether the effect of the piano
signifies a faint anxiety, hesitation and doubt, or peaceful calm 5 , but
I think this is reading too much into it. The penultimate bar pants
with physical fatigue. The last chord is, speaking metaphorically,
like a grunt of satisfaction as one drops exhausted into an armchair.
Not a bad idea for the singer and pianist who have performed the song
properly.
The poem, in case one hears a stray word from time to time, is
by Felix Schumann, son of Robert and Clara and godson of Brahms.
Published by Peters
G DA 1 469
PD 25014
G DA 1 586
V 17746
D LX305I
Lottc Lehmann (Erno Balogh)
Julius Patzak (Franz Rupp)
Kirstcn Flagstad (Edwin MacArthur)
Alexander Kipnis (Ernst Wolff)
Suzanne Danco (G. Agosti)
VERGEBLICHES STANDCHEN
(Niederrheinisches Volkslied] Music by JOHANNES BRAHMS
Op. 84 No. 4
i THINK we can picture the youth in this song as a country bumpkin
not over-burdened with wit, for how else can his uncouth wooing be
explained? Indeed it is hard to resist the suspicion that though his
day may have been spent harmlessly enough in pushing the plough,
our rustic serenader has spent the evening in the local tavern. Let us
put it this way, he is very, very happy 'Gut gelaunt' as Brahms has it,
In this spirit he calls up to the window of his sweetheart not in a
pleading whisper, melting to the hardest heart, but with a full-throated
confident bawl whose effect speedily brings the girl to her window
and which threatens to rouse the entire neighbourhood. The girl's
mother, we gather, seems to hold some prejudice against young men
interviewing young ladies late at night, and it is long past bedtime;
it is five minutes past ten, Mamma, that vigilant guardian, sleeps
with one eye open.
Rolling down the lane on his heels and singing lustily comes our
young hopeful:
Lebhaft, gut gelaunt
r-Jpirj-r r i[jji-na^
Gu-teo A - bend mem Schatz,gu-ten A - bend mem kind,
^ 3 466
The treatment of this verse should be hale and hearty. Despite its
jocosity it gives such an impression of rough masculinity that we are
surprised in the second verse where the girl sings how graceful and
light-footed the same music can sound. If the piano and pianissimo signs
in Verse i are ignored, Verse 2 being all piano will provide a far
greater contrast, and this is the way I like it.
Foreshadowing the appearance of the girl at her window, the
accompanist at bar 20, making no crescendo, plays softly and daintily,
changing character with the singer.
Like all pretty young women, the heroine of our story holds the
whip hand; her summing up and handling of the situation is masterly.
With sound tactical sense one would almost call it generalship she
brushes aside the jovial salutation and the declaration 'Ich komm'aus
Lieb' zu dir', and concerns herself solely with the plea 'Open your
door to me' which she considers as being of more pressing importance.
20
VERGEBLICHES STANDCHEN
21
Replying with commendable forthrightness she answers. 'My door is
locked, I'll not let you in', and adds as a coup de grdce y 'Mother has
given me very good advice about such goings on.'
In spite of this rude awakening from slumber the young girl is
not in an ill-humour but rather enjoys making the fellow look stupid.
This verse therefore should be sung with the lightness of touch
befitting one whose words are not intended to be overheard by all and
sundry, yet it should be delivered with that relish invariably enjoyed
by the female when punishing the delinquent male.
But come, the boy is not so stupid after all, or can it be that the
cold night air has had a sobering effect? At all events he tries a new
dodge in the third verse. He pleads 'It's so cold out here and the wind
is like ice do let me in.'
The pianist plays an important part here, for he supplies the icy blast
and shows the shivering figure. By holding the sustaining pedal at
bars 43, 44, 45, and at 47, 48 (and of course maintaining the forte) an
effect of howling wind can be obtained; while the accents on the
second beat of 52 and 54 (Example 3) are indicative of a cold shiver,
the staccato chords contributing to this impression.
At bar 60 the dismissal of the village Romeo is signalled by an
animato sign leading to 'You go home to bed. Goodnight, my lad.'
Again I recommend the abrogation of the/or/^ at 61, for the singer and
pianist must use a light tone all through the girl's verse. The leggiero
22
VERGEBLICHES STANDCHEN
sign at 7 1 is of special significance in that it enables us to appreciate
that behind the apparent severity of her remarks the girl can hardly
conceal her amusement. It is sung with a smile to an accompaniment
which almost titters and which I like played with more staccato than is
marked.
Ex.4
I/- . , I I ,
Lo-schet sie im - mer zu, geh' heim zu Bett, zur RuhJ
There are several ways of singing bars 75 to 80, my preference is as
follows:
Ex, 5
rail. -
tempo
m
Gu-te Nacht meio Knab ;
76 76
gu- te Nacht,
77
gu-te Nacht, gu - te Nacht mein Knab !
7<y 79 &o
The slackened speed in 75 and the slight tenuto are coquettish, while
the resumption of tempo at 77 is peremptory and not without humour.
A rallentando which some people like, from 77 to the end, is too
pedestrian.
Surely Brahms is telling us by the sforzando in 82 that the girl is
closing her window with a slam.
VERGEBLIGHES STANDCHEN
Ex.6
Well I'm
damued '
f
At all events, that is my reading of it, and this accounts for the bad
language in 83, 84 which the thwarted youth might well use. I ought
to explain to the reader, who might take me too literally, that I do not
utter these words aloud when playing these chords at the end of the
postlude they only pass through my mind.
Max Friedlander tells us that Brahms desired a serious interpreta-
tion for * Vergebliches Standchen' but I cannot see it at all in this light.
Brahms' own instructions are *With animation and good humour' and
that is the way it should be. The song ought to raise a smile.
Published by Peters
DA 14 1 7
D2OO7
(Soc)
G
G
G
P
Voc 63 1 1 5
P
Pat Xg3ii6
Elisabeth Schumann (George Reeves)
Elena Gerhardt
Alexander Kipnis (Gerald Moore)
Richard Tauber (Percy Kahn)
Elena Gerhardt
Lotte Lehmann
Lucien Muratore
VON EWIGER LIEBE
Poem by WENTZIG Music by JOHANNES BRAHMS
Op. 43 No. i
DARKNESS has fallen over woodland and field; it is evening and the
world is still. No light is seen, nor smoke from chimney, and the lark
no longer sings. A lad comes from the village seeing his sweetheart
home, he takes her by the willow wood talking earnestly. 'If you are
distressed and ashamed because of me, the bond of our love will be
severed as swiftly as it was tied and we will part as quickly as we were
united.' The maiden replies: 'Our bond oflove will never be severed!
Steel and iron are strong, but our love is stronger! Iron and steel can
be forged but how can our love be changed? Iron and steel can be
melted but our love will last for ever! 5
'Von Ewiger Liebe' is a big song and it must be performed in a big
way. It is an oil painting on a large canvas in which essential clarity
of detail does not obscure the whole. Detailed effect in this phrase and
that, after being practised and mastered, are then regarded as sub-
sidiary; the wood can be seen in spite of the trees. Although there is a
rising phrase here, a falling phrase there, now a big crescendo, now an
accelerando all these become subservient to the overall uphill dynamic
climb culminating in the grand climax which is not reached until
the very end of the song, bars 113 to 117, 'unsere Liebe muss ewig
bestchn'.
'Good/ says the student, 'then arrangements must be made accord--
ingly. I will conserve rny energy until I reach this point and on the road
towards it I will singmezzoforte where a forte is marked, I will sing piano
for a mezzoforte, a pianissimo for a piano\ then when I corne to the climax
I will let them have it. I will thunder.' But this artful dodge will not do.
One's mind must, of course, from the very first be aware of the goal, of
the supreme point waiting so far ahead, but the song will surely be
emasculated by this process of planing down the dynamics. 'Our love
is stronger than iron and steel,' declares the maiden: singer and pianist
have this at the back of their minds before they embark on this song,
for it is a song of strength and purpose and conviction. Not finesse,
which implies artificiality, nor craft implying cunning, are demanded
from the performers but rather, sincerity and a good heart; in one
word honesty. The miniaturist should fight shy of this song for it
needs a Kathleen Ferrier, with a Kathleen Ferrier's nobility of spirit
and glory of voice.
There are so many varieties of tone and colour in which singer and
24
VON EWIGER LIEBE 25
pianist can indulge, piano or pianissimo^ forte or mezzoforte, that it is
impossible to find enough labels to tag on to them. Weight and quality
of tone cannot be categorized. The forte or fortissimo, for instance, in a
Chopin Nocturne is quite different in value from that in a Chopin
Scherzo. In the latter the/or/* may need percussive brilliance and dash,
while the Nocturne's/or/^ is only a comparative one, only a swelling of
tone in a cantabile passage. The piano mark for instance at the opening
of ' Von Ewiger Liebe' is quite different in meaning from the piano mark
in Brahms' 'Wiegenlied': one is sombre and heavy, arresting the
attention; the other lulls us.
With the implication of the words of the first verse in his mind the
pianist's four-bar introduction is played with a firm legato touch, the
bass notes predominating. A certain intensity of feeling can mark this
introduction, it is portentous, but at bar 4 the pianist can relax a little
(in other words make a diminuendo) for the opening verse is purely
descriptive (*Not a movement is to be seen nor a sound heard as night
sinks over village and field'), and calls for a dark but unemotional
quality of tone. Bars 5 to 1 2 should be sung in two curves, 5 to 8 the
upward curve, 9 to 12 the downward. They are majestic phrases but
lose in dignity if divided thus: 5-6 up, 7-8 down, 9-10 up, 11-12 down.
Brahms himself has marked bars 14 to 21 with these big curves by
crescendo and diminuendo signs and the singer should give the same shape
to his earlier phrases.
Ex 1 .
ft U^rg -^-Ji-IJ J ^
DUD - krl, wie dun - kel
f> 6
r fl IT j F-- TJ *
m Wald und IL Ft- Id '
7 <V
A - bend schoo
9
The phrase marks arc mine. I have inserted them, as I have the
crescendo and diminuendo signs, to indicate how the singer should think
of the long line. Certainly a breath can be quietly taken on the quaver
rest in bar 6 though a breath in bar 5 is hardly needed albeit the
quaver rest should be observed: the comma after 4 es', bar 10, enables
another breath to be taken if wanted.
I give Brahm's marking for bars 14 to 21 which plainly show that
rny treatment of Example i is not too far removed from the composer's
idea.
VON EWIGER LIEBE
A breath can be permitted after 'Licht' but 'Rauch ja' should be joined.
A sense of restlessness, which is inherent in the music, can only be
parried by the performers' determination to avoid over-emotionalizing
and by maintaining long smooth lines. Movement comes in the second
verse ('a lad escorting his sweetheart emerges from the village') and
can be conveyed by a casting off of the restraint exercised in verse i and
an increase of the tone to a mezzopiano; all this anticipated by the
accompanist (bars 21 to 24). A quickening of tempo is inadvisable, for it
will nullify the effect of a stringcndo which is to come much later. Small
though the difference may be between verses i and 2 in the musical
text, it is an important one. It lies in the altered dynamics at the end
of the verse. Bars 18 to 21 droop away but 38 to 41 surge upwards
threateningly the voice, on the last syllable of 'mancherlei', keeping
to the F sharp a reiterated note which heightens the lovers' tension.
Ex.3
rr - del
viel und bo
39
man cht-r - lei
This verse, ending as it does in the middle of a sentence ('earnestly
the lad said '), the three-bar gap has to be bridged by the singer's
thought which carries the listener along with him. This thought is
sustained only by the pianist's playing. Everything depends on the
pianist. His four bars (41 to 44) are note for note the same as his
introduction to the first and second verses (i to 4 and 21 to 24), but
this time, picturing the lad's white-faced protestation, he plays them
with white-hot intensity, he presses down each note knowing that he is
carrying the song by the urgency of his playing.
Ex.4
VON EWIGER LIEBE $7
To fulfil the demands made above, a good mezzoforte is sufficient.
Feeling, not loudness, gives intensity to the tone.
Pain and heartache underlie the lad's passionate declaration that
he will part from his love rather than cause her suffering; these are
symbolized by the cross rhythm between the vocal quavers and the
triplets in the accompaniment. The twos against the threes must be
steady and strong. Like blocks of granite the music piles up now in
sections; 45 to 52 is overtopped by i\\t poco piu forte e poco stringendo. Each
section is but a part of one chapter and the links to each section are
strung by the pianist's climbing and loudening triplets in bars 52 and
60. These links are played with terrible intensity, for by them the singer
is stimulated to heighten the volume of sound.
Ex.5
du Schmach VOD
VON EWIGER L1EBE
Arriving at bar 61 another organ stop is pulled out the tempo
quickens and works up to the passionate
Ex.6
Schnell wie wir frii - her \er
ui - get
<&&
71
Turbulent though the music has been from bar 45 to 72 the pinnacle of
the song has not yet been attained: the performers still hold some
power in reserve: boiling-point was almost reached, but riot quite.
Yet the listener must not be aware of this; to him the piling up of these
blocks of sound has culminated in a huge climax of breath-taking
intensity. Singer and pianist do not arouse suspicion by 'pulling their
punches' to use a boxing metaphor for this would be insincere and
quite unconvincing. They must put tremendous energy and power into
it without driving themselves to the utmost limit of their capacity.
A forte is marked at bar 68, but it wants njortisunio. The left hand
VON EWIGER LIEBE 2Q
thunders and is heard over and above the accompanying and insistent
right-hand triplets. A non legato clatter is easily achieved but should be
avoided even at the cost of a slight smudging of harmonies as I have
indicated by my pedalling. From bar 72 the long line descends into
(I stress the word 'into') the 'Ziemlich langsam' section, bar 79.
Ex.7 ^
The slow section must be joined dynamically and rhythmically to the
preceding bars. Judgement is needed to achieve this. First of all the
accompanist sees that his tone, decreasing in volume as the music
descends, is a gradual reduction so that at bar 78 he is already anti-
cipating the pianissimo quality of the next bar: also he must arrange his
ritardando so that his right hand quavers, slowing up by degrees, actually
establish the 6/8 rhythm of bar 79 with the last triplet of 78. Thus the
two sections are dovetailed. A perfect fusion is essential to hold the
song together, for the section we are now approaching bears no musical
relation whatsoever to the last unless indeed we look on the song as
an emotional cadence the boy's utterance being the unsatisfied dis-
cord, the girl's the serene transcendental tonic. For certainly, the
fervid turbulence of the boy resolves itself into the sublime faith of the
girl; a faith which expresses itself in music of spacious dignity and
nobility. We sense the presence of a character so much stronger than
the lad's, notwithstanding his passionate protestations. He does well to
worship her and fall at her feet when she declares 'Our love is stronger
than iron or steel our love is eternal.' We are lifted to a higher plane
and it is for this that the singer has been husbanding her resources; it
was of this that singer and accompanist were thinking at the commence-
ment of the song. Appropriately enough this calm strength is introduced
by the quietest means, the voice part moving in long steady lines to the
30 VONEWIGERLIEBE
accompaniment of an undulating, unagitating figure in the pianoforte
(as seen in bar 79, Example 7).
Ex - 8 Ziemlich langsam
> J J. IJ^LJ * l r J J. '
Spricht das Mag-de-lein,
79 80
re Lie
be
84
Mar - de - lein spricht:
8t 82
tren - net sich nicht 1
86 86
No sign of the 'Sturm und drang 5 through which she passed is seen on
the singer's face or heard in her voice. Bars 83 to 86 are taken in one
breath; snatch a breath after 'Liebe' and the phrase founders, the
meaning goes out of the words. The grace notes in bar 85 (and 105)
should be treated as ordinary semiquavers, unhurried, as follows:
Ex. 8a
Sie treo
net sich nicht !
Now the music gains momentum and works up to a forte ('unsere
Liebe ist fester noch mehr'). It is a foothill of the high peak towards
which we are working. The accompanist leaps and surges in waves
under the upward curve of the voice (86 to 94) then ebbs quietly away
in a ritardando to a dolce in preparation for the long final climb. Once
again the pianist links these two sections together. The tempo at 94 is
quicker. after the animato sign at 88, and the diminuendo and ritardando in
the pianoforte merge gradually into the rather slow time again,
re-establishing at 99 the tempo we used at 79.
Ex.9
99
VON EWIGER LIEBE 3!
Brahms* instruction at 93 and 94 is mezzoforte, but this is not enough; it
needs a good big forte. Strict observance of the dolce at 99 is necessary,
this gives the singer all the space she needs to make the huge crescendo
which takes us up to the peak:
Ex.10
un - se - re Lie -be UD - se - re Lie - be mus
117
Both the fortissimo marks at 113 and 117 are mine; Brahms has only
marked forte which is quite inadequate. This grand and sustained
climax needs all the power the singer has and all the support that the
pianist can press into his keys. A breath is taken before the final
'ewig'.
At 1 13 and 1 14 the piano has a definite 3/4 rhythm clearly marked
in the grouping of the right-hand quavers and in the three beats, each
strongly emphasized, in the bass. Against this the voice sails on un-
disturbed and triumphant. It is the great moment of the song and as
such it deserves 'lebcnsraum': in other words it wants space. The
animato which has prevailed since 108 must give way to a broader
slower tempo at 1 13 and the last 'ewig' is given as much time as the
singer wants to spend on it, consistent with the quaver movement in
the accompaniment, on which the pianist makes a molto rallentando.
Actually the singer feels the beats of the slowing quavers underneath
her and will be guided by them so that she can meet the accompanist on
the second syllable of 'ewig'. It is very inconsiderate of a singer and a
32 VON EWIGER LIEBE
sign of bad musicianship if, after her partner's well-executed molto
rallentando (i.e. a lengthening in ever- increasing proportions of the six
quavers), she hangs the accompanist up for an eternity on the last
quaver before coming down on the second syllable.
From 1 1 7 (seen above) the pianoforte finishes off the song, making
a ritardando as Brahms instructs.
Ex.11
J20
I cannot help feeling that the piano sign in 121 can easily be mis-
understood: the tone should indeed be less in volume than it was at the
crowning moment of the vocal arch (115-116), but it should not
become too attenuated. A rich and healthy chord, but not a violent one,
is much to be preferred; indeed to ensure this I plead guilty to em-
bellishing the final chord in the following manner after having given
stress on the preceding quaver.
4 Von ewiger Liebe' ends in a blaze of glory.
Published by Peters
G DBi02i
G 061485
PD 95468
G DBigsy
P En 100
G 062994
PD 67538
G DB5540
PD 622432
G 0621457
PD 68299
P R200I3
Elena Gerhardt
Sigrid Onegin
Maria Olszewska
Dusolina Giannini
Emmy Bettendorf
Alexander Kipnis (Gerald Moore)
Heinrich Schlusnus (Sebastian Peschko)
Tiana Lemnitz (Bruno Seidler-Winkler)
Herman Jadlowker
Victoria de los Angeles (Gerald Moore)
Margarete Klose
Lotte Lehmann
LOVELIEST OF TREES
Words by A. E. HOUSMAN
Music by GEORGE BUTTERWORTH
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW has said that many of his plays are actor-proof.
He meant that his own creation was so wonderful in itself he admitted
it that no bad acting could mar it. Whether such a dictum could be
applied to a musical composition is extremely arguable. Perhaps Cac-
cini's 'Amarylli' or Handel's 'Ombra mai fu', given a lovely tone and
a lawful regard for note values, can survive a lack of personality or the
highest quality of musicianship from the performer: perhaps the music
here speaks for itself without any help from the 'interpreter'. I do not
subscribe to this view entirely though it embodies a warning which
performers cannot afford to ignore. It is the easiest thing in the world
for the singer, for the accompanist, to get in the way, to come between
the song and the audience.
But at least let us give credit to the taste of the artists who know
when to leave well alone, for it is certain that the choice (when to do
when not to do) is in the hands of the performer. Here, the smouldering
fire is left alone and there we fan it into flames.
We resent having the virtuoso conductor's signature scrawled all
over what he calls 'My Beethoven', yet we welcome the personality, the
passionate lyricism that a Beccham puts into Delias.
To say that 'Loveliest of Trees' is a song needing all the poetry,
musicianship, and personal assertion that a singer can pour into it, is
not to minimize the genius of Butterworth. He never wrote two notes
where one note would do; not an ounce of superfluous fat do you find
in his music. He paid the singer and the accompanist the compliment
of marking on his score l Sempre rubato e con espressionc\ sn\ing in effect,
'I leave it to you. Shape, give curve and elasticity to my phrase; breathe
life and passion into it.'
,
'
olto moderatOjSempre, rubato e con expression* ( ^
_^_. : -___ - -.-- -^ m ~=\
~ " r " " __" "_;^ " i
33
34
LOVELIEST OF TREES
Butterworth's economy of notes is evident in this example. The
singer, seeing it for the first time, might consider that the vocal line is
given a very bare accompaniment. If his partner, however, shares with
him the rapture that the words and eventually the music inspire, he
will find that the piano part is full of colour and meaning. Bars i to 3
are buoyant and pliable; they are not played strictly in time. Here is
a situation where the accompanist does not 'establish a tempo'', his intro-
duction is quasi recitative: bar i is long; bar 2 is long, yet in spite of my
stresses, the quavers gather speed as they lessen in weight, making 3 a
short bar. The singer, as I have shown by the arrow, enters as soon as
he hears the F sharp in the bass, but once in, he lingers; he must feel
free to take 4 and 5 as spaciously as he pleases, it would be a pity to
hasten the C sharp on the second syllable of 'loveliest'. Only on the last
beat jof 5 does he indicate the basic tempo of the song; he settles this
tempo in 6 and 7. At 8 the quavers in the accompaniment shape the
ritenuto; while the first quaver group is legato, the second (pp) is detached
but with sustaining pedal. The effect is of a gleaming softness you can
see the glancing light on the bloom.
From 9 until 29 the tempo is maintained (except at 11-12 where the
accompaniment repeats the figure of 1-2 and with the same freedom).
'Wearing white for Eastertide' is glorious; the singer puts all his warmth
into it as the music surges forward.
'White' on its high note can easily be made to glow, but 'Eastertide*
gives the singer a problem, for the volume is greater than at 'white'.
LOVELIEST OF TREES
35
Ex.2
Wear - ing white.
t3
for East - er
/.5
When he embarks on his crescendo at 13 he should remember what
is required of him at 16. And at 16 the accompanist must not be
merciful, he started loudening with his partner, but he goes further still
to a very big climax at 18. If he discreetly lessens his tone so as not to
cover the voice the march of the great crescendo will be interrupted. The
climax with Butterworth's markings is wrung from the piano.
Ex.3
m
i
The singer exults while these white banners for Easter are waving; only
at 20 and 21 where the piano sounds a warning do his thoughts give
him pause.
Ex.4
Now, of my three -
Tweu - t will not come a - uiu,
These misgivings are eloquently echoed in the piano part.
As I have said the tempo is maintained all the time. Indeed as it
dawns on the singer that there are only fifty springs left for him to enjoy,
the pace is inclined to quicken: this is at 27.
36
Ex.5
LOVELIEST OF TREES
Aod take from seventy springs, a score, It on - ly leave* me
Bt-r- -
a =1
fif - tv more
If we have slightly accelerated in that ascending passage we pay back
the time borrowed at 30, 31 where the singer's poco ritardando is
continued in the piano part. ('Ah, yes' the accompaniment sadly
agrees.)
Finally after a three-bar crescendo comes the resolution to which the
poet and composer have been leading us. The singer seems to clasp the
woodlands, the blossoms, the world to his breast.
This is the crux of the song. The laigamentc gives us time to turn round
and survc-y the scene and gives us time for a spiritual and vocal expan-
sion. Perfect understanding is necessary between singer and accom-
T? Y 6
t cresc. , f largamente dim in.
A - bout the wood
land* I will go
To
^
largamente
'dimin.
39
37
38
LOVELIEST OF TREES
37
panist, the latter can incommode his partner very easily as it is he who
shapes the course of this largamente. Thick and heavy the quaver accom-
paniment must be, yet it is supple, ready to move forward at 40, 41, 42
preparatory to its joyous flight in 43. Yes, 43 is all joy.
Ex.7
Let us sing on the piano with all our soul, making the most of it
while we may, for we are gently reminded (44, 45) that life is short,
spring is fleeting.
Reprinted by permission of the George Butterworth Trust and Augener Ltd.
D AM5o6 Roy Henderson (Gerald Moore)
EN SOURDINE
Words by PAUL VERLAINE
Music by CLAUDE DEBUSSY
IT is always fascinating and instructive to compare various musical set-
tings of the same poem. As I shall illustrate later in this book, in John
Fletcher's poem 'Sleep' Ivor Gurney finds tortured restlessness where
Peter Warlock finds infinite repose: Schumann tosses 'Wenn durch die
Piazzetta' up in the air and catches it again with a laugh, but Mendels-
sohn lays his hand on his heart in earnest protestation. Again, the two
settings of 'Die ihr schwcbet um diese Palmen' by Brahms and by Wolf
provide us with an equally great contrast. Brahms sets the words to the
tune of an old lullaby, 'Josef, lieber Josef mein', where the Babe is
rocked to sleep in the arms of the Virgin Mary, but Hugo Wolf is much
more concerned with the angry rustling and swaying of the palm-trees,
fearful that their noise will awaken the sleeping child. We should seize
avidly on such contrasts for they give us an illumination into the mind
and heart of the composer, and it is by comparing them that we find
that where one composer gives precedence to a certain train of the
poet's thought (not necessarily by forcing it on our attention with
vehemence but perhaps by putting his finger to his lips to enjoin
secrecy) the other subordinates this very same thought and gives pro-
minence to an entirely different poetic idea.
These thoughts came to me while studying Debussy's 'En Sourdine*
side by side with Faure's. The last line of this exquisite little poem of
Verlaine's ('Voix de notre desespoir, le rossignol chantera') dominates
Debussy's mind, he gives us the song of the nightingale in the very first
bar of the accompaniment and persists with it almost throughout,
letting the voice act as an obligate.
Ex.1
Reveusement lent
Debussy
EN SOURDINE
39
A u H
J J' P J' i
Cal - mes dans le
1 f- v J j> r^-^
de - mi - jour Que les
-fr--" r
TJNjfof^
-^
-^
=aw
t
k =
L^JUM
U
4
5
J J
bran-ches hau - tes font, Pe'-ne-troo: bien notre a
De ce si - len - ce
Singing dreamily, the lover hears the bird calling insistently (in the
piano part).
The stresses give point to the words but do not lessen the extreme
languor of the mood, a languor which becomes patent to us when we
compare it with Faure's fullness of heart, in Example 2.
This poignancy, not discounted by the composer's dolce recom-
mendation, is still further heightened by the whispered intimacy, the
underlying passion decorously unfolded, of Example 3.
4 o
EN SOURDINE
Fau re
jour Que leb bran-ches hau - tes font,
esprcssivo
Pe'-ne'-trons bleu notre a - mour
Fer - me tes veux
Croi - ^e tes Dras
In this passage is enshrined the tender, quivering, reverential passion of
Faure: but these particular lines do not affect Debussy in the same way.
Ex.4
EN SOURDINE
Per- me tes yeux a de - mi
Croi-se tes
Here we see a lover, truly a tender lover, but one who is sure his invoca-
tion will not be in vain: the softly moving accompaniment is a delicate
caress.
From 1 8 to 31 Debussy's nightingale is silent, but it is a felicitous
section, with the soft rustle of the grasses and leaves stealing on the ear
in the accompaniment.
Ex.5
Intimement d<mx
^j ; j' j' ; j
Debus>sy
P
EN SOURDINE
;> i
=*
bouf-fle ber-ceur et doux
Such a mood is too tranquil to be disturbed save by the gentle plaint
of the nightingale, to which the singer finally alludes in a phrase that
haunts the listener long after the song is ended.
Ex.6
Lent
Duux et expresstf
Debubsy
8=
Voix de no-tre de' - ?
poir, Le ros-si
a
99g5^
it JL 1
~~ ^
-^nol ch
6 d'fiff ;
_j
lan - te
' Bl
r
zzzJ
a.
J J 3^
*^ r
f /
h r
iF
39
Ravishing! At last after its lengthy meditative undertone, occasionally
seeming to have been submerged by the pianoforte, the voice rises high
above the accompaniment. It is still sotto voce, but Debussy has thrown
it up prominently, made it his emotional climax. But Faure's climax is
elsewhere; he is most sonorous at 'Et quand, solennel, le soir des chenes
noirs tombera', with an ample curve for the singer and a portentous
organ-like accompaniment.
Both songs need the most delicate approach; in the Debussy, un-
ENSOURDINE 43
couth or careless playing by the accompanist will goad a singer into
raising his voice beyond the dreamy calm the composer wants. The
singer on the other hand who uses too much tone makes it incumbent
on the pianist to make his song a strident one: if both partners are quiet
and reserved, and each listens to the other, their two voices will be
clearly heard.
In the middle section, 18 to 31, the singer is a little less subdued but
takes care that his line is smooth, and the pianist merely brushes the
keys. Concentrated practice is needed at 29 and 30 where the grace of
the transitional passage will be squandered unless the intonation is per-
fect: the notes must be picked out with affectionate nicety while still
preserving the legato.
Ex.7
poco cres<.
Qui viect a tes piedts ri
der les on - dft> d? ea-zoc
3t
By judicious pedalling the accompanist will match his partner's smooth-
ness. In Example 6 the voice is poised with limpid purity, and we listen
greedily for the nostalgic chords on the last syllables of 'desespoir' and
'chantera'.
As I suggested earlier, a study of Faure's song will give the student
a clearer light on Debussy's in spite of, or because of the vast difference
between the two settings. If I admit to a preference for the former, it is
not to say that I decry the latter, for the Debussy song is lovely to hear,
44 EN SOURDINE
to sing, and to play, and is indeed a magical setting of the words. It is
not so deeply felt as the other, but it enchants us.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. J. Jobert, Paris (Faure's 'En Sourdine*
published by J. Hamelle & Co., Paris)
G DA 1 47 1 Maggie Teyte (Gerald Moore)
IRCC 35 Nellie Melba
LES CLOCHES
Poem by PAUL BOURGET
Music ly CLAUDE DEBUSSY
THE church bells calling from afar as we stand in the woodlands strike
a nostalgic chord in our hearts and bring to mind absent friends and
times past.
Let us not forget that the chimes are heard in the distance; perhaps
their spell would be broken, our ears deafened by their noisy clangour
were we too near them. Can it be that distance lends enchantment?
This song is softly sung and played. Through it all unceasingly and
with unchanging tonality runs the little theme of the bells (G sharp,
D sharp, E as seen in every example where I give the accompani-
ment). This chime must be heard all the time for it inspires the singer's
thoughts and is the thread on which the vocal line is embroidered. The
singer wants to feel this accompanying chime through his singing, and
will only do so if he himself observes the piano and doux signs which are
there in plenty, for by singing too heavily he will impel the accom-
panist's tone to be increased proportionately the 'lointain appel' thus
becoming quite meaningless. Once only is the singer asked to raise his
voice to a mezzqforte. Accompanists too are reminded that the singer
listening to distant chimes is in the woodland, the first words being 'On
the branches the leaves are opening delicately.' The gently rustling
branches are in the right-hand figure.
F* v 1
f\ u ti Andantino quasi Allegretto
P .-
-vrait'nt sur 1^ bord drs bniu-cheh> Df'-li-ca-tt - nicLt,
45
46 LES CLOCHES
As befits a soliloquy the song should be sung with the smoothest legato
line; in the example above, no breath is taken until after 'branches'.
Only the four quavers of 'delicatement', bar 5, are the exception to the
uniform legato they are not staccato, they are merely non legato; little
pin-points of light which become almost too material if treated in legato
style. It is the easiest thing in the world to distort the triplet in bar 4
to make it
p r p
and many singers do this, for it is following the line of least resistance by
fitting so comfortably with the quavers in the piano part; but the effect
of the three against the four carries the thought of the singer so much
more effectively that Debussy uses it seven times in the song.
Provided his right hand is lightly used, the pianist can use his sus-
taining pedal as I have indicated. In an impressionist picture of this
nature the colours can be blurred a little and an effect of mingled
chimes is created. When the bell figure is harmonized from bar 7
onwards, however, the pedal is used with more discrimination.
Ex.2
The C sharp on the first beat of bar 10 can be taken with the right hand
to avoid spreading the chord. Always the bell's call predominates; the
lower harmonies in the bass and the right-hand figure stay in the back-
ground.
'This distant call' says the singer,
Ex.3 = ^ nt
dim.
Me re-me'-mo-rait la blaccheur chretif n - Df L)^ fltMirs> dr 1 au - tel.
i6 17 /# IS 20
and Debussy knows that we shall have made a crescendo on the rising
phrase (bars 16 and 17) culminating in the triplet figure (it is not
marked but it is natural and quite in order to make it), so he wisely
writes a diminuendo on bar 19; for 'Des fleurs de Tautel' is sung rever-
entially. Not perhaps since his childhood certainly not for years has
the soliloquizer had this picture of the white flowers on the church's
altar brought back to him so vividly, a picture which is still capable of
awakening the awe of earlier days. He silently muses, listening to the
bells' more insistent pealing.
LES CLOCHES
47
Ex.4
Bars 21 to 24 must be played with more urgency for they affect the
singer's next utterance; he draws on them to feed his growing emotion.
The pianist can obtain this urgency not only by giving added stress to
the chime (now heard high up in the treble) but by a surge of tone on
the quavers where the crescendo is marked. I find that I do not get slower
in this section although Debussy's instruction is unmistakable, indeed
I have to resist a temptation to go faster, such is my anxiety to express
a quickened emotion. But I obtain this, I hope, by tense touch rather
than by increased speed. 'Those chimes,' says the singer, 'speak to me
of happy years gone by' and then with great feeling in a huge sweep-
ing phrase, 'They seem to turn the faded leaves in this wood green
again.'
d'au - tre - foib.
35 36
Bar 31 is the climax of the song, but it is a short-lived climax, for the
vision fades and the tone with it; the accompaniment stepping down
in 34, 35 (see Example 6) brings the singer back to earth. 'Des jours
d'autrefois', as the composer indicates with his stresses, is a disillusion-
ment not lightly or hastily passed over, but dwelt on with tender regret:
one leaves the word 'jours' as if reluctant to go to the inevitable 'd'autre-
fois'. Debussy anticipated this by reminding us to adopt the first tempo
again in 36.
Ex 6
.??
4 8
LES CLOCHES
My pedalling creates the blurred effect of a mingled chime. It will be
found that bars 37 and 39 if played softly will not jar unpleasingly; the
bells die away in the distance, Tast recall, past recall' they seem to say.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. A. Durand & Son, Paris
L 3.00.008 Claire Croiza (Mme Meedintiano)
U BPi434 Pierre Bernac (J. Doyen)
MANDOLINE
Poem by PAUL VERLAINE Music by CLAUDE DEBUSSY
SIR CHARLES HOLMES writes: 'Refining upon the somewhat gross revels
of Rubens and other predecessors, Antoine Watteau paints human life
as a courtly picnic: yet for all its splendour of silks and satins, for
all its moods and its fervour, the company is fragile, insubstantial,
pathetic.'
Much of Verlaine's poetry could be similarly described. Such verses
as * Glair de lune', 'Fantoches', and 'Mandoline' are in the Watteau
style and attracted the attention of Debussy, Faure, Reynaldo Hahn,
and many others. The gay delightful Debussy song 'Mandoline' is
simply an alfresco scene of gallants serenading fair ladies, exchanging
'des propos fades' under a rose and grey moon, whirling, dancing
together to the tinkling accompaniment of the mandoline. The piano
part is the mandoline except where Debussy uses it to describe the
elegance of the ladies with their long trailing silken dresses
The first note is pizzicato. It is as if the player plucked the string of
his instrument to warn the singers and dancers to make ready. I play
the grace-note in the bass softly, but bang my finger with force on the
treble G, and after the finger leaves the note I press down the sustaining
pedal. Were I to use the pedal before my finger left the key the effect
would be of a sustained note going through all the gradations ofjf,f, mf,
mp, to a piano. But Debussy's mark is sf.p and this cannot be done with-
out a margin of time (the length of which depends on the pianoforte)
between the release of the note by the finger and the depression of the
pedal. I must admit that the strident sforzando is by no means reminis-
cent of a mandoline but I always hope the audience will forget this
when their ears catch the soft rather distant overtone caught by the
pedal. When I know my pianoforte I let this effect sink well into the
audience's consciousness by observing ihefe rmata, but I have known less
fortunate occasions when I have failed to catch the tone with my pedal,
in which case I conveniently forget thefermata and proceed hurriedly to
the next bar.
Another way that this sforzando-piano can be obtained is to depress
first the treble G without sounding the note, then, still holding it down,
strike the lower G sharply and quickly with the left hand: the whole
operation to be performed without the pedal.
S.A. f\
49
MANDOLINE
The soft pedal can be held through the whole song that is, from bar 2
onwards, provided it does not deaden the treble tinkle from bars 8 to 14;
but apart from the effect we seek in the first bar and last bar, the sus-
taining pedal is wanted not at all, with two important exceptions.
Ex.2
The right-hand chords in Example 2 should be flicked, for all the world
as if we were strumming a guitar or mandoline. I recommend a touch
of the sustaining pedal in bars 1 1, 12, the soft left-hand chords can thus
be joined, matching the singer's sighing on 'chanteuses' as seen in
Example 3.
MANDOLINE
Actually a good performance of this song does depend very largely
on the skill of the pianist, but the subtleties in the vocal part are as
manifold, if less obvious. Debussy marked his scores so carefully that we
can never be in any doubt as to his intentions. Take the vocal line in
bars 4 and 5 (Ex. i) and contrast the phrase with bars 6, 7, *Les belles
ecouteuses* have a legato line and a graceful crescendo diminuendo denied
to *Les donneurs de serenades'. The nuance does not call for warmth of
feeling, it is just a bow to the ladies ladies whose beauty while undeni-
able is less appreciated by the fact that the gallant is more concerned
that his bow should be a graceful one. Again Debussy's care for detail
should be noted from bars 8 to 13.
Ex.3
E-chan-gent des pro-pob fa -
S 9
Scut* leu ra-mu-reb chao-
10
p din
-teu
ses
13
The accent on 'fades' tells us how platitudinous were the compliments
exchanged. The serenaders are Tircis and Aminte, both dismissed in
three bars, and Clitandre (I cannot help feeling he was rather a bore)
who has four bars all to himself.
Et c'es>t le-ter-nel Cli
dre,
While Damis 'qui pour mainte Cruelle'
Ex.5
arouses, to some extent, our sympathy. One feels he was an honest trier.
In the latter phrase, no stress should be made on the top G in bar 24,
the three notes on 'fait' should be shaped
Ex. A
52
rather than
MANDOLINE
Ex B
but on 'tendre' a suggestion of a rallentando is quite desirable.
1 1 will be seen from these quotations that the singer must pay great
attention to detail. If the song be taken at too quick a tempo these in-
flexions will be lost; yet the song should not lose its liveliness: the detail
is not more important than the whole. In any case this song does not go
'like the wind'; some people take it ridiculously fast whereas Debussy's
instruction is allegretto vivace not presto or even allegro. From bar 2 (for
the pianist stays on bar i as long as he can) to bar 25 takes about
thirty seconds.
The description of the ladies' elegance and their trailing draperies
is drawn with long graceful sweeps in the accompaniment. Here the
pianist discards the mandoline for the moment he uses the sustaining
pedal and with lightest touch brushes the notes in the treble.
30
The pattern of the opening section returns and once again we are
whirled away in ch ase of those shadowy figures whose tinkling mandoline
and silvery laughter mingle with the breezes and are lost in the night.
With quickening tempo, and tone becoming more and more inaudible,
the song ends.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Durand & Son, Paris
123670
BPi434
74027
O
U
c
G
V 1905
Pat PDT82
D K2333
G DA6oi3
Roger Bourdin
Pierre Bernac
Lilian Nordica
Nellie Melba
Lily Pons
Ninon Vallin
Gerard Souzay
M. Dubuis (S. Gyr)
THE NIGHTINGALE HAS A LYRE OF GOLD
Words by w. E. HENLEY
Music /^FREDERICK DELIUS
THERE is no basic tempo' for this song. The movement is influenced by
the words, by the shape of the phrase, by the pianoforte writing under
the voice. *With easy movement' Delius says, and I think he uses the
word 'easy' as the antithesis of 'tight'. Rubato is the order of the day.
The first vocal phrase, for instance, 8-9-10 moves up impetuously to
its highest note, but the next phrase 12-13-14 is not shaped in the same
way. If the singer is over-impetuous here his partner will have his fingers
tied in knots in a frantic attempt to articulate the lark's call (see
Example 3). Not only that: if the singer uses too loud a tone here
Delius marks it mezzoforte the accompanist's contribution will, in his
effort to be heard, sound like an elephant crashing his way through the
jungle. Whatever concession is thus made to the accompanist, is not on
the grounds of technical difficulties that he may encounter such con-
siderations are unworthy but purely that the listener can hear clearly
what the song is about. The singer herself must be conscious of the
birds' songs that are going on in the pianoforte, for they are the source
of her inspiration.
Here is the rubato introduction; as irresponsible as a bird's flight.
Allegretto (with easy movement not too slowi
m
i
You fly in the last three quavers of i on to the branch in 2 where you
rest quietly and contentedly until you fly again in 3 to rest again in 4.
r>3
54
THE NIGHTINGALE HAS A LYRE OF GOLD
I have indicated where the movement is speeded up and where held
back; the expression marks are mine also. It does not matter how
leisurely your pace in the places where I have written 'wait', so long
as you urge forward with the arrows. The semiquaver chirrups at the
end of bars 4 and 6 must be brisk.
It is obvious that the same sustaining pedal cannot be used through-
out the whole seven bars. The composer's instruction is delightfully
vague, it merely reads 'with pedal'. Evidently the pianist is intended
to use his own discretion. I have marked the pedalling which I
use.
A joyous singing tone is needed especially in bars i to 4. It would
be a pity to spread the bass chord in bar i , and if the hand is too small
to contain it the simplest expedient is to take the top note with the
right hand. This can be done with the wide chord at 6 and at any
similar points. How frequently we send a boy on a man's errand by
attempting the impossible, by striving to play these large chords
with the left hand merely because they are written in the bass
clef! Let the right hand do a little extra work instead of lolling
idly by.
As I said, the singer sweeps up to the top note on 'gold' and in one
breath.
Ex.2
"if
- ' 'ZT _ .
The night-m -gale hat> a lyre.
of gold,
But she may have to breathe as marked (12 to 1 6) in the middle of
each of the next two phrases, as they are slower and more sustained.
All the same it is better not to break these phrases if the singer can
possibly manage them.
Ex.3
THE NIGHTINGALE HAS A LYRE OP GOLD 55
plays but a box - wood
It can be seen by the foregoing example that 12 to 14 needs different
treatment from 8 to 10. 'Call' is given plenty of space but we do not
sweep up to it with the same precipitancy as we did up to 'gold'; it is
a slower climb and the vocal line a steady one. There is a diminuendo
from 1 6 to 18 (though the blackbird's pianissimo fluting in the accom-
paniment must be heard).
And now the singer goes mad, intoxicated by the joy of life and the
mad spring weather, with no thought for the pianist. This is as it should
be, for the latter must fly abreast of his partner playing his surging
triplet chords with zest and verve, but remembering too that the singer
intoxicated or sober will have to pause for a breath.
Ex.4
thrr
This breath is taken after 4 life' (23) and the danger is that in trying to
maintain the quick tempo the singer will take in a hurried gulp of air,
skimping the quaver B sharp and rendering the word 'life' so unintelli-
gibly that the wondering listener hears only what sounds to him like
56 THE NIGHTINGALE HAS A LYRE OF GOLD
the 'joy of lie*. Decidedly it is better to stress this quaver slightly, allow-
ing the consonant at the end of the word to be heard, taking time for
the breath and then soaring ahead again. The pianist must be aware
of the singer's intentions in this matter; his heart of course is full of 'joie
de vivre' but his brain is not befuddled by it.
Delius was a little unkind to place the word 'spring' on those high
notes in 25, and some singers have the greatest difficulty in making the
word clear. Like 'joy', in the previous phrase, it is the most important
word in this phrase, and the crowning point of the quick section. If the
singer sacrifices word value for tone value the listener is apt to hear
'and we in the mad spray weather' which has a damping effect. I have
heard singers evade the issue in this manner:
Ex. 4a
thr mad - ^pnog wru - ther
Apart from the fact that the composer did not write it thus, there is the
more practical objection that the quick quaver again gives the word
'spring' a poor chance. However, it is an idea, and if singers put it to
practical use I advise them to make a wholehearted tenuto on this quaver
and to invest the consonants with great energy, using the S-P-R as a
sort of springboard before diving into the vowel. The accompanist
* treads water' during the singer's preliminaries on the springboard,
prepared to wait as long as is necessary for the clear enunciation of
the word.
Delius brings the song to a most beautiful close. From 27 onwards
the music sinks to a calmer, quieter ecstasy. After the breathless joy of
22 to 26 the singer will not find it easy to keep the tone steady during
this long-drawn-out sweetness. In fact she is immediately confronted by
a phrase so long and sustained that it will be welinigh impossible to
accomplish in one breath; I give it with the composer's expression
marks, though the breaths in 28 and 31 are mine.
Ex 5
s/oii'tr and gutt'ttr p sttli s/uivcr j t /'
tt t ^^^ __ _
i* - U ncd till h sui.^ our
*
hearts a Lid lips to - gc - tlu-r
30 31 32
Whatever breaths are needed must be taken deliberately: a quick
breath agitates the calm surface of the music. Where to breathe? Most
THE NIGHTINGALE HAS A LYRE OF GOLD 57
certainly not after 'sang' (29); a breath here spoils the lovely line of the
voice, C sharp, A, B flat (I like the suspicion of an apportarnento on the
major third interval in 29), and in addition it betrays a misunderstand-
ing of the poet's meaning, for the verb 'sang' is used to infer 'joined*
or 'fused'. And this is why I would take my breath after 'listened',
enabling me to come out with a full heart on the me^oforte 'till he sang
our hearts and lips' a deliberate breath, then me^opiano 'together'.
If you do not need a breath in 31 so much the better, but 'together'
must be firm and this injunction includes the last syllable.
Bars 37 to 40 give the pianist the rounding off of the song. It is an
enviable chance for these bars are full of colour, full of love. Yes, you
love them as you play them.
Ex.6 Slower.
37
There is a big step down in tone from the piano of 37, 38 to the pp
of 39, 40. So quiet are the last two bars that the accompanying chords
under the melody are felt rather than heard. After the 'slower' of 27
and the 'still slower' of 28, the composer again says 'slower' in 37 so
that we know we can take all the time in the world over this postlude.
I make afermata on the third beat of 38 letting the tone die before the
pp in 39. We linger long over these bars, sorry that the song has to end.
They are real Delius and no other composer could have written them.
Reprinted by permission of the Trustees of the Frederick Delius Estate and of
the Oxford University Press
C 1.2344 D ra Labbette (Sir Thomas Beecham)
EL PAJVO MORUXO
Music by MANUEL DE FALLA
'THE Moorish Cloth 5 is one of a group of seven Spanish songs set by
de Falla; it reads 'Should this precious fabric by some evil chance be-
come stained, its value would be completely lost.* The warning applies
to something deeper, something less tangible than a piece of tapestry
and is, I believe, an allegorical allusion to the purity of a maiden.
Should she lose her virtue, should her chastity be violated: but no! I will
pursue the damsel no further. The standard of morals amongst the
Moors is extremely high, and I eagerly pay tribute to it: beyond this,
however, I am bound to say that I can see no connexion whatever
between the words and the vivacious dance rhythm of the piano part.
On the other hand the voice has a melancholy strain and a legato line
which implies that the singer seems to fear the worst. It holds itself
aloof, withdrawn into its own shell, uninfluenced by the spirited staccato
of the accompaniment. This melancholy is thrown up in relief by reason
of its total disregard of the piano part; and this contrast between the
moods of voice and piano gives the song its impact. But the music
must be allowed to speak for itself without the singer 'doing anything
to it*.
Despite the pianissimo sign at the beginning, the introduction scin-
tillates from first note to last.
g x
Allrgretto vtvate
J "
sordino, sola
i
EL PANO MORUNO
59
to. 16
** #
It is possible, while still maintaining an allegretto vivace, to play all this
sluggishly. There are three ways such a pass can be avoided.
We know that the lilt of a Viennese waltz is not obtained by a flat-
footed adherence to a solid three beats to the bar, there is a suggestion
of a hiatus between the second and third beats, a slight rhythmic lift
which renders it distinctive from any other style of waltz music. No
connexion whatever exists between the character of this Spanish dance
we are studying and the Viennese, except that rubato is used in both
cases but is applied in a different way. If I were to exaggerate, the
effect would be something like this:
Ex. la
But this, I emphasize, is a great exaggeration of the rhythmic shape,
for it is impossible to write down in our notation what should be the
slightest of suggestions. This elasticity or stretching gives muscle to the
music. It is inert without it. The pianist, therefore, in the first place *
makes his semiquavers virile like the rat-tat of a pair of heels on the
fl oor but he never loses sight of the third beat. Secondly he observes
that bars i to 15 have a bass that is pizzicato, except for 4, 8, 12 which
are arco. Finally, of course, the verve and sparkle that this athletic
rhythm demands depend on the temperament and dash which the
pianist puts into it. The crescendo, 20 to 23, is a vigorous one (I play the
top note of the final chord with the left hand) but prior to this it is all
submerged excitement save for poco crescendi at 5 and 13.
The singer should warn her partner to get his violent chord well out
of the way before she makes her entry therefore, no pedal is wanted
on this chord so that the voice will be heard singing cantabile without
any break in the tempo.
6o
EL PANO JtfORUNO
Playing this song for Victoria de los Angeles recently, I was struck
by the cool detachment with which she sang it. The effect of her calm
leisurely legato line floating serenely above the pizzicato, unaffected by
the energetic introduction, was quite extraordinary. Surely therefore if
this Spanish artist, full of temperament though she is, controls her ex-
citement and performs the song in a cool and unruffled manner, that
is the very manner in which to perform it. I believe many singers' initial
error is putting too much gusto into it; they are influenced by the accom-
paniment especially if the latter is well played. Looking at the voice part
Ex 2
rraztoso e ttfjifU'ro
mt
Al p.i
A ri. tiv.iv < . f, fr > - " W^^f^^m .
"
51=
feP.g=3g*^^
it can readily be appreciated how easy it is to magnify de Falla's stresses,
to over-emphasize his non-adhesive quavers (25, 29) to surge violently
up a rising phrase and vice versa, to imbue the whole affair with an
excess of emotion. Yet one can be misled by the gra~mo e leggiero.
These instructions must be obeyed but the vocal line must be firm and
have an over-all legato. Extreme care is needed at 26, 30 and more
especially at 34, 37 to see that no intrusive H makes its ubiquitous
appearance.
At 46 the accompanist flicks his chord like the crack of a whip, but
once again it is without sustaining pedal, to enable the singer to main-
tain her calm piajno tone.
Ex
l i^>
EL PANO MORUNO
6l
A sigh terminates the song, and here, at last, the singer is allowed
to evince some emotion.
Ex.4
75
A Spanish piece of music is often made the vehicle for a display of
temperamental extravagance on the part of the performer: because it is
Spanish he or she assumes it must be fiery and untidy; angry splashes
of colour, careless distortions of essential rhythm are invoked to give a
cloak of authenticity. But this is all very wide of the mark. That great
man Pau Casals never performs Spanish music with reckless abandon,
his interpretations are refined, well-ordered, poetic; there is no room in
his world for the coarse or vulgar.
'El Pano Moruno' is refined. The suggestion behind the words is
veiled and extremely delicate, and the singer will win praise who studies
it as conscientiously as she studies Mozart or Scarlatti, and sings it with
the same care.
Though this set of songs requires a voice of 'Mediterranean timbre'
(Victoria de los Angeles for example), a singer has not necessarily to be
Spanish in order to do it justice, and the name of Joan Hammond leaps
to my mind instantly as the type of brilliant and thrilling voice that is
needed.
Reprinted by permission of Max Eschig, Paris, and of J. & W. Chester Ltd,
C Dii7oi Maria Barricntos (Manuel de Falla)
P Poi53 Gonchita Supervia (Frank Marshall)
EL PA&O MORUNO
C
G
D
V
G
4575X
DBQ73I
AX 1 97
1 2-0334
DA 1 928
Pat X346o
G EG6097
DA5038
LX3077
G
D
Conchita Velasquez
Victoria de los Angeles (Gerald Moore)
Nancy Evans (Hubert Foss)
G. Torres (J. Newmark)
Victoria de los Angeles (Gerald Moore)
Ninon Vallin
S. del Campo
S. Tavares (R. Machado)
Gerard Souzay (Jacqueline Bonneau)
U INVITATION AU VOYAGE
Words by CH. BAUDELAIRE
Music by HENRI DUPARC
IN this poem we float along in a dream world of magic contentment;
the very waves bearing us to the haven of beauty and of peace are
unreal. We gaze again and again and cannot describe what we see
but know that it is moving, beautiful, strange, insubstantial. It is
ecstasy.
As Baudelaire casts a spell like a pipe-dream one is hardly aware of
the words mere words with which he does it, so Duparc weaves a
web of notes mere notes into a dazzling pattern of sound.
Duparc's setting of this poem is glorious, but it is one thing to be
inspired with an idea and quite another to have to put it down in black
and white. Pity the poor composer! How open to misconception his
inspiration can be when the performer is unable to probe below the
surface of the printed page.
An interesting parallel to this song's introduction can be seen in
Schubert's 'Nacht und Traume'.
Ex. A Very s
Schubert
This accompaniment, when truly appreciated by the player, is most
beautiful, but a cursory glance by way of becoming acquainted with
it is certainly not enough to lay bare the composer's idea, in fact it
can very easily be played in such a way that it becomes heavy, coarse,
63
64 L'INVITATIONAU VOYAGE
and lumpy. I recommend the student in the course of his practising to
play the above example in a careless, heavy-handed, unimaginative way
and without the sustaining pedal. The effect of this will (it is to be
hoped) make him shudder with horror. Let him then get below the
surface of the notes, let him soak himself in the poem, let him achieve
the legato by use of the pedal, and the pianissimo that Schubert wanted,
and let him listen critically to himself; above all let him listen with love
and then perhaps he will experience a glow which tells him he is near
to Schubert's heart.
Here then is Duparc's start to 'L'invitation au Voyage'. The blurred
impressionistic effect that Schubert wanted is also wanted here, only
psychologically do they differ, one being dark (note the low tessitura of
the Schubert accompaniment) and the other light. But the technical
means to achieve the two are the same.
Ex 1
Presque Unt
L'INVITATION AU VOYAGE
The sustaining pedal is held throughout each bar how else can
Duparc's pedal point in the bass which persists for nearly fifty bars sing
through? In bars 2, 4, 6, 8, &c. this soft bass diapason is lost because
of the change of pedal but the continual reiteration of the bass in the
odd-numbered bars really deceives the ear into believing it is really
there all the time. (On a modern pianoforte with three pedals, the
centre pedal sustains these bass notes and this pedal is of vital help here
since it will carry the pedal point through the even-numbered bars,
singing independently without clashing with the treble.)
There are twelve semiquavers to each bar and most certainly twelve
semiquavers must be played. Yet the player will let us feel these rather
than let us be aware of each individual note. The fingers are touching
the keys all the time, but never is the key struck, the tone is coaxed
from the instrument and thus a smooth shimmer is effected. But an
amateur pianist, reading what I have said, who thinks I am recom-
mending the omission of an odd note here and there merely because I
do not want the accompaniment to sound like a ticking clock, is very
much mistaken.
It is essential that no angles or points appear in the accompaniment;
any percussiveness or departure from the smooth ripple will be most
disturbing to the singer. And yet the latter with his soaring vocal line
needs substantial support from the piano. When I remind the reader
that I described this song as insubstantial it seems that I now contradict
myself: let us look once again at 'Nacht und Traume'.
S.A. 6
L INVITATION AU VOYAGE
Schubert
On- hr - l.iu - ^cht-n SK- mit _ Lust,
^t * 4 * 4 4 * h
On 'lust', a long held note, the music asks for a crescendo and the accom-
panist swells with the singer. This is done quite easily and without per-
cussivcness if the sustaining pedal is held firmly down and more and
more pressure is given to each succeeding semiquaver. Above all I im-
press on the player the necessity to see to it that his fingers are always
touching the keys. Each note is allowed to rise from its key-bed after it has
spoken for as soon as we hear it sing the pressure on it immediately
becomes so slight that the finger is almost pushed up by the key. When
the player hears his tone swelling he can, still keeping his sustaining
pedal down, make his diminuendo^ he can do this even before the diminu-
endo is marked since the overtones which the sustaining pedal sets free
are still reverberating. This wonderful swelling effect is so gentle and
insidious that the listener is hardly aware it has occurred until he hears
that the pianoforte tone is dying down again. Time and time again in
'L'invitation au Voyage' the pianist employs this same method in sup-
port of his partner. Its effect will give the singer the feeling that there
is substantial support underneath him; yet the listener will be aware of
nothing substantial beyond the long low boom of the bass.
The singer feels he is floating on the smoothest stream with nothing
to jar, nothing to unsettle him. He is completely relaxed (or appears
to be) and we are able to listen to him at our case, unconscious of the
difficulties and occasional strenuousness of his part. So free and soaring
is the vocal line that one is surprised to find it is practically all within
the compass of one octave.
For English-speaking singers the French language seems to present
insuperable difficulties and yet the literature of French songs is so rich
and so varied that the singer of courage and determination must tackle
it. Surely the gramophone record played again and again if the singer
be a Bernar, a Pan/era, a Souzay, a Danco cannot fail to give the
kern-cared student a key to the authentic inflexion and accent. (In
their excursions abroad, our singers limit themselves far too readily to
a return ticket to Vienna, but Paris and Rome are enchanting too. Take
Mark Raphael; he yields to none in his love of Wolf but he sings Faure
and Alessandro Scarlatti with equal devotion and facility.)
L'INVITATION AU VOYAGE 67
It can be seen in Example i that if the singer is going to begin softly
and tenderly, his part will be submerged when its tessitura lies below the
level of the pianoforte unless the accompaniment is a real pianissimo.
The singer must see to this, since accompanists are apt to forget that
their treble here is in a strong register of .the keyboard. He must also
demand an increase of tone from the accompanist (it should really be
instinctive but is not marked) at 8 and 9.
Pierre Bernac, who sings this song so beautifully, does not breathe
in bar 4. He observes the quaver rest of course, but breathes after 'soeur*
and after 'douceur* where Duparc has put a comma.
One section of the song, unutterably calm and lovely, I give in its
entirety.
Ex. 2 Un pru
Most singers make the mistake of slowing up the tem/w here, as, for the
first time, the waves arc still and we seem to float in mid- air: but thanks
to Duparc's clear instruction l un peu plus vite' there is no sense of
stagnation; we are wafted along. The tone here must be clear and with-
out any unsteadiness, and yet in spite of the feeling of ecstatic bliss, the
singer delivers these bars with an underlying intensity to impress them
on the listener's memory so that they will be recognized when they recur
68
L'INVITATION AU VOYAGE
in a slightly varied form at the end of the song. This refrain is significant
above all else; its pianissimo, the singer's monotone, its high almost in-
audible treble in the accompaniment so far above its bass point d'orgue,
all contribute to a marvellous reflexion of the poem's atmosphere. And
the accompanist rests for a long time, a very long time, on \\hfermata
before allowing the stillness of the major chord to merge into the minor,
where the current takes hold again and bears us along as of old.
In Example 3 we see a contrapuntal tune in the pianoforte; it is
played with a resolute tone to support the singer, and the accompanist
listens intently to 'Ton moindre' so that the A flat and the G can be
expanded with some freedom by his partner.
Ex 3
L INVITATION AU VOYAGE
Then, as if to make amends for having deserted his pedal point for four
consecutive bars, the left hand plunges with a resounding splash on to
the bass octave in 54. This sojourn in the depths is but short-lived, for
at 58 the accompaniment in a series of glittering arpeggi seems to be
reflecting the glancing lights of the setting sun. Up to 57 the playing
has been as smooth as glass; it has been unobtrusive in spite of the
occasional excursions into & forte, but now at 58 the effect is altogether
more dazzling and brilliant. In growing exaltation the singer responds
to this urge and he makes sure that his tone carries high and clear over
these cascades.
After a glorious climax, like a giant wave (Dans une chaude
lumi&re), the music quietens, and once more we hear the refrain of
Example 2 but this time to a softly rippling accompaniment. Now we
see how important it was to deliver Example 2 with sensibility; the
listener recognizes the intention behind it, sees its inevitability and logic.
The accompaniment with ever gentler motion guides us to this
haven of loveliness we are seeking until, with the faintly heard chord
at the very end, we know that we have reached our harbour.
Ex.4
L'INVITATION AU VOYAGE
Reprinted by permission of Editions Rouart-Lerolle & Co., Paris
G DB48ig Charles Panzcra (Mmc Panzera-Baillot)
C Dif)04i Claire Croiza (Francis Poulenc)
C Di2027 Marthe Nespoulous
G JGiyB Maggie Tcyte
G DB63I2 Pierre Bernac (Francis Poulenc)
C 720500 Lily Pons
C ML4258 Martial Singher (Paul Ulanowsky)
G DB 10035 P. Sandoz (P. Baumgartner)
Pat X7230 Ninon Vallin
O 123553 David Davries
V 12-1251 Dorothy Maynor
CLAIR DE LUNE
(Menuct)
Poem by PAUL VERLAINE Music by GABRIEL FAUR
Of). 46 No. 2
DISCUSSING George Butterworth's 'Loveliest of Trees' I suggested that it
was the type of song which can bear the imprint of the singer's person-
ality upon it. His imagination, his sense of colour, shape, and poetry
can be brought into play. Butterworth gives the performer a compara-
tively free rein, always of course with the assumption that his trust will
not be abused, that this freedom will be kept within bounds by taste
and musicianship. (Without these qualities no singer is worth listening
to.) I suggested, also, that some music should be left to speak for itself
and was impaired by the intrusion of the singer's personality. To this
category Faure's 'Glair de Lunc' belongs.
Mesmerized by this song's enchantment, the most virtuous singer
is tempted to infuse too much warmth into the tone; tempted to colour
with nuances the music's gentle rises and soft falls; induced to underline
a word or stress a note. Most of the song wants a wrix blanche, and should
be performed with all the legato that singer and pianist can give. We
do not want to feel when listening to 'Glair de Lime' that it is being
'interpreted' for us. There is no room for any personal idiosyncrasy,
therefore the tempo is always strict, ruling out any idea of lubato. In
short, we sing here almost without expression, for thus only, paradoxi-
cally, does the song become truly expressive of the poet's and composer's
meaning.
Faure, like most great song writers, makes his accompaniments of
equal importance with the voice, indeed in 'Glair de Lune' the piano
often carries the tune while the singer supplies an obligato. The charm-
ing piano part does not present insuperable problems to the accom-
panist for it lies gratefully under the fingers, yet it needs sensitive play-
ing. Mood and tempo are established in the introduction. I think, as I
play it, of the moon under whose cold light the masked dancers are
gliding; remembering Tls n'ont pas 1'air de croire a leur bonheur' and
that 'Tout enchantant sur le mode mirieur' 'quasi tristes'. Excepting
bars 7 and 8 where there is a minute rise and fall, the tone should
remain level all through this introduction.
In spite of the legato, the pianist takes the greatest care that his
sustaining pedal creates no blur, and that in the treble the articulation
is clear. The left hand accompanies the tune discreetly, gliding in after
72 GLAIR DE LUNE
x> i Anduntino quasi allegretto
the beat without accent. Once again it must be insisted that the intro-
duction, including the nuance in 7-8, is played in strict time.
I hope the singer will not feel 1 am doing him an injustice by saying
that he supplies an obligate. I perhaps redeem myself in his eyes by
stating unequivocally that his task is far harder than his partner's. He
has to keep his tone pure and unemotional, a tone thin rather than
substantial which maintains an even flow through the long phrases; his
words, demanding an almost precious enunciation, must not conflict
with his legato line; on the other hand this desire for smoothness should
not jeopardize his crystal-clear enunciation. His obedience to the text
will ensure that the little crescendi and diminuendi most sparingly used
by Faure are not exaggerated. Indeed there is a faint air of insouciance
about the vocal part.
All this has to be accomplished with complete ease and relaxation;
at least that is the impression the singer should give us.
Ex.2
dofce
Tout
tn chan-tant, sur le mo-de rm-neur,
6 7
When the singer sings the above example we feel that he floats up
CLAIR DE LUNE 73
there without effort. It would be very easy to make a crescendo up to
this top note, but the phrase is marked dolce and pianissimo, and therein
lies its difficulty. The singer takes it in his stride giving us no evidence
of any marshalling of forces that so often accompanies the attack on a
high note or the beginning of a climax; the set facial expression, the
tenseness of tone.
One feels that Faur intentionally introduces the voice rather paren-
thetically at 12. Certainly the singer glides in without impact, so gently
that he might have been singing several bars earlier without our
noticing it.
Ex.3
At all events ne does not give the listener any indication in 1 1 or 1 2
that his entry is impending by moving his lips as he breathes or heaving
his chest (as much as to say 'Behold! I am about to sing').
Only at 16 does the composer depart from his precise quavers and
semiquavers by a triplet in the third beat.
Ex.4
r
Que vont char-mant
16
- que* et ber-ga-mas
16
17
This is the only triplet in the song. I draw attention to it because some
singers make the mistake of singing 'mode niineur' (Ex. 2, bar 27) as
if it too were a triplet.
Strangely enough one often hears a beautifully executed triplet on
'mode mineur' where it is not wanted, but the bar 16 triplet presents an
unaccountable difficulty.
No slowing down of the tempo is wanted as the singer finishes,
neither should the accompanist make a conventional rallentando as he
ends the postlude. This 'matter-of-factness', incongruous though it may
appear, adds to the fantastic quality of the music.
74
CLAIRDELUNE
64
The lines of 'Glair de Lune' are neither bold nor colourful, but they
are so cold, clear-cut, precise, that they leave no room for the faintest
possibility of insipidity. This is a song of pale and tranquil beauty.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. J. Hamelle & Co., Paris
G DA4874 Hide Norena
P R020094 Ninon Vallin (P. Darck)
G DA4887 Charles Panzera (Mme Panzera-Baillot)
C D 1 2028 Marthe Nespoulous
G DA 1 876 Maggie Teyte (Gerald Moore)
C LFi54 Georges Thill (Maurice Faure)
Pat XQ3I2O Alice Raveau
D M6o6 Gerard Souzay (Jacqueline Bonneau)
G 452 Anne Thursfield (Ivor Newton)
Sel LPGSooG P. Mollet (P. Verger)
Van VRS4I4 H. Cuenod (J. Blancard)
LTDIA
Poem by LECONTE DE LISLE
Music by GABRIEL FAUR&
GABRIEL FAURE'S purity of style and aristocratic manner sometimes
cloak but never hide the urgency of feeling that lies under the refined
surface of his music. If Debussy painted, Faure sculpted. He was a
master of shape; of curve and proportion. His clear line, polished and
unyielding, may seem as cold as marble to the seeker for splashes of
colour and unrestrained sentiment, but vehement expression or rhetori-
cal grandiloquence were shunned by Faure. He moves us, much more
subtly, by reticent suggestion. In my opinion the beautiful poetry of
Verlaine, Baudelaire, Leconte de Lisle, find their highest expression,
generally speaking, in the songs of Gabriel Faure. He is immersed in
the poem, but he never allows his lyricism and suavity to be enslaved
by it. I cannot think of another composer whose style is at once so
simple and so individual. One could occasionally, perhaps excusably,
mistake Ravel for Debussy, Schumann for Schubert, Beethoven for
Haydn, bvt you cannot mistake Faure. Nobody but he could have
written the phrase with which 'Lydia' begins.
Ex.1 ... p
A .
Andante
i
$
l-y - f l i - a
sur tes
^
m
sempre dolce
6
9^
ro-ses jou - es Et bur IOD col frais et si blanc,
If you do not like these six bars then you do not like Faure: the very
essence of him is here.
75
76 LYDIA
Throughout the song, which is a two-verse strophic, the soprano
part in the accompaniment moves in unison with the voice. While
Faure makes use of this expedient sometimes in his songs, it would be
equally true to say that there are many more occasions when the ac-
companiment and the voice, though belonging warmly to one another,
move with an independence that would have delighted the heart of
Hugo Wolf. I stress the unison which occurs here only to emphasize the
necessity for the two performers to wander along in sensitive intimacy,
hand in hand.
Maggie Tey te loved singing this song, both for the sake of the music
itself and for the technician's pleasure in negotiating the problems it
poses. The delicate vocal line needs the firmest support from the singer.
Breath should be firm but the voice should be, as the composer says,
dolce. Only the rise and fall of the phrase, acknowledged by a slight
crescendo and diminuendo, as shown in bars 4, 5, 6 and elsewhere, mark
any change from the general piano which prevails throughout. The
enunciation should be incisive, consonants distinct, without marring
the legato-, so that *sur tes roses joues, et sur ton col frais et si blanc' can
shoot forward on to the lips. Despite the 'Oue je puisse mourir* the tone
should be bright: a darkening of a vowel will give the impression of
flatness, and it is very easy to sag below the note in this song.
Ex.2
Le jour qui luit est le meil-leur, Ou-bli-oos l'e-ter-nel-le torn - be,
// /* 13 14
A singer can see perhaps by the above a sample of the difficulties that
abound and will also appreciate how a forward bright tone will make
his task easier.
At the beginning of this attempt to describe 'Lydia' I used the word
unyielding. Rhythmically we must be unyielding where Faure is con-
cerned, for he disliked and distrusted rubato, therefore the singer should
resist the temptation to treat bars 5 and 6 or bars 1 1 and 1 2 in a rubato
manner. The slightest prolongation of a note at the top of a curve is
often desirable if it is done tastefully, but this sort of treatment should
nearly always be avoided in this composer's works. Indeed half the
charm in the music is to be found in the strict observance of the instruc-
tions. In 'Lydia' there are two rallentandi at 18 and 35 and apart from
these, the song always moves forward smoothly.
As usual in music of this tender intimacy, the piano moving with
the voice, it is necessary for the pianist to judge to a nicety his tone to
match the singer's. He need not be afraid to make the soprano voice
in the accompaniment heard so long as he is not percussive, for he has
the hope always nourished by a good accompanist that the listener,
LYDIA 77
hearing the piano tone merging with the voice, will hardly be able to
distinguish the one from the other. Perhaps the task he sets himself is
an impossible one but he always aims for it. Of course the listener will
be quickly undeceived if he occasionally hears the piano lagging behind
the voice, or vice versa. The two performers glide forward as one, and
this is the accompanist's responsibility. In any song of this nature he is,
metaphorically, on his toes, alive, listening keenly, anticipating what
the singer is going to do.
p p p r r P?^
Lazy listening or a momentary carelessness on the pianist's part can
disfigure this graceful phrase.
De Lisle' s flowered words are saved from any semblance of artifi-
ciality by Faure's simple treatment. 'Lydia' is an utterly charming song.
It will move us, so long as the singer really obeys Faure's instructions
and does not try to stamp it with his own ego.
I ought to call attention to Faure's charming pun, for 'Lydia' is
written in the Lydian mode; that is, the sharpened fourth. Without the
C sharp it would be unbearably drab.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. J. Hamelle & Co., Paris
G DA4878 Charles Panzera (Mme Panzera-Baillot)
O 188634 Roger Bourdin
PD 561022 Charles Rousseliere
G DA 1 83 1 Maggie Teyte (Gerald Moore)
G DA493I Pierre Bernac (Francis Poulenc)
COME AWAY, COME AWAY, DEATH
('Twelfth Nigh?}
Words by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Music by GERALD FINZI
THIS composer's Shakespeare settings carry such an air of authenticity
in every bar that the listener is convinced they would have been accept-
able to an Elizabethan audience. Contradictorally enough Finzi is
essentially a twentieth-century product yet his music has the line and
the logic pleasing to the Victorian, it has the wit and freedom pleasing
to the all-wise young intellectual. The one can hear this music without
raising his eyebrows, the other without looking down his nose.
'Come away, Death' has a processional grandeur reminiscent of
Arne though it is simpler in conception. Indeed I should say at a rough
guess (for I do not know Gerald Finzi personally) that he is a keen
student of the old master: they have a passion, pathos, and humour
very much in common. This is not to question the legitimacy of our
contemporary's offspring, for there is originality in his every bar: but
I think he would nominate Arne as godfather. Finzi is in the great line
of English song writers.
Look at the first few bars and you will see the quality of man with
whom we are dealing.
'
78
COME AWAY, COME AWAY, DEATH
79
That's good enough for anybody! It is a great phrase to sing with its
impetuous semiquavers and its lordly drop on to 'death*, all done in one
breath above the march of the great bass chords booming like a funeral
knell. Yes, one breath gives nobility to the sweeping phrase, though the
less ambitious singer may have to refresh himself after bar 5 but on
no account after bar 6, for the voice must drop from the A to the B.
The same ukase applies in many instances through the song, for in-
stance at bars 13, 14, 15 the singer does not give verisimilitude to the
words by expelling his breath lustily; on the contrary.
Ex.2
^
Fly a - way,
13
fly a - way,
breath,
tr>
Again at 31 there is a comma after 'death*, it is excusable to take a
breath here, but how preferable to accomplish it without doing so, as
the composer clearly wishes.
36
37
As an example of the demands made on the singer's breathing tech-
nique I give the final phrase of the song: 'Lay me, O where sad true
lover never find my grave* and then:
Ex.4
8o
COME AWAY, COME AWAY, DEATH
This beautiful phrase, all pianissimo, finishing as firmly as it began,
would be spoiled by an aching void the while air was being hastily
gulped. I do not wish to cast a damper on the enthusiastic amateur
who will derive great enjoyment from singing this song. Let him breathe
when he will rather than shun it, but in Example 4 it is preferable that
he should hasten the movement rather than interrupt its flow. Naturally
we do not expect the professional to give in so easily.
Just as it is taken for granted that the accompanist has his eye on
the vocal line, his ear on his partner, so is it equally essential for the
singer to be intimately aware of what is going on in the piano part,
even while he is giving voice. It should be part and parcel of himself.
Ernest Newman once said I quote from memory that one could
sometimes tell by the colour of Gerhardt's tone whether the harmony
underlying her note was major or minor. A fine artist, no matter if he
cannot play the piano himself, studies the piano part and all it signifies.
This statement is so obvious and so elementary that I am almost
ashamed to write it: and yet I know that some singers (and profes-
sionals at that) through laziness or lack of musicality, wallow in
blissful ignorance, content to dwell in splendid isolation so far as
their partner at the piano is concerned. There are many instances in
this song where the accompaniment has clanging dissonances and
sombre shades calculated to affect the sensitive singer's tone. He feels
Ex.5
And m sad cy - press
I am slain by a fair
etc
$
,
COME AWAY, COME AWAY, DEATH 8l
through his body the stab of the B flat on 'cypress' (9) and 'slain' (17).
'Stuck all with yew', 'no one so true', and Example 4 are similar in-
stances where the iron of the accompanying harmonies enters the
singer's soul, and entering, will do something to him. Yes, these har-
monies set up a mental vibration which, literally, changes the quality
of the voice. I cannot explain this in technical terms, it is too meta-
physical for me to cope with. I only know that when a singer and
accompanist work and think along these lines with devoted persever-
ance these things happen.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.
S.A. 7
MISTRESS MINE
('Twelfth Night'}
Words by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Music by GERALD FINZI
WHENEVER I play this song, I think of lads and lasses on some English
village green, dancing to the sound of the fiddle. (Most improper of me,
no doubt, I ought to picture the Sylvan glade of Illyria and a consort of
viols, but the reader will have to be indulgent at my insularity and
lack of perspective.) Here in Finzi's song I insist we have fiddlers, and
amateurs at that: for the bowing arm is stiff and the style rustic.
Though the playing is always light and amiable, and roughness avoided,
no attempt should be made to round off the corners since the music is
intentionally square. In only seven bars of the song is the sustain-
ing pedal really wanted (29 to 31 and 55 to 58), for the remainder,
the chords in the left hand are uniformly pizzicato thus throwing;
all the onus on the right hand, for here we are fairly consistently
legato.
umubile
i
rf*
St'M/>rt' staccato /
82
O MISTRESS MINE 83
It can be seen how extremely difficult without the pedal's help the
treble becomes. In its efforts to maintain a smooth line the hand clings
to the keys like an organist's and crawls crab-like from one chord to
the next. The two voices in the soprano clef are always clearly heard
over the springy, zestful bass, the upper voice does not outshine the
lower, they are each distinct, each determined to be heard. Any chance
that the treble has of a staccato it seizes with avidity, at 2 for instance
it skips up, prior to the stressed chord, like a dancer.
Robert Irwin, who first introduced me to the Finzi settings of
Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy, sang this song with debonair charm.
He was content, it seemed to me, to let his voice rise only a little above
the tonal level of the accompaniment, the latter was in no danger of
being submerged. This example should be followed by all singers of
*O Mistress Mine' otherwise the dance tune will have to be played more
sharply to be heard, and the village fiddler only uses the middle of
the bow.
Ex.2
*
-
O Mis-tress mine,
where are you roam-icg?.
ft
^
Y 13
It
J2
/*
No rallentando precedes the voice's entry. The singer's legato flows
serenely over the humorous staccato chords. He does not breathe after
'mine' otherwise his crescendo^ made independently of the accompani-
ment, would lose its effect. As can be seen in the above and following'
examples the phrases, seeming at first glance to be short, are deceptively
protracted, there is quite a long note waiting for the singer at the end
of each, for which he must be ready.
Ex.3
t
O,
/6
btay
atid hear,
17
Yuur
We get a picture of the maid who has captured our fancy by the
Example 4 (page 84), with its delicious little syncopation at bar 24: she
can be seen tripping o'er the lea.
O MISTRESS MINE
Ex.4
t-
i
r r
W^J' J
*
Trip DO fur-ther pret-ty sweet - i
^
6
I like too, in the second verse, the accompaniment's subtle sugges-
tion of Joubt at the words 'What's to come is still unsure'.
Ex.5
titbifo
As I have said, the sustaining pedal comes into play at 55 to 58 and
also at the conclusion of verse i .
Ex.6
rPr 1 - """T
t H ' J J '
Then come 1
^dJ^d
cisb me,
>
sweet and tweo-ty, Youths a stuff will
^ .> '
^ ___,^_
- r r 4=_
XX
TT
P
* ll ' ^^
B tf r^ o
fert* ~ ~
55
57
molto
' a tempo
O MISTRESS MINE 85
Again the long note at the end of the vocal phrase, the while the
accompaniment hops merrily onward (59). Without doubt 57 is
quizzical, but despite the pianissimo it does not lose its eagerness; after
all there is urgency in the words. The amount of urgency the performer
puts into it depends largely on his own personal outlook: I, being no
longer in the first flush of youth, regard this bar most seriously but I do
not criticize a youngster for singing it with easy nonchalance I only
envy.
It can be seen in the examples here and also in 'Come away,
Death' how generous is Finzi's vocal line. The voice part is not care-
fully nursed b\it frequently contains wide intervals and octave leaps,
yet it is always grateful. These songs require, fundamentally, fine
honest singing. They are healthy.
Sir Arnold Bax said, 'Try everything once: everything, that is,
except folk-dancing. 1 But this song almost converts me, for though
every bar of it be original, you can see boys and girls dancing round the
Maypole to its strains. At all events it is deeply rooted in England, and
none the worse for that.
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.
EL MAJO DISCRETO
('Tonadilla'}
Words by E. PERIQUET Music by E. GRANADOS
EDWARD SACKVILLE-WEST and Desmond Shawe-Taylor in The Record
Guide (Collins) describe a Tonadilla as 'a type of Spanish song popular
in the eighteenth century, generally sung during theatrical interludes,
and often satirical in tone'. Granados wrote a dozen or more Tonadillas
but I have chosen this one because it is one of the favourites of the
brilliant Victoria de los Angeles.
'It is possible that my love is ugly,' says the singer, 'but after all
love is blind. Let others think what they like about his looks, to me he
has a more precious quality; he is discretion itself and he knows how
to keep a secret.'
Granados not only writes with disarming simplicity but he is very
economical with his expression marks. The singer bears in mind that
the writing is in the folk-music style. The refined and musicianly rises
and falls of tone so desirable in a deeply felt Schubert phrase are not
wanted here, where every note must have the sparkle of sunshine, the
tone a hard brilliance rather than a soft radiance.
The soul of all Spanish music is in its rhythm. When as a young man
I studied Albeniz, de Falla, Granados and other Spanish composers,
I felt instinctively that there was something mysterious about their
rhythm, some secret about their rubato that a stranger to Spain would
find extremely difficult to solve. Intensive study and soaking in it is of
course necessary to arrive at terms of intimacy, but there is no trick
about it. Association with Casals, Suggia, Cassado and d' Alvarez taught
me that the music must sound simple. I advise the student approaching
these quick-moving and virile dances for the first time to play the notes
exactly as the composer has written them and to observe the strictest
time. When one has, after study and thought, arrived on terms of inti-
macy with this music, it is then that the slightest suggestion of rubato, as
I said in my remarks on 'El pano moruno', can be employed. And this
rubato is only occasional, illustrative it may be of the snap of a finger or
the rat-tat of the heel.
When, therefore, you come to sing the following Examples i and
2, the quaver in 10 and the quaver rest in 12 are precise, the triplet
in 15 is so clear it almost clicks like a castanet. The vocal part in the
second verse is a slight variation of the first, and Example 2 shows
what Granados does with it. Crystal clear quavers are wanted. There
86
EL MAJO DISGRETO 87
Jft
-^
r j 1
Di - en que mi ma - joes
10 U 14 13
.JEM i , r IF rfrr 1.
f J =
<fr ti * -f--r M [irr=E=
fc,s po - bi - ble que M
/* 16
i
que lo
1
* J i
^e a
17
Ex.2
JF *jf i F F F"
N
*r
-F
*-
Mas si DO
31
f r f
afc
^S=
ma -
32
\ - +
=M^
JO UD h
> p m f f
om
^rr^
A?
r-
^
br
e
-i :
-fl^-H * f p -1
que por 1m -
t=y-
du
35
des
4
^
Cue
LT ^
- lie y a__
J6'
-4=*
bom
J7
IZ^
bre
is no need for the singer to feel that a heavy legato is essential (it can
be seen that the composer gives an occasional legato sign which
must be observed) in the first verse, for she is all over the stave at 18
to 22.
Ex.3
-f- J U r-]R
Que a-mor et de - se - o que cie - ga y ma - re "*- a
/y 19 20 21 22
I do not want it thought for a moment that I advocate a staccato here,
I only suggest that the line needs such a fresh and vital attack that an
oleaginous smoothness is out of the question and out of character.
In the second verse, as can be seen in Example 2, and in the example
below, which is a variation of Example 3, Granados gives the singer
every opportunity by his 'quaver-joining' for a smoother line.
Ex.4
^ t/ 1 _ . . V. . ^. ^. A i .. fm _ ti \r orn.ir . H.i iiri ve
ED cam-bio c^ dib - ere - t<>_ y guar - da un
3d 39 40 * 4J
With the transition to the relative minor, the composer asks for a
real legato, and here the line is much more accommodating for it, and
the mood momentarily less flippant.
But the song finishes with its former sparkle, and a rousing top note
that will gladden the heart of any singer or listener.
88
EL MAJO DISCRETO
Ex.5
l^A.
, PM r |
=1
'
-flM 1 1
J Na -
J 1 f 1
cioeu La - va
^rMri
p
-| 1
Eh'
frr-^n
(
Eh'
I,,
i *TM 3*^ t^
f
-WJ
H
74
Victoria de los Angeles makes a slight fermata on 74 but the tempo
must be taken up smartly and pertly at 75-76 with the accompanist
giving a good accent for finality's sake on his bass octave.
This is the type of accompaniment which repays a little thought,
though it is very difficult to persuade most accompanist of the truth
of such a statement, for they esteem it an utter waste of time to give
any consideration to these bars.
Ex.6
TT
yj
Be it understood that the pianist is imitating a guitar, yet on the
other hand he must infuse the same sparkle and vitality into his part
that the singer puts into hers; to do this let the sustaining pedal be
ignored, let the bass note be given its exact value of one beat, give a
slight accent on the second beat and make the quavers click like
castanets.
There are two delightful interludes for the pianist and he tries to
get colour and life into these by playing 46 to 50 with pedal and in a
ELMAJODISCRETO 89
mezzoforte whereas Example 7, 51 to 54, are played molto, staccato and
piano. At least I play them so.
Ex.7
I find I have made no reference to the ten bars of piano introduc-
tion. Here is a sample of it.
Ex.8
Bearing in mind that the tempo is quick the accompanist will find this
quite a difficult moment for him. It needs practising. What is difficult
about it? Playing the right notes, and playing them with a coquettish
freedom.
It is often suggested that when really good English translations of
Schubert, Schumann, or Brahms songs can be found it is desirable to
use them when singing to an English-speaking audience. But surely if
translations can be printed on the programme it is preferable to sing
these songs in the language in which they were conceived since the
German speech comes easily to an English tongue. Spanish pronuncia-
tion, however, is quite a problem to the Anglo-Saxon and translations
are, so far as I know, non-existent. Are these songs then to be confined
purely to Spanish singers? That fine artist Astra Desmond has shown
us that this is not the case; she studied Spanish and its pronunciation
and performed the songs of Spain with authenticity. Other singers may
not have Miss Desmond's gift for languages or her intelligence, but they
90 EL MAJO DISCRETO
ought at least to strive to emulate her in devotion and musicianship. It
is refreshing to stray occasionally off the beaten track.
Reprinted by permission of Union Musical Espagnola. Editors Carrera de San
Jeronimo, 26, Madrid
G 588 Hina Spani
O RA 1 84806 Ninon Vallin
P Ro324 Conchita Supervia (Frank Marshall)
V 16779 Gladys Swarthout (L. Lodges)
G 0X1976 Victoria de los Angeles (Gerald Moore)
V 1033 Lucrezia Bori
D X 10 141 M. de los A. Morales (A. Dresden)
V 4464 C. Badia
G 00,3462 A. Gimenez (A. Soresia)
V 4035 S. del Campo
C RGi6i58 T. Robado (A. Romero)
THERE SCREECHED A BIRD
Translated from the Music /y> EDVARD GRIEG
Norwegian O/"VILHELM KRAG Op. 60 No. 4
by ASTRA DESMOND
IN 'Monsieur Croche the dilettante hater' (Noel Douglas) Claude
Debussy, reviewing a Grieg concert in Paris, writes:
'At first I thought that I could only give colour impressions of
Grieg's music. To begin with, the number of Norwegians who usually
haunt the Colonne Concerts was tripled; we had never before been
privileged to see so much red hair, or such extravagant hats for the
fashions in Christiania seem to me rather behind the times. Then the
concert opened with a double turn: the performance of an overture
called 'Autumn' and the ejection of a crowd of Grieg's admirers, who,
at the bidding of a police constable, a slave to duty rather than to
music, were sent to cool their enthusiasm on the banks of the Seine.
Was a counter demonstration feared?
'It is not for me to say, but Grieg was in fact for a time the object
of the most unappreciative comments; nor could I listen to his music
just then, for I was busily engaged in coming to terms with several
stern and splendid policemen.
'At last I saw Grieg. From in front he looks like a genial photo-
grapher; from behind his way of doing his hair makes him look like
the plants called sunflowers, dear to parrots and the gardens that
decorate small country stations. Despite his age, he is lean and vivacious
and conducts the orchestra with care and vigour, stressing all the
lights and shades and apportioning the expression with unflagging
attention.
'It is a pity that Grieg's visit to Paris has taught us nothing new
about his art; but he is an exquisite musician when he interprets the
folk music of his country, although far from equalling Balakirev and
Rimsky-Korsakov in the use they made of Russian folk music. Apart
from this he is no more than a clever musician more concerned with
effects than with genuine art,'
After reading this I have the impression, perhaps a mistaken one,
that Debussy did not like Grie~.
Doubtless this article could be called entertaining journalism,
though the malice in it reflects no credit on the author. As musical
criticism it is not to be taken seriously. Yet the effect of such an attack
must have been damaging in the extreme to Grieg's reputation, coming
as it did from the leading French composer of the time. Where Debussy
9*
Q2 THERE SCREECHED A BIRD
wielding an enormous influence led, many followed. It is still
fashionable today to dismiss Grieg with a shrug of the shoulders.
One hears of 'his flat rhythms his lack of depth his pretty little
tunes'. But these criticisms, though applicable to some of his music, are
far from true of all he wrote. Less than a dozen of the one hundred and
forty songs he composed are heard in concert halls and these are by no
means his best. For instance 'Jeg elsker Dig' (I love thee) and 'Solvejg's
Song', though unmistakably Grieg, are not good measure of a com-
poser who at his least was a splendid craftsman and at his best was
capable of turning out a little masterpiece. But 'Der skreg en Fuhl'
(There screeched a bird) is a finer song than either of these. How many
people have ever heard of it? Precious few. It is not one of the pretty,
pleasing popular ones and is never sung. Thanks to the industry and
enthusiasm of Astra Desmond in unearthing, in studying, and per-
forming many of these lesser known but more significant songs, their
beauty is slowly percolating through to the consciousness of music
lovers.
Miss Desmond, who has given me permission to use her excellent
translation, says, in connexion with this song, 'Inside the cover of one
of Grieg's pocket books, was found the motif with which this song
begins and ends together with the words 'Gull's cry heard in Hardanger
Fjord'.
Here is the motif in the pianoforte introduction and postlude, bars
i to 6 and 21 to 26.
Throughout these six bars the same pedal is held. Each note of the
first chord is played with great intensity (taking the top note with the
right hand), while the screeches of the gull in the treble need a hard
cruel touch which only yields to the diminuendo.
THERE SCREECHED A BIRD
93
In all the examples I give they cover the whole song the expres-
sion marks are Grieg's. At the voice's entry he wants a much slower
tempo. After the accent on 'screeched' the crescendo is a steep one with
'wide' its climax: these three beats (9) should be allowed plenty of time,
plenty of space, in fact 'shoreless' describes it.
^*' 2 Lentamente
There screeched a bird o'er the emp - ty s>ea, Wide and
i
poco mt'no /tnfo
r
shore - less, it screeched with pain in the au - tumn gloom,
Flutered abro-ken, weak. powerless wm^,
n
ttf f f
The 'lame' figure in the bass from u to 16 is heavy, each movement
from one octave to the next a painful one. In 13-14 the gull nearly
comes to grief in those staggering fluttering triplets his strength all
but spent. There is an ominous silence in the voice part after 'broken*
where the bird is falling, struggling. Effort, painful effort, must be
manifest here.
The sinister and all-devouring grey sea, as exemplified by the
94
THERE SCREECHED A BIRD
threatening discords in the accompaniment, is the subject-matter of the
singer's thoughts in the last phrase.
Ex.3
1 >
Floa-ted on dus - ky pm - IODS
Far o'er thf sea.
^''JJ 'U
Strength is in that music, and the vocal line must be firm. As the song
began, so it ends with the gull motif in the pianoforte. It is a bleak
picture.
Peters Edition. Reprinted by permission of Hinrichsen Edition Ltd., London,
W.C.i
D Kg62 Astra Desmond ( Gerald Moore)
SLEEP
FLETCHER
Music by IVOR GURNEY
Come, Sleep, and with thy sweet deceiving
Lock me in delight awhile;
Let some pleasing dreams beguile
All my fancies, that from thence
There may steal an influence,
All my powers of care bereaving.
Tho' but a shadow, but a sliding
Let me know some little joy.
We, that suffer long annoy
Are contented with a thought
Thro' an idle fancy wrought:
O let my joys have some abiding.
COMPARING Gurney's setting of these words with the more popular
setting by Peter Warlock, I have come to the conclusion that the poet
would have preferred the Warlock song. There he would have found
the peace that he craved. Sleep would have locked him in delight,
bereaving him of care; he would have known some little joy, some
short reprieve from his long annoy. The singer knows his appeal will
be granted when he sings
Ex. A
nt.
Warlock
. let my joys have some a - bid - ing.
Already the longed-for influence begins to steal over him during
that descending line, and later the pianoforte's soft indeterminate
discords tell of his benumbed senses
Ex.B
Warlock
while that easeful major key of the final chord breathes sweet slumber.
Since John Fletcher entitled his poem 'Sleep', one must assume that
95
96 SLEEP
the poem is rounded off with a sleep. It is for this reason, as I suggested,
that the poet might have preferred Warlock's beautiful setting. But,
naturally, I cannot be sure of this. Indeed my assumption may be wide
of the mark, for did not Fletcher write
There's nought in this life sweet,
If man were wise to see't,
But only melancholy,
O sweetest melancholy.
It is therefore possible that he might have enjoyed the frustration
inherent in the Gurney song.
On the whole I can be certain of one thing only; that Fletcher has
heard neither of these settings and I boldly aver my preference for the
Gurney, it is so deeply felt and so moving. 'Insomnia' might well have
been the title for it. Here, the care and the long annoy are overpowering
inescapable. Here, 'O let my joys have some abiding' becomes a burn-
ing hunger, a passionate cry. It is entreaty, but agonized because vain.
Come, Sleep, and with thy sweet de-ceiv - i
The rocking figure in the accompaniment at the beginning could
easily be disturbing.
This should not be allowed in the fairly tranquil first verse and can
be obviated by using one pedal for each pair of semiquavers. A slight
blurring of the harmonies will result from this treatment, but this does
SLEEP 97
not matter provided the general level of tone be pianissimo. The com-
poser's phrase marks must not cause the player to make conventional
commas, pauses, or breaks in the flow of the music.
There is not one note in the voice part throughout which is not
marked legato. The rests seen in bars 4 and 6 and in Example 2 should
not be felt by the listener. They are put there to enable the singer to
breathe, though he sings mentally even when he is making no sound:
his concentration is never out of focus.
fcX.i!
r- h i
> ij
Let some plea&iog dream be guile
9 10
-i
my fao - c
1
that from thence I may feel .
f2 13 /
an ID - llu-eoce
/*
""""'''' All rny bowers of care
/6 17
Very considerately the composer allows plenty of time for these breaths,
but they must be taken quietly and without movement efface or body.
Undeniably the phrases are long and present the singer with a formid-
able task, yet it is out of the question for him to breathe other than
where a rest is marked. Were this poem read instead of sung no rests (as
in 6 and 16) would be taken at all. This the singer must bear in mind.
While I am on the first verse let me point to the stresses on the first
two semiquavers in 5; they give such expression to the word 'Sweet'.
In making this word beautiful or in endeavouring to invest it with
special meaning the singer must keep dead on the vocal line. I can best
explain what I mean if I give a caricature of not keeping to the line.
Ex.3 __ __
JTJ)
and With thy scr-weet de-ceiv - 1O
Many artists with the best intentions would do this, thinking they were
making 'sweet' more expressive. Again in 9-10 singers are taking away
from the beauty of the music, not adding to it, if they slide from the
B flat to the G, and from the G to the G, in this way:
Ex.4
fe=**^-*H-.Jj
Let bonit-
ream be-guile
S.A. 8
98 SLEEP
The second verse is even more exacting than the first, for the phrases
are longer and the feeling intensified.
Ex.5
LIJ
J JplUJ J
Let me know some little joy'..
coUa voce
Both by the stresses in 26, 27 and by the colla voce the composer tells
us how anxious he is that the performers should grasp the pitiful
desperation of the words. In order to get the full measure of expression,
this phrase can be taken as slow as the singer likes, each note dwelt on,
the tempo being resumed by the pianist on the word 'joy'. The singer's
yearning is answered on the pianoforte by a stress on the third beat
of 28.
This yearning reaches its highest peak, as I said earlier, in 35 to 37
and 38 to 41. I give these two phrases in full in Example 6; they are
the very essence of Gurney's conception of the poem pain and a
disquieted spirit. If the reader will refer to my first quotation from the
Warlock song he will see the fundamental difference between the two
settings.
Provided he keeps meticulously to his legato line the singer need
exercise no restraint on, to be literal, the outburst in 35-36. This is the
SLEEP
99
Ex.6
*" .. O let my joys have borne a
O let my joys
consummation of his anguish. Once again I caution against the ten-
dencyparticularly if the singer be affected by the emotion in the
words and music to slur.
It is strange that the composer, having phrase-marked every note
of the vocal line, should omit to do so over the last four notes. I feel
that he would have liked one long phrase-line from 38 to 42 'but
refrained from making what he must have felt was an unreasonable
demand. It is a cruel test to have to sing all this without an intervening
breath but that is the way to do it. I have only heard John Coates
do this and I do not want to hear it done in any other way: it is white
hot. A heavy emotion-laden crescendo from 4 have' (39) up to 'some'-
IOO
SLEEP
for which the composer asks precludes any idea of a breath. This
phrase is no whit less intense than the preceding one (35 to 37) and a
breath lets in an unwanted draught of coolness, an ease which the
emotion of the music belies.
Pangs which match his own will be heard by the singer in the
accompanist's chords in 36, in the chromatic descent in 37-38, and
finally in the postlude's weariness in 43-44. Even the chord of B flat
major at the end sounds a note of interrogation.
Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Ltd. v (Excerpts from Warlock's
'Sleep' reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press)
OFFRANDE
Words by PAUL VERLAINE
Music by REYNALDO HAHN
THIS poem under the title 'Green* has been set to music by Claude
Debussy and Gabriel Faure, and no doubt both their settings are of
greater worth than the one I propose to discuss: Debussy's scintillates
with freshness and with the sparkle of early morning dew
Ex. A Joyeusement anime
A i . j>i>. '"^r^
Debussy
Voi-ci des fruits,des f leurs,des feuil-les et_det bran - c
and Faure's speaks from fullness of heart with the ring of true devotion.
Ex.B
Faurr
Voi-ci deb fruitb,des> fleurs,deb
et dfs brau - chcs> _ Et
We are invigorated after performing or hearing the first song, we are
moved by the second. I love them both. Why then, have I chosen
Reynaldo Harm's setting for inclusion here? Because I am intrigued
by it, and because this composer's songs should be heard more often.
Beneath a frigid exterior this song is passionate and sensuous. Its
calm expression is deceptive so that we are almost unaware of the
hunger which it masks, of the longing surging through its veins.
Debussy's buoyant 'Ne le dechirez pas avec vos deux mains
blanches' is rhetorical. It wears a confident smile proclaiming a con-
quest won,
101
102
Ex.C
OFFRANDE
2 T .. I *
N<_- le de - chi - re/ pa
a - vee \os
But in this very phrase Hahn conveys a sense of frustration; com-
pare his handling of it (7-8) with the above example:
Ex.1
Pas trop lent
Voi-ci deb fruits, des fleurs, des
tres doux
feuil-let> et des brau - ches, Kt puib voi - ci m<ju cueur
OFFRANDE
103
JlJ J J
k
^
bat que pour vous; Ne le de-chi-rez pas A- vec vobdeux mains blanches
I
tre s expressif ' ^_ _
J } J^ J 1 J 1 ^ J J^ J^ J^ ^
^^
Et qu'a vosyeux si beaux 1'humble pre-sent soil doux.
f
Whereas Debussy's soars gracefully without a hint of misgiving,
here the voice steps down note by note an entire octave so that at the
words Thumble present' the eyes of the supplicant have dropped in
self-abasement. It is a supplication, we fear, that may well be dis-
regarded, the lover's heart easily bruised. Each bar is pregnant with
entreaty and, although it is nearly all sung very softly, suggests an
undercurrent of passion. Young lover's shyness marks the singer's first
words so that the quaver rest in i is slightly lengthened, making
'Voici des fruits' a quickened utterance; after a lengthened quaver
rest 'des fleurs' is quickly said again, and so too *des feuilles et des
branches'.
The grouping of these phrases is intentionally spasmodic and yet it
is all intimately uttered, albeit the diction is fresh and clear and the
legato never lost. Perhaps it is not until bar 5 that we first become aware
of the song's basic tempo, for the slight suggestion of breathlessness at
the beginning here gives way to a calm control: marked tres doux
*Voici mon coeur', &c., should be imbued with intense feeling.
There is no doubting the physical and mental fatigue in the
following example:
104
Ex. 2
OFFRANDE
* Souf-
frex que ma fa-tigur , a vo^
pieds re - po - be' - e,
$
T
r .
\*^ J- 7 J)
I
Re-ve deb chers in-btaots.
qui la
^
P
Nor can *Reve des chers instants' be anything but hopeless and anaemic
when placed beside Faure's full-blooded embrace.
The song ends with an unresolved discord on the pianoforte.
Ex.3
What will be the outcome?
Reynaldo Hahn was undoubtedly a lightweight but he was a
charming writer and I wish singers would give his songs an occasional
airing. His name often figures on the programmes of such consummate
artists as Maggie Teyte and Jennie Tourel, which is sufficient
recommendation.
Reprinted by permission of Au Menestral, 2 bis rue Vivienne, Paris. Messrs.
Hcugel & Co. Editors
G DAi20i Vanni-Marcoux (Piero Coppola)
O 188766 Roger Bourdin
Pat XQ3I37 Jean Planel
G DA 1 82 1 Maggie Teyte (Gerald Moore)
G Psyi Reynaldo Hahn (self-ace.)
L 3.00.011 M, Hamel (J. Ullern)
SHE NEVER TOLD HER LOVE
Words by SHAKESPEARE
Music by HAYDN
THIS noble song begins with a fourteen-bar pianoforte introduction
which must be played with infinite breadth and dignity The accom-
panist has complete confidence in his ability to play this opening with
controlled strength and tenderness: this confidence enables him to obey
Haydn's instruction Largo assai, e con espressione, for he knows that by
playing it sufficiently slowly he will have the ample time needed in 5,
for instance, for the piano to sound clearly after the sforzando; for the
curve at 1 1 to have a special beauty.
Ex.1
Largo assuie conesf
one
9*Pf
~ lj.^,iy^.ja
It is most important that every rest be observed, the pedal is not
used at all from 2 to 5 nor from 12 to 14. These detached chords give
105
io6
SHE NEVER TOLD HER LOVE
the music a remarkable significance and it would be the greatest mis-
take to run them together with the sustaining pedal. In two places, I
feel, a very slight use of rubato is permitted: the two quavers on the
fourth beat of 6 should be dwelt on, and the fourth beat of 1 1 should
not be passed over with too meticulous a regard for exact tempo.
The song really begins at bar 2 and I have never understood why
Haydn wanted that tonic chord in bar i ; however, there it is and we
have to play it. I play it as marked with afermata but I make a distinct
break before embarking on the stately rhythm of bar 2.
Of course the singer is just as interested in the introduction as is her
partner, she wants to hear the tempo established which (agreed upon in
rehearsal) will enable her to contain each vocal phrase in one breath,
without discomfort. She hopes it will not be necessary at 15 to alter the
tempo in any way. She listens to this introduction and, like the audience,
becomes absorbed in the atmosphere. If it is beautifully played she is
inspired.
Ex. 2
w
^~ . r
4Mi=
$ l>l i,
=z-ull V--L- * H *
She ae - \er told her love, *
]e DC - vtr told her
17
j Jm 1
^^
A 1 i
ove, But let coil- ceal-meot, like a wo
IN 19
J. * |:3L-LJ \
rm ILI the bud,
6 XI
J
J
1 L~ LH trJ *-*
Feed on her da - ma^k cheek,
1
These phrases look deceptively short, and indeed they seem short to
everybody except the singer. Owing to the slow movement of the song
they are quite long to sing and need the firmest breath control. 'Love*
on 1 6 and 18 coming at the end of each phrase is difficult to keep steady
in view of the fact that it is less in weight than 'never told', but it must
be pure and the listener is disturbed if pressure is brought to bear on it.
Above all the singer keeps her smooth line unsullied by any porta-
menti or slurs; she is as particular about this as Casals would be in the
slow movement of a Bach suite. Where an entire song is as completely
legato as this, the singer must listen intently to every note she sings, for
this sliding is insidious and the most conscientious of artists can be
unaware they are doing it. I have seen utter astonishment on a lady's
face when I have told her that she was sliding from one note to another
at 29 (fourth beat), 31, 35. It will be seen that these three bars (29, 31,
35) have one thing in common, namely, each is a falling progression.
SHE NEVER TOLD HER LOVE
107
The last two notes of the second beat of 32 come into the same category;
these semiquavers are lingered on.
Ex.3
35
Two more eloquent opportunities for the accompanist occur at 24
to 26 and 33, 34. I give one of these instances with Haydn's markings
and in parenthesis my own, in an endeavour to show how a delicate
but a delicate rubato may be employed.
Ex.4
(slower)
(wait)
(gradually slower)
The turns on the first and third beats of 26 are done with all the leisure
possible.
I have alluded several times to the third beat here, the fourth beat
there; this was done for convenience. In reality and despite the song's
slow and stately march, singer and partner should feel only two beats
to the bar.
'She never told her love' takes nearly three and a half minutes to
perform.
Published by Augencr Ltd.
G DA 1850 Elisabeth Schumann (Gerald Moore)
G EC 1 74 Marian Anderson (Franz Rupp)
ALLO ALi3 E. Rogers (E. Mitrani)
V 26707 M. Houston (Frank la Forge)
SEA FEVER
Words by JOHN MASEFIELD Music by JOHN IRELAND
i ONCE asked John Ireland which of the many songs he had written he
considered his best, and he replied without hesitation 'Sea Fever'.
Bearing in mind that many of his other lovely songs (which must have
cost him much labour, time, and reflection) are more complicated and
more difficult to perform, I thought his answer extremely instructive.
The great virtue of this setting lies in the fact that the music, though
bearing the unmistakable stamp of the composer's individuality, never
imprisons the words. If you were reciting this poem, your rhythm
by and large would be the same as Ireland's vocal line.
It is wise when studying this song to recite the words, and after that
to put the same speech-rhythm into your singing, for no composer, John
Ireland or anyone else, can possibly put on the printed page the delicate
divergence from strict tempo that such a song as this requires.
Ex. 1
I must go down 'to thc)seas a-aiD,'to the) loce ly tea (and the>sky, Acd
a 3
all I ask is a tall bhip(anda) btar to steer her by, _ (Audthe)
4 6
wheel*. kick ( acd the) wiLdb MjL<aud the) white sails sh,ik-iu, Abd a
6 7
Try, for argument's sake, singing these bars in the most rigid tempo.
Give the three quavers on each beat the same strength and the same
weight, and you will find that the words and the music have lost im-
petus, life, and meaning. The music was expressly designed here to give
the words free play; the singer of imagination employs tempo rubato. Any
detailed discussion of rubato is dangerous in that, trying to bring his
point home, the demonstrator is apt to exaggerate, and this puts a spot-
light at once on something which should be a secret and delicate affair.
I must content myself, rather than inflict on the reader a description of
the entire song bar by bar, by indicating here and there the sort of
rubato I would employ if I were a singer.
1 08
SEA FEVER ICQ
In Example i for instance, the stresses show which notes (or rather
words) require more weight and time, the parentheses and arrows indi-
cate words needing less weight and which should be hastened. The
second verse has a more impatient temper and bars 12 to 14 could be
taken in this style r
kX. 2 (Quicker ) . ^ l.yj rv ^0
for the call of the run-mug tidi _ Is a wild calHand alclrar call, that
/ 13
may not be de - niedj
A sentence where the singer's sibilants make the picture very real is
'and the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying'.
After the deliberation of the first verse and the impatience of the
second, Roy Henderson started the third verse with an intensity which
was tautened by a slight lessening of tone, a reduction which made the
huge crescendo up to 'where the wind's like a whetted knife' all the
fiercer.
The even quavers in bar 25 should be noticed.
Ex.3
from a laugh- ing fel-low r<> - vtr, And
26
In contrast to the legato of bar 24, these quavers are decidedly non
legato so that you can really fancy the man laughing; and the tempo here
is slightly broadened to give effect to this only bar of even quavers in
the whole song. 'Merry' is hardly a triplet, one gets as quickly as pos-
sible on to the second syllable,
These little suggestions of give and take in the rhythm all without
disturbing the song's basic tempo are prompted by my recollection of
Roy Henderson's interpretation (with which 1 was in complete accord)
but they are, I repeat, suggestions, I am not laying down hard and fast
rules that this note must be hurried and that note held, but I do insist
that some sort of elasticity, flexibility, rubato, or whatever you like to
call it, must be employed according to individual taste.
One word of warning to the singer is necessary he must be certain
he pitches his long note in bar 27 high enough.
110 SEA FEVER
qui - et sleep and a s>weet dream when the long 1 trickb o ver.
26 27 28
There is a tendency after 'quiet sleep and a sweet dream' for the
performer to relax. I have often heard this happen. Certainly the mood
is now relaxed and the tone soft, but the singer does not lose concentra-
tion or forget the breath support this note needs, otherwise he will
flatten it.
There are not many male singers, amateur or professional, who have
not got a copy of 'Sea Fever' lying somewhere near the piano, and the
reason for this is not far to seek. The words are superb and the music is
perfectly wedded to them; moreover every man feels better for having
sung it.
Reprinted by permission of Augener Ltd.
G B2594 Stuart Robertson (Gerald Moore)
V 1583 Conrad Thibault
G 69073 Robert Irwin (Gerald Moore)
G 553 John Brownlee
G 3 Fraser Gange
G 1*9257 Paul Robeson
G B 1 0233 Frederick Harvey
G M526 Roy Henderson (Ivor Newton)
FRUHLWGSLIED
Words in Swabian dialect
Music by MENDELSSOHN
'AUF Flugeln des Gesanges' (On Wings of Song) was not the only song
Mendelssohn wrote, yet it is the only one we ever hear. This composer
does not seize you by the throat, he does not soar to the heights nor
plumb the depths, but Elisabeth Schumann always delighted her
audiences with Mendelssohn songs (or anybody's songs for that matter!).
They take you into a fairyland of soft airs and graces. I wish singers,
women especially, would give them a little attention, for their innocent
Victorian charm would not come amiss in these days, 'Bei der Wiege'
(Cradle Song), quite Schubertian in style; 'Wcrm durrh die Piazzetta'
(Venetian Song), a tender melodic setting so different from Schu-
mann's; 'Hexenlied' (Witches Song), an exciting affair not unworthy of
Loewe; 'Neue Liebe' (New Love), with its fairies from Midsummer
Night's Dream; all these and others would amply repay study.
Triihlingslied' simply tells us that spring has come with its blue sky,
warm breezes, twittering birds, and budding trees.
Like some of the songs mentioned above, it has an accompaniment
that plays a lively part. It supplies more than a demure background
such as we find in 'Wings of Song' and its introduction, fresh and crisp,
gives us a taste of the sparkle that is to come.
Ex. 1 Attegretfa
From the first note the player makes it obvious that he is really enjoying
himself. He makes i, 2, 3, 5, 7 legato as marked, but in 4 and 6 he plays
the staccato repeated note with relish, trying to lift his hands as high as
he can off the keys between each note; these bars bounce,
in
112
FRUHLINGSLIED
So keen is the singer to impart zest to her part and clarity to her
words that it matters not at all if she sings non legato. In fact the dainty
tripping rhythm of the movement dictates this. Only at 10 and 15, and
in parallel instances, will she be able to give us a moment's cantabile.
*'
Jftzt kommt drr Friih - lmg,dfr Him-mel ibch blau,
8 9 W
At 22, 23 and 42, 43 and 63, 64 the phrases will be more graceful and
a perfect fusion between voice and piano made easier if the singer makes
a slight rallentando. No singer will object to this, for her semiquavers
really must be legato here.
Her little cadenza at the end of the third verse can, of course, beapidcere
(and she can make as much of the three pauses as she pleases), it is a
graceful little flourish to adorn her departure from the scene.
Ex.4
In the accompaniment to the second verse, the birds chirrup and trill,
Ex.5
FRUHLINGSLIED
v
^
lo-cka ih-re Wei-ble wol bald
while in the postlude 68 to 77 we hear a cuckoo calling; he is joined
by his mate at 74.
Ex.6
Published by Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.
ALLO ALsi Elisabeth Schumann (George Schick)
S.A. 9
THE EVENING PRATER
English translation by Words and Music by
E. M. LOCKWOOD M. MOUSSORGSKY
THE seven songs known as 'Songs of Childhood' express in terms of
words and music the amusing and extraordinary twists and turns of a
child's mind. This set is a work of genius. Moussorgsky gives us the
psychology of a child as surely as he reveals the psychology of 'Boris
GodounofT or 'Ivan the Terrible'. 'Evening Prayer' in common with
the other songs in this set is couched in childish language which, by its
very nature, precludes any prima donna-ish approach. The diva, in an
impressive creation with train attached, with tiara, with long kid gloves,
cannot sing this song with the same regal mien as she sings Beethoven's
'Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur'. This is not to imply that she should
take offher bejewelled trappings and appear on the platform in diapers:
it simply means that the song should be sung as a child would sing it.
Irmgard Seefried, elegant and sophisticated though she is, sings this song
with delicious naivete, and Oda Slobotskaya reduced her brilliant
and thrilling voice to a childish treble in her amusing characteriza-
tion.
In the first place then, it requires a soprano who can, at will, reduce
her voice to the dimensions of a piping little treble; secondly it requires
an artist who is something of an actress. (Every serious concert singer
of any distinction acts. He is so utterly living in the song that the expres-
sion on his face is bound to reflect the mood or the character of the
music. In 'Erlkonig* the parts of the terrified boy, the anxious father,
the threatening Erlking cannot each be delivered with the same wooden
countenance; the singer in turn looks terrified, anxious, threatening.
The singer caught up in the religious ecstasy of 'Die junge Nonne'
seems to us to be a different person when she sings 'Das Kohlerweib
ist trunken'. But when I say a good singer acts I do not mean for one
moment that gestures are desirable. Far from it. Chaliapin, great actor
as he was on the operatic stage, never stepped outside the framework of
the song on the concert platform. A calculated step forward here, a
fluttering movement of the hands there, are distracting to the audience.
Gestures are barred. Everything is concentrated into the voice, and the
singer with heart, brain, temperament, and love of what he is singing
will find that his face reflects his thoughts. And this is the only outward
and visible sign that is needed.)
Kneeling in his cot, with his nurse ready to prompt him, the little
chap starts confidently:
114
THE EVENING PRAYER
Ex. 1 Allegro moderato
Bles>s them and take care of them 1 .
5
But it is so difficult to concentrate when one is tired and already, at
bar 5, his thoughts arc beginning to wander. The fermata at the end of
this bar comes quite abruptly - there is an awkward silence while nurse
wills the child to continue. This hesitation continues for the first sixteen
bars cf the song while Brother Vasenka and Brother Mishenka and
darling old Grandmamma are remembered. Then the excitement really
starts with an alarming catalogue of uncles and aunts, cousins and play-
mates, all tumbling over one another in profusion. From 17 to 27 is a
gradual crescendo with an accelerando thrown in at 25. 'Auntie Katie,
Auntie Natasha, Auntie Masha, Auntie Paresha, Aunties Lionba Varia
and Sasha and Olia, and Tania and Nadia. Uncles Petia and Kolia,
Volodia and Grisha and Sasha', &c. &c, &c. The singer becomes more
breathless as the music loudens and quickens.
At 24, 25, 26 the climax is reached and here Moussorgsky's accom-
paniment is so unpianistic that I suggest the following simpler but
equally effective alternative for the left hand.
Ex.2 _ f actf t
23j
SE
24 '
6
'Nanny, dear Nanny, now what else?' asks the child, and the nurse
replies
Ex.3
You really art- a lit-tlr monkey
THE EVENING PRAYER
f
m
told you '. E'ar-don,! be - seech Thee Lord,all my wickedness.
i=e
f
BE
m
Growing impatience on the nurse's part is shown by the loudening and
reiterated G's in the accompaniment at 31, while the repeated chord in
33 suggests a little slap on the wrist. Many a singer misses Moussorgsky's
instruction at 34. The forte sign is significant. The humourless nurse is
quite incapable of appreciating that her little five-year-old charge can
scarcely be guilty of wickedness a little naughtiness at the most but
not wickedness. Therefore she sings * Pardon I beseech thee Lord, all
my wickedness' in almost a stentorian voice and with the sternest ex-
pression. Therein lies the humour. One feels that if there are police-
women in heaven, this nurse will be a sergeant in the force.
Echoing the nurse's words in the meekest and tiniest voice, the little
innocent concludes the song with
Ex.4
Before the singer has finished her triplet in 39 the pianist's chord is
released so that the word 'Nanny' is left alone in mid-air.
Reprinted by permission of Augcner Ltd.
C 173120 Nelson Eddy
TAKE, TAKE THOSE LIPS AWAY
(' Measure for Measure')
Words by SHAKESPEARE
Music by c. HUBERT PARRY
i LAST played this song for John Coates in 1926, since when I have never
heard it performed. I am at a loss to account for this as, in my opinion,
the song is a fine one and worthy of inclusion in recital programmes.
Singer and pianist must make up their minds if they are going
to tackle this song to do it as Parry wanted it done, dramatically.
They do not treat nuances in a wishy-washy manner, they storm them
full-bloodedly, with sharp rises and falls of'tone, so that a crescendo comes
on you so suddenly and vividly that for a moment you are scorched by
the heat and then as quickly cooled, as if you had opened the door of
a furnace and straightway closed it again. In this way the listener will
be gripped by the throat, This song is too violent for any gentler
treatment.
A feature worthy of remark is the false accent on the half beat so
clearly seen in the introductory bars, and obtaining generally through-
out the song in the piano part; a rhythmical device that seems to give
an undercurrent of poignancy to the singer's declamation.
Ex. 1
This introduction is played with intensity, with a continual crescendo up
to the first beat on 4, and the pianist's aim, it seerns to me, should not
be to describe a succession of graceful curves executed with a relaxed
wrist; on the contrary the line is angular, and the tone quality produced
by unyielding fingers and wrist is hard. It should be remembered how-
ever that the stark nature of the sound desired does not necessarily call
for an unceasing forte> by which the singer would be drowned. One can
dig a hard tone out of the pianoforte without having to employ a
sledgehammer.
In his very first phrase the singer makes us feel his desperation. It
will help him to imbue his tone with bitterness if he frowns, for a smile
117
n8
TAKE, O TAKE THOSE LIPS AWAY
on his lips would be as much out of place as a soothing quality of sound:
he is not pleading, he is censuring.
O t.ike tho^e lips a -way,
I have marked the three passing quavers with an arrow to indicate that
after the first 'Take' the singer hastens up to 'lips' on which he lingers
as long as he dares; so long, in fact, that he is forced to shorten the first
syllable of 'away'. This roughly is the shape of the rubato which should
be employed in 9, 10, 1 1 where we make afermata on 'lights', and then
hurry the passing notes in order to give more time again on the dotted
quaver of 'mislead'.
Ex.3
jr.
q" ' *^^
And t hobt eves, the break of day, Lights-, that do mislead the more;
IO * // > 12
If the singer can possibly do the whole phrase from the crotchet rest of
9 to bar 12 in one breath, it will be wonderful; if not, I ask him to con-
sider seriously the idea of breathing after the word 'lights' rather than
before it, for the effect of the crescendo on 'day' being carried without
break up to 'lights' is quite electrifying.
Only at 13-14 does the music seem to lapse into tenderness as if
resolution had weakened
Ex 4
But my kis-ses bricjtj- u-^.
and here the pianist suggests the change of mood and gives the singer
time for it by introducing the pianissimo chord with utmost deliberation.
This weakening, if indeed it be such, is momentary for once again we
are storming up to a climax on 'seals of love' (a high tenuto note for the
singer a crashing bass for the pianist) to be followed by the most
bitter phrase 20, 21, 22 of the whole song:
Ex.5
Seal
in vain.
m
-3-7+
^
-* VP
m
^*
19
Those three notes in the vocal part need thinking about. In the first
place the singer takes care that the piano is not too soft and then he
makes a big crescendo on his 'Seal'd' which is joined without any break
on to the next note an octave lower, and finally he attacks the G flat
on 'vain' with energy and venom before the tone fades. Breath must
be regulated, for there is a ritardando going on and of course these three
notes must be relentlessly joined together. The accompanist does what
he can to help by playing 19 and 20 with intensity and he makes sure
that we hear the singer's G flat echoed in the last bar of the pianoforte.
Reprinted by permission of Novcllo & Co. Ltd.
BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND
Words by SHAKESPEARE
Music by ROGER QUILTER
Op. 6 No. 3
IN his book entitled French Music (published by Oxford University Press)
Martin Cooper suggests that an equivalent figure in English music to
Reynaldo Hahn might be Roger Quilter. This comparison, I think, is
extraordinarily apt. When one considers Mr. Cooper's comments on
Hahn's compositions '. . . precise and finished workmanship, a nice
adjustment of means to ends ... a preference for clear and thin texture
. . . [Hahn] combines an elegant musicianship with a pretty wit and a
gift for charmingly nostalgic melody . . .' it will readily be agreed that
the composer under discussion might well be Quilter.
'To Daisies', 'Dream Valley', 'Go Lovely Rose', 'Now Sleeps the
Crimson Petal', are all gentle in mood and movement and the words
demand lyrical, nostalgic, refined music to do them justice. Roger
Quilter has set them once and for all. But could one say the same of
'Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind'? Do the kindly charm of his music
and the elegance of his style, qualities so desirable in Herrick, Blake,
&c., for which we are so grateful, stand in his way in a song of such
bitterness as this?
It all depends on the singer and the accompanist.
I have nevertheless chosen this song because it presents the performers
with an interesting problem, namely how to infuse into the musical
setting the toughness and the cynicism that the words demand. The
accompanist can help a great deal to sharpen the edges but it is mostly
the singer's responsibility. Time after time one has heard tenors bleat,
and with the suavest legato line to say nothing of the blandest of smiles
the following:
Ex. 1 Poco pi\i tilltgro
120
BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND
121
cresc-
3
friend - ship is feign- iog, most lov-iog mere fol-ly: Then
Is it that after having been in the minor mode for the first section singers
feel they can settle down snugly and comfortably now that they are in
the major? The words give the lie to this. And why legato, when the
composer does not ask for it? Bars 18 and 19 with their aspirates should
be sung frankly with no attempt to achieve an impossible joining of one
note to another. Again, the initial consonant of 'friendship' 'feigning'
'Folly' should be in each case violently projected to make Shake-
speare's alliteration patent to the listener and to enable the singer to
pour all the scorn into the words he possibly can.
'Loving' is another word where the first consonant is stressed, but
here after allowing the '1* to curl angrily round the tongue, the rest of
the word must be thrown away. There is all the difference in the world
between the rhythm and meaning of the word here and the caressing
of it in, for example, Purcell's duet 'My Dearest, My Fairest'
Ex. A
Purcell
Thu!
ing
or the tenderness of it in Maud Valerie White's 'So We'll Go No More
a-Roving'.
Maude Valerie White
Though the heart be ae'er as lov - ing
All these stresses that I enjoin take time, be it understood, and the
accompanist fashions his playing accordingly. In the piano part there
are spikes in the staccato chords of 20-21 . The semiquavers in 21-22-23
are like the crack of a whip; there should be a slight rubato with them,
their entry being delayed, ix delay which forces the player to flick them
quickly in order to get to the fourth quaver of the bar in time. I recom-
mend that most of the semiquavers in the pianoforte part be treated in
this way, in bars 10 and 12 for example, and 33 to 37; the commas in
129,
BLOW, BLOW, THOU WINTER WIND
Example i are inserted by me to show my meaning. The pianist was
asked earlier to 'wait on' the singer for the liberties the latter takes with
his rubato, and clearly it is the singer's duty here to do the same service
for his partner.
At the end of the chorus it is essential that the singer obeys the
composer's crescendo on 'jolly'.
Ex.2
this life .
30
mobt
jol
J
There can be no doubt that the second syllable is stronger than the first
in this instance, and the note is released abruptly thus giving an air of
desperation or disgust to the situation; for what the singer is saying in
effect is 'This life is most jolly. / don't think! 9
The song begins impressively.
Ex.3 Non troppo allegro ma vigoroso e con moto
I" PIP p r
^
Blow, blow, thou win-ter wind, Thou
If the pianist plays his preliminary chords with brio it will give the
singer the support he needs to attack his 'Blow, blow' with courage.
This opening is full of gusto and the G flat should be startling for there
is nothing in bars i and 2 to indicate that we are in the minor key.
Personally I hate to hear 'winter wind' rhyming with 'so unkind',
the vowel in 'wind' should be as in 'tin* or 'win': it would be just as
logical to make 'warp' rhyme with 'sharp*. The singer, however, must
decide this question for himself.
Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkcs Ltd. (Excerpt from Maude
Valerie White's 'So We'll Go No More a-Roving' reprinted by permission
of Chappcll & Co. Ltd.)
G 82500
C 4817
D F2062
George Baker
Derek Old ham
Frank Mailings
Henry Wendon
C Li 055 Gervase Elwes (Frederick Kiddle)
SPRING WATERS
Words by FEODOR TIOUTCHEV
English version by ROSA NEWMARCH
Music by s. RACHMANINOFF
Op. 14 No. it
ALTHOUGH I am not particularly fond of this song, I want to write a
little about the accompaniment. Sopranos like to sing 'Spring Waters'
occasionally because it makes a climax at the end of a group with its
gusto, top notes, and dashing accompaniment. In fact it is a song
popular with everyone except, perhaps, the average accompanist. He
finds some of the technical passages extremely difficult taken at top
speed, and some of the large chords beyond his compass. Rachmaninoff
in his piano writing did not take lesser mortals into account, and with
his own enormous stretch had no difficulty whatsoever in crashing down
on chords like
Ex. A
and
Ex B
without spreading them; he did it moreover with as much ease as most
pianists could strike an octave. Isobel Baillie, that most patient of artists
(whose nature is as sweet as her singing), tells me I have no idea what
happens when some accompanists tackle 'Spring Waters'. She is often
afraid to put it on the programme. I have heard other singers say the
same.
From the very first bar the accompaniment suggests the surging of
the waters. Geographically the first seven bars are pretty much alike,
so it behoves the pianist to make up his mind what fingering he is going
to use and having made up his mind, to stick to it.
- \Allegro vivace L> i a a "> .'<
The second beat of the bar which I have fingered is the only difficulty
here. Of course the sustaining pedal is used there would be no surge
123
124 SPRING WATERS
without it, but that does not mean that all the semiquavers should be
unclean. So, after practising my method of playing it as shown in
Example i, let those accompanists who find they are still unsure try
this fingering which can also be applied to bars 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7
It is, however, when the singer says, 'The banks are sunny where
they flow' that the accompanist's sky is clouded over and his pianistic
flow congealed. And at the words 'They sparkle as they run more clear',
the playing sounds more muddy and obscure than ever. This occurs at
bars 8 and 10. Remembering that the song goes like the wind, it was
marvellous with what ease Rachmaninoff 'threw away' those passages
when playing them. He wrote them as follows:
Ex.3
To give the pianist an added interest in the proceedings, the passages
are not quite alike. They are great stumbling blocks for him. Above
these rushing semiquavers, the singer has a soaring phrase and she will
storm up this phrase without paying any heed to the accompanist's
difficulties. And rightly. So joyous is the mood that she wants to sweep
the audience along with her in her enthusiasm; she has no time to wait
about for a stumbling accompanist. The latter must give the impression
that he overcomes these technical difficulties with the greatest case. I
do not mean by this that he should 'show off' but I do recommend that
he tries not to make it too obvious that he is in travail. By crouching
ferociously over the keyboard with clenched teeth, he will hardly look,
SPRING WATERS
'25
from the audience's viewpoint, as if he is enjoying himself. Therefore I
suggest to those who cannot cover bars 8 and 10 easily, the following
simpler alternatives:
Ex.4
On the first two beats of 20 and 21,
Ex.5
my arrangement of the chords is thinner than the original but easier to
play at the very fast tempo required here. In any case the composer uses
exactly the same positioning of the chords in 15 and 16. A tremendous
accent on the bass octave with sustaining pedal helps here too. And
at 35 in the left hand instead of Rachmaninoff's
Ex.6
I suggest
Ex.7
which will be much easier.
Let me warn the pianist that there are one or two places where he
can easily drown the singer unless he constantly keeps his eye on the
vocal line. At bars 5 and 6, for instance, the tessitura is quite low,
126 SPRING WATERS
especially if the singer is able to take the low B flat which Rachmaninoff
preferred.
Ex 8
.
J
The rubh-mg of spring- floods draws near
s
Here is an example where the voice part is marked forte but where the
accompanist's forte must be discreet, Where the singer is taking a top
note or where she is silent, the accompanist can always make a surging
crescendo provided he is prepared to damp down his tone equally quickly
when it is necessary.
E * 9 & *__
pii
The spring 1
At 15 the voice and pianoforte are marked fff and it should be instinc-
tive on the accompanist's part to be merciful on the first half of the bar.
He can louden hugely on the top note.
I must apologize to the singer if I appear to have given all my atten-
tion in 'Spring Waters' to the accompanist. It is not that I wish to
belittle the singer for in this instance she has more responsibility to
carry than her partner; her brilliance and her verve are the most im-
portant factors in the song's success. The man at the piano, however,
can easily be too overpowering or, what is worse, too stagnant.
My advice may, in the long run, not only contribute towards a suc-
cessful performance of the song but may also help to preserve a desirable
spirit of amity between singer and accompanist. Too often the soprano
walks off the stage at the conclusion of ' Spring Waters' nourishing
hatred for her colleague in her bosom. It is much nicer to be on speaking
terms, and that is up to the accompanist.
Reprinted by permission of British & Continental Music Agencies Ltd.
G ER28g Ada Sari
C LXiosS Jennie Tourel (Erich Itor Kahn)
D M6o2 Marjorie Lawrence (Ivor Newton)
Voc 63104 Vladimir Rosing (Frank St. Leger)
V 4548 D. Dickson
P R20378 Vladimir Ro$ing (H. Gellhorn)
CHANSON A BOIRE
Words by PAUL MORAND
Music by MAURICE RAVEL
RAVEL'S three songs which comprise the set known as 'Don Quichotte
a Dulcinee' can be performed separately, and I have chosen the drink-
ing song for inclusion here because tenors and baritones 'ire constantly
asking for a brilliant song with which to end a group. Nobody likes to
walk off the platform to the sound of his own footsteps and it is perhaps
natural that a singer wants to wind up proceedings with a song that
is bound to provoke applause as I said in 'Spring Waters'.
The hifh-pitched vocal line and the continuous forte combine to
make * Chanson a boire' strenuous for the singer, yet he appears to sing
with careless abandon for he is in high good humour: the whole thing
is a tipsy and rowdy affair.
It will be seen by my illustrations, which are in the tenor key, how
high is the tessitura.
Ex. 1
'
Foio du
7
tard
il - lus - tre Da - me,
9 W
It
Qui
pour DC perdre
/
vos doux
13
i
yeux
Also, be it observed, the line is legato. It would be far easier to accen-
tuate each note in a non legato way: and the same applies here:
Ex .2
But a staccato here would sound absurd. It is no easy task to execute
the above example smoothly and to avoid an intrusive 'h', yet the idea
behind the desire for legato is logical. Imagine a man stretched out com-
fortably in a chair, glass in hand, sufficiently inebriated to be in a most
optimistic frame of mind; he would disdain to sing staccato, in fact such
singing would require an energetic use of the diaphragm that, in his
recumbent attitude, he is in no position to fulfil. (To complete the pic-
ture attendant on the consequences of such vocal explosiveness, 1 feel
127
128
CHANSON A BOIRE
impelled to add that there would be danger, tragic under the circum-
stances, of spilling some precious drops of wine.)
It will be seen at 30 and at 31 that our hero has nearly two bars
rest, here he clambers to his feet and drinks; his utterances at 32,
Ex.8
and from bar 39 to the end of the verse, become much more energetic
and disjointed.
Ex. 4 _^ _ ^ ^
$
i
js T u j j ir * < iy F *
t
Lors - que j'ai !ors-que j'ai bu !
Ah'.ahl ah! la
CHANSON A BOIRE
129
Ravel has marked a heavy slur at 32 with a really short quaver for the
word 'hois', and he gives us a hiccup from the pianoforte at 40. The
laughter from 43 to 46 (anticipated when Pierre Bernac sings it hy a
chuckle at 41, 42) requires some consideration. Paul Morand's verse
reads 'Ah! Ah! Ah!' and Ravel has naturally written this on his score,
but for singing purposes 'Ha! Ha! Ha!' is preferable with as much in-
trusive *h* as you please and this is the way Pierre Bernac does it, so
far as I recall. At all events I recommend this slight alteration as being
more suggestive of laughter. 'Joie' on the first beat of 44 and 46 has
been marked with an apportamento, but the effect wanted is not a slow
slide from the lower note to the upper for that would take too long and
would pull the rhythm to pieces: it is merelv that the high E is attacked
from underneath so that the vowel is heard before the voice has reached
the E. In the discussion of Ivor Gurney's 'Sleep' I attempted to expose
a bad singer's habit of breaking a clean vowel line by this very thing
that Ravel wants. Here we consciously commit this offence for it is a
special effect absolutely in character and would, I think, best be illus-
trated thus:
so that the 'j' of 'joie' is tacked on to the 'la'. This robs 'la' but enables
the first beat of 44 and 46 to be attacked on time.
There are no problems for the accompanist except in the first bars
of his introduction, which are terrifying.
Ex. 6 Allegro < J- 184)
Played slowly there is no difficulty at all, but alas, the tempo is a fast
one. The chords in the right hand would not be unreasonable to con-
tain, were it not for the rude intrusion of the left hand which persists in
getting in the way. I admit that I found it very exasperating and awk-
ward to play this and the corresponding passages at 51 to 53 and inj
to 105 with rapidity and accuracy until Bernac came to my rescue by-
telling me that any notes in the left hand will do. The composer played
the right-hand chords as written, and even then the first chord of each
S.A. 10
130
CHANSON A BOIRE
bar was his chief concern; but his left hand was slapped down on any
bunch of notes provided they were in the vicinity of those indicated.
Ravel wanted the effect of a clattering noise such as a big man would
make falling or stumbling into his chair.
Shall we say in the final bars that the wine-bibber rolls off his chair
to the floor with a bump?
Ex.7
106 - 1- - *r ^
Reprinted by permission of Messrs. J. Jobert, Paris
107
G DA4865 Martial Singher
G DA 1 869 Pierre Bernac (Francis Poulenc)
BaM 32 Yvon le Marc Hadour (Mme le Marc Hadour)
D LXT2568 Gerard Souzay
&AXNE JOUAXT DE UESPINETTE
Words by CLEMENT MAROT
Music by MAURICE RAVEL
IT is not the simplest thing in the world to make a modern concert grand
pianoforte sound like a spinet, but Ravel has made this accompaniment
so fragile and arranged its tessitura so cleverly that it is not too impossible
to create the illusion. I once heard it proposed that a spinet should be
used for the performance of this song. Nothing could be further from
Ravel's mind than this; nothing could be more horribly boring. Our
pianoforte of today is capable of such a wide variety of colour that it
is really great fun to try to make it sound like the instrument of old,
moreover there is a hint of richness and warmth needed that no spinet
could impart. Only the use of the sustaining pedal, which some of the
legato phrases demand, can give this colour. Trcs doux' is the label for
the voice part; prominent though the accompaniment is, it must always
be gentle with the soft pedal depressed all the time: 'En sourdine' says
Ravel.
Ex.1 Trts leger et d'un rythme precis
132
D'ANNE JOUANT DE L'ESPINETTE
We try to make the semiquavers staccato, but sometimes the necessity
for the melodic rise and fall must override this consideration; see 3, 4,
5, 6. It would be impossible to fulfil Ravel's legato signs without judicious
use of the pedal even the dear little inflexions at 6 would be dry with-
out it. As for the last beat of 6 the pedal seems to catch only the faintest
echo of those four notes because they arc so delicately touched; they
can just be heard under the chord, high up in the treble at 7. This
chord surely has been written for the left hand in preference to the right
to give the impression that it is plucked like a harp-string. I think of a
harp, pluck the chord, then throw my hand in the air.
Almost like an obligate the voice enters an octave lower than the
piano which now repeats, more or less, its introductory pattern. The
singer is in no danger of being submerged by the accompaniment, for
his line must invariably be sung legato.
Ex. 2 Tres fioux
Lors>-C)ue je voy en-or-dre la bru-ntt - te
Jeu ne en bon point, de la h -%nt des Du-ux,
4'r j< iJ' ji Ji -ffi^p^
*^ Et que sa voix, t.es doiN et IVs-pi-ctt-t
Mein-ent un^ bru-et doulx et mtr-lo-di -tux
He would be greatly mistaken were he to make all the semiquavers
'detachc', anybody could sing them that way. To be sure, they are
fairly rapid and delivered with sharp diction; but their charm is realized
only if the line is smooth. Look at 1 1 with its crescendo and decrescendo, one
could not bear to hear this sung with a disregard for the composer's
D'ANNE JOUANT DE L'ESPINETTE 133
markings. In short the singer's line must have firmness, and weight, but
it is always soft. This advice is not contradictory.
I draw the singer's attention to his phrase rising from a pianissimo
to a piano (but no more than a piano) in 15-16.
Ex 3 tfl raltnttssant
Et nu-tant qu'eulx jf de- vim _ ^lo- ri - eux Dt-s que jc pen - s.e
15 16
There is a portamento in the octave fall from the top G sharp which is
quite thrilling, especially when it is accomplished gracefully; the tempo
is slackened here to give the singer time for this effect. And to the words
'Des que je pense estre uiig peu ayme d'elle' (whene'er I think that per-
chance she may love me) the piano joins in the singer's tune, an octave
below the voice, giving an added sincerity to the words.
The song finishes in the same style that it began, the last faint sound
being a repetition of the plucked chord which we enjoyed at the
opening (bar 7).
Copyright for the British Empire and permission to reprint by Schott & Co.
Ltd.
G ^5338 Mme de Lestang
GSC T2 Maggie Teyte (Gerald Moore)
DER ATLAS
Words by HEINRICH HEINE
Music by FRANZ SCHUBERT
ANY singer with a light voice, no matter how much he admires this song
or how grand it makes him feel to sing it, is strongly advised to leave it
well alone. *Der Atlas' needs a big voice of such heroic quality and depth
that when the singer says *I am Atlas bearing the weight of the world
on my shoulders' we believe him. (When I say depth of voice I do
not necessarily mean that the singer must be a bass nor am I alluding
only to the low notes in the stave, for a tenor the unforgettable Enrico
Caruso was an outstanding example can give us a feeling of depth in
his highest notes.)
If ever a song needed an inflexible rhythm from the first note to
the last, it is this one, for many of the singer's notes are an octave above
the pianoforte's bass and move rhythmically with the latter as can be
seen in Example i and it is essential that strict time is observed.
E*' * Etwas geschwind
j- >j p
m
m
Ich
*S
UD - gliick-sel-ger
At las,
ich
UD - gliick- sel - ger
S
At - lab! Ei - ne
3
Welt, die
etc
Exact measure is given to the dotted crotchet in bars 5 and 7, to
the even notes on ' Atlas' in 6 and 8, to the rest in 6. It can be seen that
great precision is necessary to achieve unanimity of attack and to ensure
that the strong rhythm is maintained. All the stuffing will be taken out
of it if the unwary singer converts the 3/4 into a 9/8 rhythm as follows:
Ex.2
^jj h
j. <
Ich UD - gliick-sel-ger At lab,
6 6
ich UD - gluck-btl-ger At -las!
7 8
134
DER ATLAS
135
Compare this flabby affair with the iron muscle of Example i and
avoid it at all costs.
Schubert gives us the first undotted quaver of the song at bar 15,
and this, with the even quavers of 16, must be given the weight that
the words demand.
Ex. 3
Ich tra - ge Un-er - trag - li-ches, und
16 17
p
bre-chen will mir das Herz im Lei - be
18 19
Weight does not necessarily mean force: bar 16 does not lie in the
strongest part of some voices and the amount of tone the singer gives
is influenced by the crescendo up to 19 where we have a big climax.
Weight can be given to 1 6 by intensifying the diction and by a deliber-
ate spacing of those quavers. The singer will not be overpowered by the
pianist here since Schubert thoughtfully inserted a diminuendo in the
accompaniment at bar 15 to give the performers their chance to make
a big crescendo. Taking his breath at the quaver rest (17) the singer in
one stride climbs that mighty phrase modulating into B minor. I must
remind the singer here that his top note at 19 is marked/"- not fflhc
still holds that extra ounce of power in reserve, for it will be needed later.
The middle section, bars 22 to 37, is all suspense; a tenseness that
finds no reliefer outlet until 39 is reached. This is a testing ground for
singer and accompanist, their tone is piano but heavy, and their rhythm
tightly held.
Ex.4
136 DER ATLAS
The shape of the accompaniment here is entirely different; the roll
of thirty-second notes (demisemiquavers) has given way to palpitating
triplets whose breathlessness is enhanced by the occasional throb very
pronounced of the forte-piano, as if the unhappy Atlas had almost lost
his balance. No pedal is wanted, the sluggardly octaves like heavy foot-
falls are detached as marked; they are not staccato. Uninfluenced by his
partner's triplets, the singer maintains his great rhythm, his semiquavers
in 23 and 25 come after the accompanist's chords, not with them. To
help the singer to realize an effect of breathlessness in this section,
Schubert has cut up the vocal line into short phrases. Only on 'unend-
lich' (endless) does he give a long note, and how suggestive this is of a
yawning hopeless eternity!
Ex.5
y
At 34, 35 we hear in the pianoforte's bass a suggestion that the old
rhythm J* J!~3 J will soon hold sway again. I slur the third beats of
34, 35 feeling that a sliding effect is wanted since they are the only
notes in this middle section which are not detached, moreover they
Ex.6
s>tol - ztb Herz,
und jet - - zo bist du
DER ATLAS 137
stamp the spot where the crescendo starts its relentless course into the
colossal jgf (38).
This example shows the climbing bass in the pianoforte, but the
upward sweep of the voice is far steeper. The singer's even quavers in
37 must stand strongly independent of the triplets beneath him. They
must be hammered out.
Bars 39 to the end similar in pattern to the first section are howl-
ing wind and thunder and the singer has to weather this storm like Ajax
defying the lightning. At times the great waves in the accompaniment
threaten to engulf him, but no matter, he does his best to rise above
them.
49 to 52 has an even greater arch than Example 6 and the singer
will, if he can, do the whole phrase in one stride, but if he is forced to
breathe which well may be, remembering that 5 1 is still ffj he should
take a quick breath after 'Schmerzen'.
Ex.7
die gan - zeWeh der Schmer-zen mush ich
49 60
tra
6t
This 'refresher' is readily forgiven for the singer, unlike the accompanist,
does not make a diminuendo on 'tragen', he keeps up the pressure of tone.
His final note anyway is bound to be less in quantity, without him
making a conscious diminution. In the accompaniment at 52, the piano
is only comparative, for the air is still full of rumblings and threats, the
octaves in the left hand are still giant strides.
If the pianist has put every ounce of his vitality into this song, if he
has thrown into it all his nervous energy (we know the singer expends
generously but too often the accompanist is reluctant to give his all
either through congenital repression or some mistaken notion of reti-
cence) something will have gone out of him by the time he nears the
end. Certainly his right hand will be tiring, nevertheless he must whip
up his remaining strength for the last two bars, so that each demisemi-
quaver of 55 is louder than the last.
Ex.8
66
The crescendo goes on and this is killing through the left hand's third
138 DER ATLAS
beat rest until he lands on the final chord with an almighty crash! It
wants some doing.
A most important postscript must be addressed to the accompanist.
Do not allow the demisemiquavers in your right hand to lapse into an
uncontrolled tremolo for this will rob the rhythm of tightness. I have
heard *Der Atlas', 'Die Stadt', 'Die junge Nonne', and many more
songs, spoiled by such treatment. Hugo Wolf often asks for it, Schubert
hardly ever. Subdivide each beat into four and you will be in no danger
of falling into this careless habit and in addition you will be certain that
the violent semiquaver after the third beat which comes so frequently
in the first and third sections of this song will be exact.
Published by Peters
PD 62643 Heinrich Schlusnus (Franz Rupp)
PD 21653 Franz Volker
G ER2Q4 Hans Duhan
PD 62422 Leo Slezak
D LXT2539 Heinrich Schlusnus (Sebastian Peschko)
G P793 Charles Panzera
D K283I4 M. Lichtegg (H. Haeusslein)
DER DOPPELGANGER
Words by HEINRICH HEINE Music by FRANZ SCHUBERT
six poems by Heinrich Heine are included in the set called Schwanen-
gesang (Swan Song). Four of them, 'Ihr Bild', 'Dje Stadt', 'Am Meer',
'Der Doppelganger' (Her Picture, The Town, By the Sea, The Shadow
Double) sing of faithless or lost love. The greatest of these wonderful
creations is, I think, 'Der Doppelganger'; its sixty-three bars of music
contain a world of woe, they paint a picture which sends an icy chill
down your spine. It tells of the lover who, at dead of night, revisits the
scene where he once knew happiness, to gaze despairingly at the house
where his beloved dwelt long ago. But there in the shadows he is
startled to see a ghostly figure waiting as he waits, a man watching
as he watches, whose staring eyes, ashen face, and wringing hands
seem to mock his own hopeless love. At last, with a heart-rend-
ing shudder, the truth dawns on him. The spectre is his very own
self.
Confined nearly always to the bass clef, the piano part pays no heed,
so far as any change in its tessitura, to the three great vocal climaxes. It
is stark, but the block harmony surges inexorably forward with slow
fixity of purpose which is a sure guide and support for the singer. Be-
yond this the latter must fend for himself, since he alone can mould and
define his two-bar phrases. Declamatory though the song may be, if the
singer conceives the style to be recitative, if he deviates one iota from
Schubert's rhythmical design, clips by a hairbreadth a quaver rest,
dwells a fraction longer than is asked on one note at the expense of
another, then the massive structure of the song will be undermined.
The rhythm is tight from the first note to the last except where Schubert
says otherwise. And it must be so if inevitability of purpose, from the v
moment of the story's unfolding until the denouement, is to be main-
tained. For we are witnessing here, not the hysterical raving of imma-
ture youth but rather the awful realization of a lifetime wasted. Poem
and music may, and indeed should, make our flesh creep but not one
bar is without grandeur.
With the playing of the first four chords in the introduction we are
arrested, aware of being in the presence of great music. It is here that
the unyielding rhythm is established and yet the playing of these chords
will not give the accompanist a clue to the basic tempo. There is only
one way of finding it; the pianist as he plays his introduction must
mentally sing the singer's opening phrase 'Still ist die Nacht'. I never
play this song without doing so.
140
DER DOPPELGANGER
Ex. 1 Sehr lunpsam^
Still 1st die
J.
Nacht
J Ji J>
ru - hen die
J J
Gas - sen
The instruction is pp and there is no crescendo or diminuendo. The chords
must be bound together, no daylight between them. To make this per-
fect joining and to ensure an even distribution of weight on each note
of the chord, my fingers are touching the notes in bar i before the keys
are depressed; as soon as these notes are speaking the sustaining pedal
is used to catch the tone. On the third beat of bar i my fingers are
already touching the notes of the next chord in bar 2. Immediately I
hear this chord (but immediately, for there must be no hangover from
one chord to another) my right foot releases the pedal and presses it
down again to catch the new chord, once again I am enabled to move
my fingers well in advance on to the notes of the bar 3 chord. By arrang-
ing to touch the notes with time to spare before depressing them, I have
more control over touch and weight distribution. No movement of the
hands should be obvious to the audience, and the pianist's head and
body are perfectly still. This stillness is an aid to the concentration of
listeners and performers.
Nearly every phrase of the singer starts on a weak beat of the bar
(on the second beat or on a short note just before this beat). He there-
fore gives full measure to the strong (or first) beat (the crotchet rest,
dotted quaver rest, or quaver rest) by stretching it to its fullest value;
not by the flicker of an eyelid or an audible intake of breath should he
betray any impatience to come in before his time. This should be borne
in mind throughout the entire song and especially in the three climaxes
(bars 25 to 32, 34 to 41, and 43 to 52). Nothing is easier than to fall
into the slovenly and weak-spirited habit of turning the third beat of 5
and the first and third beats of 7 into triplets thus:
Ex.2 -^ _ _
Still ibt die Nacht.
6 6
es ru - hen die Gas - sec
7 <y
Compared to the Schubertian rhythm how flabby this looks and yet
singers are continually doing it.
The antidote is simple, it is to subdivide each beat into four. If when
practising, the singer will count twelve semiquavers to a bar, as indi-
DER DOPPELGANGER
141
cated in Example 3, he will not fail to give each semiquaver its correct
value.
Still is>t die Nacht
6 6
ru heu die Gas> - sen
We all fall occasionally into these careless habits unless we watch our-
selves and it is by taking similar measures that singer and pianist will
cope clearly with their demisemiquavers in bars 9 and 13, respectively.
\\ohu - tt- mem Sch.it/,
These quick notes are not grace notes (bar 9) but are full of meaning
for they are sung to the word 'this' when the singer says 'in this house
dwelt my beloved', and their effect is like a shiver through his body as
the eyes of the watcher fix themselves on that house.
In bars 13, 14 the accompaniment echoes the singer's phrase of
n, 12 while the mournful sigh of the quick notes remind us of the
singer's shiver (bar 9).
Ex.5
These bars and 23-24 (the only time when the right hand forsakes the
bass clef) arc extremely difficult to play; the prevailing sign is still
pianissimo, yet the demisemiquavers are intense and need playing with
concentration. My fifth, fourth, and third fingers are covering thc v
A natural, G, F sharp a long time before 1 play them to give me proper
control, I am not in so much danger of rushing the quick notes or of
arriving on the first beat of 14 with a bump. (In some editions there is
a diminuendo in 12 as if to warn the player not to rise above pp.)
On the second beat of 21 the singer has a turn which I write out
in full because I have heard some singers, anxious to improve on
Schubert, sing an E sharp instead of E natural. A slow turn is wanted.
Ex.6
142
DER DOPPELGANGER
Pianissimo is the rule up to bar 24. It all needs legato treatment which
the singer should not sacrifice on the altar of dramatic declamation. A
legato line enhances the eerie atmosphere. The singer of course is living
in the song before the pianist plays his first chord, and during all the
rests in the vocal line he is singing mentally and holding the audience
by his concentration.
We are warned that something startling is about to be told by an
accent still pianissimo (like a quick turn of the head) in the piano
part 25 when the singer says 'and there stands a man'. The singer may
be in a turmoil of excitement when he hears this accented chord for it
marks the beginning of the first of his three great climaxes each start-
ing low down in the voice, each starting piano, each climbing slowly and
surely to ajgfon a top note yet he maintains control of the rhythm.
Yes it is easier to carry each climax to its appointed goal by hurrying,
but the singer must resist this temptation. The song should gain in
strength. The singer has a long way to go before Schubert wants him
to quicken; the terror in the words and music of these ascending pas-
sages lies in their inevitability, their inevitability depends on a rigid
tempo. '
Here is a picture of the first climax, 25 to 33:
Ex.7
Da steht auch eio
Mensch
und starrt in die
if-
Ho - he,
* tt r
*y|L J
crtsc.
4-
puco a puco
"] " =
: *
5 Si- *<? "* :
'j; . n
^
IS
undringt die Han-de vor Schmer
How tempting it is for the singer to leap in prematurely at 25, 27,
29, 31 how tempting for the accompanist to hurry too, for he is also
subject to human frailty. No, the chord in 24 is given its three full beats
DER DOPPELGANGER 143
so that the 25 chord does not come too soon; 26, 28, 30 are likewise
justly dealt with. The partners must rehearse this again and again, and
let them experiment by both getting off the track, by hurrying, and
then comparing this effect with a controlled performance. 'Starrt'
(stares) in 27 wants all the time that can be spared in the tempo
on its two quavers. It is on these two notes, rising a fourth, and by the
intensity that is put into the word, that the listener is gripped by the
throat, warned that something terrific is coming. Every note now
loudens *und ringt die Hande' (wrings the hands) wants special em-
phasis on 'ringt' while the chords in the accompaniment have been
growing stronger with each bar culminating in a huge crash on 3 1 be-
fore the singer's Vor Schmerzensgewalt' (agony of sorrow). 32 is slightly
less than 31, and this is important for were it otherwise the vocal line,
now dropping an octave, would be swamped by the pianoforte tone.
Also by dropping his tone slightly at 32 the accompanist has more
chance to execute his sharp diminuendo which follows. This diminuendo
from a. fortissimo to a piano in two bars happened very easily on Schu-
bert's own piano, the tone just naturally went to nothing. Not so the
modern pianoforte. The latter, it is true, cannot sustain like a voice or
a string. As soon as a note is struck it starts to decrease in quantity; but
such a proposition as the steep diminuendo in 32 and 33 would be beyond
it unless aided by the player. Something must be done to help. As soon
as I hear this ff chord I put down the soft pedal and hold it right
through the diminuendo. But that is not enough. Immediately I have
struck the chord, down goes my sustaining pedal, then still holding this
sustaining pedal I raise my fingers from the keys and at once press them
gently down again without sounding them. The keys being depressed
again with the fingers, I take off the sustaining pedal press it down
again release and catch the notes again with the fingers and so on.
This operation can be done several times during the course of these two
bars, and of course at 41, 42 and 52, 53. It may sound complicated and
my explanation involved but how simple it is to perform can be seea
from the following diagram; moreover it is invisible to the audience.
Fingers Fingers Fingers
Pedal Pedal Pedal
As I say, the effect of this will be a much steeper diminuendo, averting
a subito piano on 34.
The building up of the second climax starts from 34 and still the
tempo is held back unyieldingly. 'Mir graust es' (I shudder) is of verbal
rather than tonal significance, the crescendo should not be anticipated
as the singer saves up, if possible, for an even bigger crescendo than before,
on to
DER DOPPELGANGER
Ex.8
ff
fff
MI r _jL
mei-ne
(my
39
40
btalt.
self)
4t
No diminuendo on 'Gestalt 5 , the final V in the word is hit violently,
giving realism to the frightful disclosure.
Now comes the longest of these climbing passages and at last Schu-
bert asks for an accelerando. The effect of this accelerando is terrific; but
not if we have made it previously. It is started immediately after the
chord in 43 is maintained through 'du bleicher Geselle' (you pallid
companion) and through 'was affst du nach mein Liebesleid' (why do
you mock my grief). ' Affst' (mock) will stand as much venom as the
singer can put into it, Until now the pianoforte began the climbing
sections with the same figure as it started the song (i to 4) but here it
ascends chromatically to the bitter chord on the word 'affst'.
Ex.9
^fr-JJ. J't^-*
Du Dop - prl g.iQ - grr,
^_^ ft ;
V* HU fck
> JJ JMHJ 4^^
du blci-cht-r Gt: - st'l - It? ' was.
fr if i
^ ft 1
P
2*4?
^ acce
J _
Itrando
K-4
' cresc.
-\
-^#
*&-- -- -
46
du nach meiu Lit^ - bt* ^- Irid
This accelerando is' felt until the first F sharp in 49 (second syllable of
'gequalt')
Ex. 10
mi< h f-qucilt auf die - ser Stel - It*
49 60
DER DOPPELGANGER
but the last three quavers in this bar should be drawn out so that 'Stelle'
is not hurried at all.
At 51 the old tempo reigns again, thus the agony of the climax 'so
manche Nacht' (so many a night) is not short-lived.
"Z3^
m.iu - chf N.irht, in
52 S3
So much energy and breath will have been expended on the F sharp
that the word 'Nacht' is bound to be less in tone, but none the less it
will still be big. Care has to be taken, therefore, that the following word
'in' (after a breath) has the same volume as 'Nacht 1 . Two pitfalls await
the unwary on this *in\ The first is that with the new breath ihe singer-
is prone to attack with too much vigour for it is a falling phrase from
52 to the end; and the other, exactly the reverse, is for the singer to
begin his 'in' too softly, leaving no room for the gradual softening which
runs through 54, 55, 56. This ability to reduce tonal volume to practi-
cally nothing must be imitated by the pianist, who will want an even
softer chord at 62 than at Go.
Ex.12
Looking at the song as a whole, singer and pianist would be wise
to treat the first twenty bars with profundity certainly, but in view
of all that is to follow with some reticence. 'Meinc eigne Gestalf and
'so manche Nacht' are the two great pinnacles of the song, yet neither
must dwarf the other. They both demand tremendous tone and all the
singer's power yet they are different in character; the first is all horror
while the second is the fearful collapse of all resistance: at 'so manche
Nacht' the heart breaks. The tear-choked retrospect with which
Aksel Schiotz and Herbert Janssen sing 'in alter Zeit' is infinitely
moving.
We should be sensitive of Schubert's genius which can transfigure
by magic such a phrase as 'sie hat schon langst die Stadt verlassen' (she
has left the town long ago). Those bars 15, 16 are parallel to 5, 6 and
many a composer would have been content to treat both phrases alike,
146
DER DOPPELGANGER
Ex. 13
in which case we should have had
Ex.14
instead of y)K
sie hat schoa
ft
sie hatschon lao^st
What a world of sorrow on the word 'langst'. And again the implication
of permanence by the slow turn on 21 : the modulation on 59 from the
D major to the C major chord (a chord which sends a sharp pang
through one's body)
Ex.15 .
n
* 66 SI- 67 ^'68 '$
These and other inflexions the student can discover to his unending
wonder.
'Der Doppelganger' takes nearly five minutes to perform.
Published by Peters
C L2I35 Alexander Kipnis (Frank Bibb)
PD 62643 Heinrich Schlusnus
P Roao2 1 7 Richard Tauber
G DBu84 Feodor Chaliapin
PD 95102 Heinrich Rehkemper
O 25446 P. Lohmann
G DBi833 Therese Schnabel (Artur Schnabel)
G 8507 Hans Duhan
G DB5797 Herbert Janssen (Gerald Moore)
C LXioo4 Hans Hotter (Herman von Nordberg)
G 064948 Charles Panzera
C 715090 Lotte Lehmann (Paul Ulanowsky)
G 065523 Gerhard Husch
G DBioo87 Marko Rothmuller (S. Gyr)
D LXT2543 Gerard Souzay (Jacqueline Bonneau)
P 10758 Franz Steiner (Michael Raucheisen)
P R30046 Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (G. Favaretto)
D K2I09 Paul Schoeffler (Ernest Lush)
V 12-0580 Marian Anderson (Franz Rupp)
C DCX47 Ivar Andresen
PD 66434 Fritz S ot
D K283I5 M. Lichtegg (H. Haeusslein)
ERLKOMG
Poem by GOETHE Music by FRANZ SCHUBERT
Op. z
so often, after hearing a performance of this song, the only impression
left in the mind of the listener is of its relentless speed. Energetic gallop-
ing, however, is not the be-all and end-all of the song. Of course it docs
fly forvyard inexorably and the two performers strain every nerve, give
their last ounce of strength to maintain this urge. Spend their energy,
drive themselves forward as they may, the performers should always
bear in mind that, above all considerations of speed, it is the drama of
the story that matters. Most of this drama is in the singer's part, and
the accompanist should always bear this in mind in spite of the fact
that the galloping horse, which first catches the eye in this picture and
clatters throughout the song, is drawn in the terrific accompaniment.
It is the singer who makes the wind whistle through our hair. He
makes us share the terror of the dying boy, the anguish of the father;
it is he who lets us hear the spectral Erlking's grim overtures grow from
a sinister smile to a scowl, from a whisper to a snarl.
Each of these widely distinct characters must be delineated accord-
ing to his own nature, invested with his individuality. There is a world
of difference between all three. When he is the boy, the singer should
be petrified with fear down to the very marrow of his bones; when he
is the father he is at once the comforting protector of his child and a
prey to the most tormenting anxiety; when he is the Erlking he is
Death, implacable, ghastly.
To people the stage with this assorted caste the singer shares their
emotions and conveys these emotions to us, and the picture becomes
alive. But we are not gripped nor is our pulse quickened if the singer
thinks he can carry us away by merely wearing a different facial expres-
sion for each character. Schubert, however, comes to our aid, and it is
very necessary for the singer to be intelligently aware of his masterly
design. He sets the vocal line of the father on a different level to that
of the boy. See, in the following example, how the tessitura of the child's
voice lies compared to the man's.
Ex. I __
fo p J 1
Meio !
5ohn, was bi
37
/^CHILD
| m IP' =f
rgst du so
sang dem Ge-bicht?
* J0 4^?
=8 -I/*
' f J |f |fr ^
i
Siehst, V r a - te
i/ **
r, du dec Er
1 - ko - oie Dicht?
44 46
'47
ERLKONIG
Me
in Sohn, es
52
ist
63
Ne - bel-streif.
54
This difference between these two voices is always quite distinct.
True, the vocal line 37 1040 is an ascending one, but it is naturally so, for
a troubled question is being posed, 'My son, why do you cover your face
in fear?' At 51 to 54, low again in the voice, the father attempts to
comfort the boy and make light of his fears: we can tell it by the tessitura
as well as by the words. A still further distinction between these voices
is to be seen in Schubert's instructions. Nearly always the father speaks
in a normal tone of voice often it is marked piano (note for instance
the diminuendo at 80, Example 2) to prevent his increasing agitation
from alarming the boy further. The latter loses control of himself cer-
tainly but the father never, he dare not. True the vocal line of the
father gets higher and higher as his worry increases we can see it by
comparing Examples i, 2, and 3 but it is always far below the level
of the boy's in pitch and in fever.
Ex.2
A L yCHILD ^ . P t
S
Meio Va
ter, mein Va -ter,
73 74
dim.
und ho
rest du nicht,
76 76
dim
T p T
^
Er -len-kb'-mg mir lei - *e ver - spncht ?
77 78 79
Sei
ru-hi^ blei-be
81
J J it J N
ru - hig. mem Kiod: in diir-ren Blatt-ern
82 #3 84
der Wind.
86
The further the song progresses the more shrill, the more frenzied the
child becomes,
Ex. 3 . C
r
r if r' p
Mem Va - ter, mein Va - ter, und siehs>t du nicht dort, Erl -
98 99 100 101
dim.
3P
-ko-nirs Toch-ter am du - stern Ort ?
102 103 104
Mein Sohn, mein
106 106
i J |T"J.
J J
Sohn, ich ieh es> i?e-nau, es bchei-cendie al-ten Wei-den so grau.
107 108 109 110 111 11
ERLKONIG 149
until at last demented, he screams
Ex 4
JE^* CHIL E L N
Q -f^ r 9 i*r r r . r iT f n IP ==>
Mem Va - ter, mem Va - ter, jetzt fast>t er mich
1 i y i i I y ir rii - ^
" Erl - ko - oig hat mir em Leids re - tuul
/** /- /J0 131
We can see by the quavers in 74, 99, 1 25 the trembling child cowering
closer to his father's breast.
To sum up, then, as far as we have gone: each wail of the child
'mein Vater, mein Vater' is louder and shriller than the last. Schubert
has made it possible to achieve this vocal effect by stepping up the line
at each succeeding entry of the boy; he has made it possible to get into
the character of the father by keeping that vocal line low in pitch and
quantity. I do not think that Schubert is asking too much of the singer.
One character is sung with restraint, with deep manly timbre of
voice, and a facial expression of lively but controlled anxiety.
The other character is sung without restraint other than that which
tells the singer that he must have vocal force in hand for the huge
build-up to the climax.
The dreaded Erlking I have left until last because I feel that Schu-
bert has depicted him so marvellously that he presents less difficulty
so far as vocal characterization is concerned, than the other characters.
The singer's voice for the Erlking must be disembodied, it never rises
above a pianissimo level; only the child hears him. He sings with a leer,
a malignant smile. Were it riot for this smile the part could be sung
with almost clenched teeth. The tempter paints a picture of pretty
games and flowers, of nightly revels with his daughters, a picture he
tries to make alluring but which, because of this ghastly smile, repels
the boy. Almost a nasal Lone is required for his three utterances, a reedy
tone which the singer can get by taking full advantage of the numerous
thin vowel sounds met so frequently when the Erlking sings; I put them
in the following example in italics.
Ex.5
' EKLKOMO
bet. Kind, komm, gek mit mir' gar
Spit - le spiel ick mit iiir t
150
ERLKONIG
These thin vowel sounds are employed again and again by the Erlking,
in his second invitation
'Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Tochter sollen dich warten schon;
Meine Tochter fiihren den nachtlichen Reihn
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.'
I can count at least sixteen vowels that can be made thin and mean;
if the singer can find more so much the better. Listening to Fischer-
Dieskau or Hans Hotter singing this section, one is convinced that this
was Goethe's intention, for these artists give the Erlking's speeches
softly but thrill the listener by the pointedness of their enunciation.
Schubert marks this section ppp.
Only once the Erlking emerges from his sotto voce\ this occurs on his
last word to the boy 'und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt'.
(And if you're unwilling I'll seize you by force.) 'Gewalt' stands out
suddenly in sharp relief, like a snarl: Schubert marks this word fff as
the cruel icy hand clutches its victim.
I have accounted for six of the eight verses of the poem, that is to
say verses 2 to 7 inclusive. The first and last verses are narrative. Verse i
describes the scene the rider galloping through the night with his
dying child clasped to his breast: the last verse tells of the father's
shudder, of the spurring of his horse to greater speed, and the arrival
home to find the child dead in his arms. The horse is pulled up to a
standstill (I do not think a rallentando in 145, before coming to a halt
in the following bar, is out of order even though Schubert does not
mark it, for the sweating steaming animal could not be brought from
a furious gallop to a full stop in one stride) and with a passage in recita-
tive style the song finishes.
Ex.6
Recit.
Not;
in sei-nen Armen dab Kiod. war tot.
.
Andante
^
r
*
TIN i f i *-^*
+
The pianist gets his diminished seventh chord in 147 out of the way
before the singer says 'war tot' (was dead). This must be sung piano as
the composer marks; it is more impressive than a forte after the scream-
ing and tumult that preceded it. Strict observance of thefermata rest is
necessary, and a slight but significant break before the final word 'tot'.
ERLKONIG 151
Now for the accompaniment.
Many an honest pianist finding this accompaniment impossible to
play is in good company, for Schubert himself jumped up from the
piano in a rage exclaiming, "The triplets are too difficult for me"; but
I submit with all respect that it was much easier to play them on the
instrument of Schubert's day with its light butterfly touch than it is on
a modern concert grand pianoforte.
Some singers take no heed of the tempo established in the introduc-
tion and run away at virtually an impossible speed. What is the just
tempo! Schubert marked it 'Schncll' (quick) and that is clear enough,
but the rhythm of the repeated octaves and chords represents the rapid
staccato of thudding hooves. Imagine for a moment the triplet rhythm
of a galloping horse; you will find if you are really fair that it is possible
to mutter 'cloppitty, cloppitty, cloppitty' ever so much faster than a
horse could possibly gallop.
Singers should bear this in mind as it is their responsibility, for certainly
no pianist is going to establish a tempo that is ridiculously and unreason-
ably fast. And besides, at 135, when his right hand is already at col-
lapsing point, the accompanist is asked to go even faster. No, I think
the clue to the true tempo is to be found in the left-hand motif.
Ex.7
Of course the song is fast; there is no gainsaying that, but this figure
must intimidate us and it cannot do that if it is scrambled. It is robbed
of its meaning if taken too rapidly.
I alluded above to the 'honest' accompanist. It is practically certain
that he will be unable to play the repeated right-hand octaves and
chords as they are written: therefore he must be dishonest, and take
care not to advertise his delinquency. For instance, when the left hand
is doing nothing it is unreasonable to make the right hand do all the
work and expect it to be able to maintain its speed and strength for
very long.
Ex.8
152
ERLKONIG
Obviously the left hand can help by taking the lower note. Here are
bars i to 3 enough to give the reader the idea. I do not improve on
Schubert by altering his notes, I only rearrange them, showing my
fingering.
Ex.9 Schnell
l 'A 2 \ 3
1 .'< 2
So far so good, but G and 7 become complicated by an added note
in the right hand which we cope with as follows:
Ex.10 '*
3 y
l 3 L>
Again at 15, 16, &c., the left hand helps and comes over above the
right hand, and springs out of the way.
Ex.11 5
I think the above examples suffice to show the pianist how he can save
his right hand whenever there is a rest or a pedal note in the bass clef.
In spite of all his manoeuvring, however, the most willing horse will
be hard put to it at the child's final outburst at 123. Here it may be
necessary to resort to subterfuge:
Ex.12
123
ERLKONIG
153
But if he performs this makeshift arrangement boldly by playing his
left-hand quavers forcibly, it may escape detection; that, as I said
earlier, is the principal consideration. What a respite for the right hand
is provided by those quaver rests!
Such means as I have suggested for negotiating these problems of
technique and endurance are surely forgivable in view of what comes
at 1 3 1 and for which I can offer no relief.
Ex.13
131
132
There are fifteen bars of this; it is killing and too much for the strength
of any man. A generous use of the sustaining pedal will help.
Two periods of rest for the accompanist are bars 58 to 7 1 and bars
87 to 96. I give the first two bars of each of these sections. They occur
when the Erlking is whispering to the boy.
Ex.14
At t> y
JSF- i
pp
Fl
=1
-1
1
=1
r i
r~
** V -
^
-f
_f_i
^P=
y
==
*f
f
t
_jfc=
y
Ex.15
In Examples 14 and 15, the latter especially, the pianist rests his
hand by allowing it to go limp and relaxed. He will feel refreshed when
he has to renew his vigorous clatter later. Neither of these sections are
at all fatiguing to play, for the pianoforte tone needs only to correspond
with the singer's whisper.
I once had the pleasure (the doubtful pleasure) of hearing a virtuoso
pianist play the Erlking. It was, from the technical standpoint, an
astounding and unbelievably brilliant performance. It had but one
154
ERLKONIG
impediment; the singer young, strong, hard working though he was
was unable to make himself heard above the general din that his famous
partner was creating. It is worthy of the pianist's notice that out of the
song's 148 bars, 69 of them are piano or pianissimo.
This great song is the severest test imaginable for the two per-
formers. All I have attempted is to indicate how a singer can bring
the picture with all its drama to life. The accompanist who is forced
to dodge some of the technical difficulties in the manner I have sketched
can remain unashamed so long as his conscience tells him he is en-
deavouring to do his best by Schubert. I can only hope the reader of
goodwill assumes it is unnecessary for me to adopt these measures.
Although 'Erlkonig* is a man's song, I have heard wonderful per-
formances by two great women artists, Elena Gerhardt and Kathleen
Ferrier,
Published by Peters
Voc Ao2i5
PD 67051
G DBi484
V 7177
C 30019
G 8508
G DBi836
PD 19857
O 6818
C 01327
C 1,2038
C 9088
C 034948
C LX665
C DB2I350
G 065625
G 085523
G DBioo88
O 80004
V 6122
PD 66006
G 3925
D LXT2M3
G DB6oio
G 083361
V 10-1448
G 01276
G
V 6273
Elena Gerhardt (Ivor Newton)
Heinrich Schlusnus
Sigrid Onegin
Ernestine Schumann-Heink (Katherine Hoffman)
David Bispham
Hans Duhan
Therese Schnabel (Artur Schnabel)
Lula Mysz-Gmeiner
Michael Bohnen
Frank Titterton
Peter Dawson (Gerald Moore)
Norman Allin
Muriel Brunskill
Charles Panzera
Alexander Kipnis (Gerald Moore)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Gerald Moore)
Frida Leider (Michael Raucheisen)
Gerhard Hiisch
Marko Rothmuller (S. Gyr)
Lilli Lehman
Johanna Gadski (Frank la Forge)
Heinrich Rehkemper
Bernard Sonnerstedt (Gerald Moore)
Gerard Souzay (Jacqueline Bonneau)
Alexander Kipnis (C. Dougherty)
Marta Fuchs (Michael Raucheisen)
Lotte Lehmann (Paul Ulanowsky)
Robert Radford
Maria Jeritza
Ernestine Schumann-Heink
DIE FORELLE
Words by SCHUBART
Music by FRANZ SCHUBERT
0A32
STANDING on the edge of a stream, the singer sees in its clear depths a
trout darting joyously. An angler is doing his best to catch the trout,
and the song describes the duel between the two. Our hero is the fish,
while the angler is the villain of the piece. As long as the angler plays
the game he gains no advantage over the fish but when he muddies
the stream by stirring up the water his victim is caught. This method
of cheating the trout by no means meets with the onlooker's approval
it is not cricket. He refers in the most scathing terms to the fisher-
man.
Anyone who has appreciated the sinuous movement of a fish as it
shoots along with two or three flicks of its tail then gently glides,
flicks and glides again, can see how Schubert has suggested this in the
accompaniment. Almost throughout the entire song the rhythmical
pattern remains the same with the flickering semiquaver figure in the
first half of the bar and the moveless glide in the second half. To con-
vey this picture a slight rubato should be allowed. (Too slavish an
adherence to the metronome, an insistence on a robot-like rhythm
becomes monotonous. When uniformity comes in by one door interest
goes out by the other.) I feel that the second half of the bar may
occasionally, but not with regularity, be given a fraction more time
than the first half of the bar by the slightest tenuto on the accented
quaver. I am almost afraid of suggesting this rubato in case it should be
exaggerated. Let me put it this way. If, for argument's sake, a bar lasts
two seconds, the second half of the bar might take a tenth of a second
longer than the first half. Naturally it is as undesirable as it is impossible
to measure in this way, but it gives an idea how infinitesimal this
departure from regularity should be. Let us see for the moment how the
foregoing applies to the pianoforte introduction; we shall note later how
the words call for it from time to time.
Ex. 1 Et** as
'55
156
DIE FORELLE
The comparison I made above to the movement of a fish can be
carried even further. We can say that in bar i he is near the surface of
the stream, in 2 and 3 deeper, in 4 and 5 at the river bottom and
almost indiscernible. A careful perusal of Schubert's markings will
prove that the composer must have had some such message to impart
to us by the descent through three octaves of the flickering figure and
by the reduction in tone from a piano to a pianissimo. Does the reader
accuse me of exaggerating Schubert's intentions out of all proportion?
Well, better that than sticking in the mud at the bottom of the stream
with one's imagination bogged down.
The semiquavers are even, in time and tone with no crescendo up
to the accented note. A liquid touch is wanted without semblance of
jerk or angularity. Above all, no accent must be made on the fourth
quaver of each bar. I attach great importance to the transparent
playing of this introduction since the singer's first words are 'In einem
Bachlcin helle' (In a streamlet clear) the texture must not be obscure
in any way; therefore no sustaining pedal is wanted except for a
momentary touch on the last quaver of bar 3 to enable the hands to
take their leap with smoothness and later to hold the chord in bar 6.
Quite frequently the singer will want to take a thought more time
over this second half of a bar. In verse i, for example, he might like
to do it at 15 and 17.
Ex.2
The first syllable of 'susser' askes for it plainly because of the meaning
of the words, and 15 suggests it through the graceful semiquaver
figuration.
In studying this type of song, which is as near to strophic as makes
no matter, the performers should look for an opportunity to make a
slight variation in rhythm or dynamics in order to bring more life
and sparkle to their performance. Thus 21, 45, 71 are in strict time,
while 25, 49, 75, have slight stresses on the two final quavers.
DIE FORELLE
157
Bars J t 467/
Ban Xf>,M f 75
Not only is this more refreshing than repeating the phrase again and
again in the same way, but it is more friendly and prepares the way for
the accompanist's rubato treatment of his little interlude which always
follows. Schubert would not have objected to this rhythmic freedom
provided it were not overdone. How delicately he himself varies the
four quavers of 19 into decorative semiquavers at 23.
Ex.4
Bars /9,43>69
Bars 43,47,73
Words as well as music must be brought to life, and the singer
anxious to give point to his story will see word stresses which it is
impossible for a composer to indicate. For instance 'so lang dem
Wasser Helle, (so dacht ich,) nicht gebricht' (as long as the water
remains clear, thought I, no need to worry) is all so much clearer to the
listener if the singer makes a slight break without breathing before and
after the parenthetical 'so dacht ich'. Again 'launische' (cunning), 1 1;
'Fischer' (angler), 31; 'nicht' (not), 50; 'Zuckte' (quivered), 64 all of
which come on the first beat can be underlined. This emphasis does
not necessitate a sudden increase in tone but a sharpening of the
enunciation.
However it is most undesirable for the song to be sung in a winsome,
arch, or coy manner. Neither should it be 'acted'. I remember one
singer who gave the audience a glassy gaze when she sang 'sah's mit
kaltem Blute' (observes unfeelingly), who became as frosty as a step-
mother at the word 'Diebe' (thief) and was a tragedy queen when the
little fish expired. A mountain out of a molehill.
The comfortable semiquaver ripple in the accompaniment is
interrupted at 55
Ex.5
Doch end - lich ward dem
158
DIE FORELLE
Bach - leio tiik - kisch tru
by a more agitated figure reflecting the singer's indignation, while the
stirring up of the stream the legato line being omitted for the first
time can be seen at 59 to 61. Energy is needed to play the dark
muddy chords in the bass, always remembering that a purling stream
is being disturbed by a stick, not an ocean lashed by a typhoon a
trout is about to be landed, not a whale. I like an increased speed here
to portray the apprehension of the sympathetic onlooker and the
agitation, or at the very least, concern of the fish. All through this
section the rhythm must be tight, with no rubato. A preparatory easing
of the tempo at 67 will bring us back to the old tempo at 68 whence the
song resumes the even tenor of its way, the onlooker consoling himself
apparently with the philosophical reflection that there are as many
good fish in the sea as ever came out of it.
Altogether it is a light-hearted affair and should be sung with the
smiling humour of an Irmgard Seefried.
Published by Peters
O 6567
G DA8 35
G DA4856
PD 21456
G DA 9 89
G P847
G DA 1 586
G DA 1 550
Lotte Schone
Elena Gerhardt (Paula Hegner)
Charles Panz^ra
Lula Mysz-Gmeiner
Vanni- Marcoux
Willy Tubiana
Kirsten Flagstad (Edwin MacArthur)
Marian Anderson (K. Vehanen)
DIE FORELLE
C DB837 Dorothy Stanton (Gerald Moore)
C LB?7 Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Karl Hudez)
PD 62551 Fritz Soot
G DA 1 852 Elisabeth Schumann (Gerald Moore)
C DB2999 Isobel Baillie (Gerald Moore)
T A 1 0426 Erna Sack (William Czernik)
G DASoio Ria Ginster (Paul Baumgartner)
D M658 Suzanne Danco (G. Agosti)
V 87104 Ernestine Schumann-Heink
G 62855 Heinrich Schlusnus (Sebastian Peschko)
G 062481 Ria Ginster (Gerald Moore)
159
MEERES STILLE
Words by GOETHE
MttftV^FRANZ SCHUBERT
Op. 3 No. 2
DEEP silence reigns over the waters. The sea seems asleep, yet the
becalmed boatman views with anxious eyes its ominous smoothness.
Not a breath of air is felt in the threatening death-like stillness, not a
wave disturbs the ocean.
Schubert, in depicting here the calm before the storm, gives us one
of his most impressive pictures. For the singer, it is a severe test, the
long phrases must be delivered unwaveringly, with an almost oily
smoothness. The sea is moveless, there is no rise and fall, so the singer
makes no nuances but keeps to pianissimo always. When Elena Gerhardt
sang 'Keine Luft von keiner Seite' her tone was almost disembodied,
there was literally not a breath of air to be felt. Hans Hotter subdued
his big voice to a whisper so that you were conscious of the strength
of the sea even though it was sleeping. Tiefe Stille herrscht im Wasser'
needs a big voice used with infinite quietness. But what a problem it is
for the singer!
The most experienced artists approach this song with trepidation,
so slowly does it move and so long are the phrases. Nor does the
accompaniment appear to help. The voice seems naked and exposed
above the bare broken chords of the piano part.
Ex 1
Sehr langsam, ungstlich
Jf ltl
_, ,
, ,
) (
J p
J. J :
Tie - fe
-J J
Stil . le
h
-nsM 1
errscht im >
A T as - ser,
SKA
:*
'TT 3
These four bars take between twelve and fifteen seconds to sing.
It is interesting, I think, to note that in heart-rending songs such
as 'Doppelganger' or 'Ihr Bild', Schubert contents himself with the
simple instruction 'Sehr Langsam' or 'Langsam': before the great
'Erlkonig' he merely writes 'Schnell', while 'etwas Geschwind' suffices
for the terrifying 'Gruppe aus dem Tartarus'. Here, however, in
*Meeres Stille' Schubert almost spreads himself by adding the word
'angstlich' anxiously. In those first four bars the singer by his serious
1 60
MEERES STILLE
161
demeanour, by his controlled colourlessness of tone makes us aware
that the deep stillness of the sleeping waters is not the calm of a cloud-
less smiling day; the skies are grey, the sea is sullen.
It is imperative, in my opinion, that the top note of the pianoforte
chord synchronizes with the singer's note. Written out in full, therefore,
the first two bars would be
Ex.2
It would be quite wrong, I feel, to do it like this.
Ex.3
I said earlier that the accompaniment does not appear to help. The
operative word is 'appear'. For a great responsibility is thrown on the
accompanist he can help the singer in no uncertain way to find the
time to breathe unhurriedly and steadily so that the long vocal line
can be sustained. Working on this song with Flora Nielsen, one of our
finest singers, I discovered that some of the arpeggiando chords are
slower than the others. That is to say they can be made slower when
the singer needs a breath. A breath will be needed at least every fourth
bar throughout the song, after bars 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28 and it is
while these breaths are taken that the accompanist makes his arpeg-
giandi more slowly.
The Example 4 shows the generous time allowance the singer
can take for her breath. These big breaths are only taken at the seven
bars I mentioned earlier (4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28), any other breaths
required must be snatched as they may.
5. A. 12
1 62
Ex.4
MEERES STILLE
Brtatk
Seeing those wide gaps in 4 and 8 an objection might be made
(but not by singers) that we are making three beats to those bars
instead of two. It is only too true. But to mitigate this offence to some
slight extent I would suggest that these breaths do not need so much
time allowance at the beginning of the song as they do in the second
half, when the singer will be hard pressed to keep the voice soft, steady,
and sustained. The intelligent co-operative listener will be so absorbed
by the mood Schubert's genius evokes that he will be grateful to any
singer who gives it to him without disturbing the brooding calm.
Published by Peters
30
OL
C
ALLO AL27
Erika Rokyta (Noel Gallon)
Hans Hotter (Gerald Moore)
R. Herbert (F. Waldman)
DER TOD UND DAS MADCHEN
Poems by CLAUDIUS
Music by FRANZ SCHUBERT
Op. 7 No. 3
THE maiden tosses feverishly on her bed of sickness, she is terrified at
the approach of Death. 'Go away, you grisly skeleton,' she gasps, 'I am
too young to die.'
Death's shadowy figure is seen in the pianoforte introduction,
therefore the alia breve sign must not give a false impression of speed;
the accompanist adopts the same tempo that the singer will want at
'Gib deine Hand', bar 22. Legato playing is needed, unaffected but
intense, with the weight evenly distributed on each note so that the
inner parts are not lost. It is all mysterious.
During the playing of this eight-bar introduction which takes nearly
half a minute, the singer assumes the frame of mind of the maiden.
Like her he becomes aware of the presence of Death; he breathes in
ever-quickening gasps until in the short silence before the vocal
entry at 8 his face expresses terror. Naturally this quickened breathing
is physically disturbing to the singer, but this is preferable to the ease
or complacency that a finely controlled tone would suggest. Schubert
has marked this breathless section 'Somewhat faster', and it is at least
half as fast again as the opening speed of the introduction: this new
tempo comes without warning and if the performers are decisive about
it, its suddenness startles the listener.
Ex 1 Stwas geschwinder
(DAS MADCHEN)
.
i
Vor-ii-ber ach,vor-ii - ber! geh, wil -der KnochecrnuDot Ich
eh,Lie-ber ! und run - re mich nicht
163
164
DER TOD UND DAS MADCHEN
riih- re mich nicht ao.
i
/9
/
Look at the short utterances of 9 to 15; there are no less than five
breaths, including one after 'Knochenmann'. Although the crescendo is
marked on bar 12 it is quite natural to anticipate it, for the whole
section climbs feverishly from the first note up to 13 and 14, the height
of the fever, and from thence it gradually abates; yet this crescendo
should only suggest more and more agitation. It does not call ibr a
great increase of tone and 'Jung' is more important than 'bin',
despite the latter's high note.
But the paroxysm fades. With it, resistance and strength fade too,
it is with entreaty rather than execration that the words 'Let me be'
are uttered. At bar 16 the accompaniment shows us that Death has
taken charge. He has placed his cool hand on the burning brow: the
vocal line descends to the lowest note in the girl's voice. The accent on
bar 17 is indicative of a sigh. Already the terror has left her at 18
(and left the singer) as she comes under the soothing spell of the
Comforter. Her last words are uttered without resistance.
During the slight rallentando of 20 and 21, and during thefermata of
utter silence which should be prolonged rather than abbreviated the
singer assumes a different character, he has ample time here in which
to compose himself after the fluttering breath of the opening phrases.
His physiognomy which in turn mirrored terror, entreaty, and resigna-
tion, now assumes an expression of majestic serenity, for a different
voice Death is about to speak; a voice calm and deep, a voice which,
though employed in the softest and tenderest fashion, is suggestive of
limitless power, not the puny whisper of a mortal. The pianissimo tone
must be resonant and well supported. Resuming the slow tempo of the
piano introduction, Death says
Fv 9 rr
i-A. * jj us ersje Ztitmass
: TOD)
>chuo
m
1/artGe - bild !
bio Freuod und
i*
=s=*
^^
DER TOD UND DAS MADCHEN
165
J
.
kom-me nicht zu
stra
Sei gu-tes Muts' ich
3^
30
;
L bin cicht wild, tollst sacft
Jr
io mei-oen Ar-mea schla
There are sixteen D's whose hypnotic reiteration is relieved of any
threat of monotony by the gentle smoothing out of 'strafen' (punish),
28, 29. Without increase of tone, emphasis can be given to the word
Treund' by allowing the T' and rolling 'R* of the word to take their
time. It wants a little generosity of feeling a feeling that will be easily
awakened by the consciousness of the upward-moving bass in 26,
27, 28.
Death's anxiety to comfort in 30 to 33 is shown by his almost eager
insistence on a higher note for his repeated monotone this time the
*F J . He raises his voice slightly at this point before softening the tone
from 34 to the end.
'Sollst sanft' are tender words, and for the sake of their meaning
should be given distinctly and unhurriedly.
It has been held that Death in this song is a sinister malevolent
figure. Ghaliapin used the song as a vehicle for his great tragical gifts,
his visage was grim with foreboding, his giant figure threatening when
he sang to the maiden. Hearing this performance one succumbed to
the spell of it and was made to shudder by the strength of this artist's
character acting. To many musicians the Ghaliapin idea is so entirely
convincing that they will hear of no alternative. Their rejoinder to the
suggestion that Death's words are comforting in the extreme, pain-
assuaging to body and mind, is that Death is a horrible spectre, his
words a mockery and a delusion.
Yet I can see no justification for this conception of the song.
The composer of 'The Erlking' knew how to frighten us when he
wished. 'Erlkonig' is sheer terror from beginning to end 'und bist
du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt' (if you are not willing I'll seize
l66 DER TOD UND DAS MADCHEN
you by force); so is 'Gruppe aus dem Tartarus' with its 'Hohl sind ihre
Augen', &c.; so are 'Der Zwerg' and 'Der Doppelganger'. All these are
well-known examples of Schubert's power to make our flesh creep
whenever the occasion demanded. That he did not conceive this to be
such an occasion is proved, in my opinion, by the slow majestic chorale
from bar 22 to the end, all of which is balm after the frenzy, painted
with so sure a hand, of bars 9 to 15.
Where is the deceit in the moving and simple 'bin Freund und
komme nicht zu strafen' with the word 'Nicht' harmonically stressed
and 'strafen' placed in the soothing major key? Where the malice in
'ich bin nicht wild' with those easeful chords in the accompaniment?
And the left hand's descending bass notes to 'sollst sanft', are these
not heavenly rather than devilish, as Schubert finally brings us, as if
with a benediction, into the serene haven of D major 'in meinen Armen
schlafen'?
The words and the music tell us that the approach of Death at
first struck the maiden with horror, but they also tell us with equal
certainty that Death is no Avenging Angel, that he lulls the maiden's
fears, eases her suffering and gathers her, softly and safely to his arms.
Singers frequently take the lower octave on the second syllable of
'schlafen' (37), indeed Richard Capell, whose book Schubert Songs
(Benn) should be within reach of every student and lover of Schubert,
lays it down that it wants a low D. Without wishing to cross swords
with so great an authority, I must confess to a personal preference for a
return to the same D with which this section begins: the lower octave
disturbs me since he who attempts it, unless the singer be a Kipnis,
a Mack Harrell or a Norman Allin, is often forced to accentuate it in
the effort to get deep down into the centre of the note. Whichever of
the two notes is chosen, however, let it be remembered that this second
syllable is less in volume than the first. The absolute peace which
'schlafen' needs is helped by the minutest predominance of the piano-
forte F sharps in bars 36, 37.
Published by Peters
P Ro20o6i Lotte Lehmann
G 589 Maria Olszewska
P 10744 Karin Branzell
PD 21457 Lula Mysz-Gmeiner
G DA6o7 Ernestine Schumann-Heink
C 5019 Norman Allin
G DBu84 Feodor Chaliapin
V 10-1327 Marian Anderson (Franz Rupp)
T 1687 Aullikki Rautawaara (Franz Rupp)
G DA 1 550 Marian Anderson 'Kosti Vehanen)
DER TOD UND DAS MADCHEN
C 1382 Ernestine Schumann-Hcink
G DA6022 E. Fink (S. Gyr)
Cla MDgSoi Margarete Klose (H. Wetzel)
G EJ4I Julia Gulp
O 188734 Ninon Vallin
O 25561 P. Lohmann
i6 7
DER NUSSBAUM
Words by MOSEN Music by ROBERT SCHUMANN
Op.*5
THE leaves and blossom of an almond tree, softly rustling in the night
breeze by the window of a sleeping maiden, are whispering to her.
The maiden, loving and longing, cannot understand what they are
saying until finally after continual repetition the meaning of the message
becomes clear to her and she smiles in her dreams.
This little enigma is posed in the accompaniment and runs all
through the song:
Ex.1 Allterttto
Allcgr
It happens a score of times in different guises, but it tries most
insistently to make itself understood when it appears thus, in the tonic
key. The answer to this riddle is not supplied until near the end, when
we are told 'The leaves whisper of a bridegroom next year.' But the
significance of this phrase lies in the fact that for the first and only time
throughout the song, the singer sings the above figure in the same key
in which the accompanist has been playing it so often; a subtle and
charming way of letting us know that the message has been heard and
understood.
Ex.2
"
steD Jahr.
66 66
It has all been beautifully and delicately conceived by the composer,
but it is necessary that the singer and pianist should realize the import
of this constantly recurring theme; being in the secret, knowing the
solution, their singing and playing become tender and informed.
Every phrase of the singer and its echo in the accompaniment is
shaped like the branch of a tree it rises and then falls a little, and like
the branch tapers off towards the tip. That is to say we crescendo on the
rising curve and diminuendo on the downward curve. This treatment
gives verisimilitude and shapeliness to the vocal phrase but in addition
it enables the singer to avoid a jarring clash with the pianist on bar 5.
1 68
DER NUSSBAUM
169
Ex
grii - net ein Nuss - baum vor
dem
There is an ugly dissonance if 'Haus' is held while bar 5 is being
played. Two methods of avoiding this both of which arc obnoxious
to me are very frequently used. The first is for the accompanist to
hold up proceedings and not start bar 5 until the singer has seen fit
to relinquish her 'Haus': this of course causes an unshapely disturbance
to the music's rhythmical sway. The other method is for the singer to
clip her note abruptly at the end of the bar like snapping off a twig.
But surely the branches should be allowed to sway gently and un-
interruptedly, and this the singer allows if the word 'Haus' is tapered
off. Her consonant at the end of the word can come on the first beat
of 5 so long as we do not hear her vowel in this bar: thus too the flowing
rhythm is preserved. The opening six bars of 'Nussbaum' should be
rehearsed again and again for the situation I have been describing
arises at 14-15, 24-25, 44-45, 48-49 and at 40.
Vocal and piano parts are performed with the greatest possible
smoothness and softness but not at the expense of movement; taken too
slowly the music loses the swaying motion that is so essential to the
picture ('neigend, beugend zierlich zum Kusse die Hauptchen zart').
Especially at 9 and 29 the singer takes care that her voice does not
swell disproportionately on her high F sharp;
Ex.4
t?r blatt - rig die Blat - ter aus.
zum Kus - se die Haupt-cheo zart.
9 and 29
DER NUSSBAUM
she should bear in mind that the word 'flustern' (whispers) comes five
times, so that never during the song does the tone need more than a
mezzopiano.
Occasionally Schumann asks us to make a momentary slowing up,
the pianist has it at 3 1 and at 49 when he plays alone
the singer does the same at 39
* u ritardando
|_M
wuss - te achl Sel-ber nicht was.
39
and again at 55 as seen in Example 2, but always after these ritardandi the
accompanist resumes the flowing tempo in the immediate bar following.
The last ten bars of the song are different in character and shape.
This is logical, for their message having at last been interpreted, the
leaves cease their rustling. The slightly tremulous undercurrent is no
longer there; the voice and piano parts sink soothingly in pitch as the
singer says, 'The maiden hears and smiles in her dream. 1
Ex.7
Seh - QeQd,wiih - nend smkt
DER NUSSBAUM
171
Any accompanist who imagines his task in this song requires no
thought is vastly mistaken. His little theme (Ex. i) is gently heard over
the soft legato arpeggiandi\ it must not be 'rubbed in' or, coming so
often, it will grate unpleasingly on the ear of a discerning listener and
become monotonous. His tone floats without any suggestion whatso-
ever of percussiveness.
This song has been the darling of sopranos for many years. Elisabeth
Schumann sang it exquisitely and today Irmgard Seefried gives us
equal pleasure.
Published by Peters
G
01824
G
EW8
P
Roao297
PD
23105
PD
19924
P
9279
IRCC
i
G
DAJ427
G
DB2Q57
G
DA48o9
V
11-9173
188733
G
DAi 123
PD
66434
C
LBI22
D
M6i9
V
81049
Voc
Ao2i5
V
81024
G
DB2I457
IRCG
21 I
T
A2233
P
Ro2oo7i
G
B375'
Elisabeth Schumann
Julia Gulp
Richard Tauber (Percy Kahn)
Lula Mysz-Gmeiner
Leo Slezak
Emmy Bettendorf
Geraldine Farrar
Karl Erb (Bruno Seidler-Winkler)
Marian Anderson (Kosti Vehanen)
Charles Panzera
Marian Anderson (Franz Rupp)
Ninon Vallin
Vanni- Marcoux
Fritz Soot
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Gerald Moore)
Anton Dermota (Hilda Dermota)
Marcella Sembrich
Elena Gerhardt
Johanna Gadski
Victoria de los Angeles (Gerald Moore)
Florence Easton (L. Hodges)
Erna Sack (Michael Raucheisen)
Lotte Lehmann
Elsie Suddaby
VENETIANISCHE LIEDER
Words by THOMAS MOORE
No. i
Music by ROBERT SCHUMANN
Op. 25
THE first of the two Venetian songs tells of the shadowy passenger in
the gondola urging his gondolier, at dead of night, to make no noise
with his oar as they glide over the lagoon. None must perceive them
save her towards whom they are speeding. 'Ah/ says the lover as they
approach the lady's balcony, 'if only we took as much trouble to please
the gracious heavens above as we take to please a woman, what angels
we would be. 5 Although we have no reason for supposing that the
gondolier's interest in the matter is other than professional it is he who
is the recipient of the lover's confidences, it is he who waits and keeps
watch below, after the young man has disappeared through the window
to have talk with his lady. The song ends without the young lover
emerging, but we can picture him in the cold grey light of dawn being
rowed back to his wife and family by the ever-patient gondolier. How
fitting that the role of the gondolier, in this song, should be given to the
accompanist, that monument of unselfish discretion.
The accompanist must bear in mind that the singer keeps to piano
and pianissimo throughout the song and his piano part is just a back-
ground. The swaying figure is felt rather than heard, the crescendo on
bars 8 and 40 and 48 applies to the singer only. The charm of this song
Ex.1
ru - dern hier, mt?in Gtm - do -her,
ZWEI VENETIANISCHE LIEDER. NO. I 173
will be realized if the performers obey Schumann's instructions to the
letter. 'Heimlich streng im Takt' (secretly, strictly in time). Here in the
accompaniment is the gentle rocking of the boat and the rhythmical
swing of the oar.
Our passenger, as I have said, never allows his tone to rise above
piano for he is whispering to his gondolier. His words will carry, however,
if he realizes that a barcarole is not a berceuse. The rocking rhythm is
not that of a cradle song and it is not to be performed lazily or sleepily.
While the tone remains piano or pianissimo the mouth and lips shoot out
the words energetically. This cannot be done by immobility of mouth
and jaw. The expressions 'energy' and 'fortissimo' are not synonymous,
and softly though he be singing, the singer must be sizzling with
suppressed excitement and urge. The effect of a sibilant whisper can
be obtained by making the V and 't' sounds, very clearly. In the line
'die Flut vom Ruder spriih'n so leise lass, dass sle uns nur vernimmt, zu
der wir zich'n!' there are no fewer than nine sibilants and these should
predominate for they suggest at once the swish of the water and the
stage whisper of the lover. The song abounds with such examples;
here is another; 'er sprache vieles wohl von dem, was Nachts die
Sterne schau'n'.
The word 'leis' (leise softly) is an onomatopaeic word, the V sound
in it, if lingered on (like the *sh 5 in the English word 'hush'), imposes
silence. In bars 10 and 1 1 Schumann has made staccato signs as seen in
Example i . The notes, however, are long minims not crotchets. What,
then, did Schumann mean? Possibly that a portion of the minim
should be occupied by the softly hissing consonant; written out it
would appear to be something like this:
Ex. 2
so that the 'ssss' takes up the second beat of bars 10 and 1 1.
The word 'leis' rhymes with the English word 'Nice'; it has, as
Harry Plunket Greene would say, an implied diphthong, but singing
the word on a sustained note we hear 'na(h) eece' or 'na(w) eece'
which is not nice at all. The word 'leis' similarly becomes a word of
two syllables. But the vowel is 'i' as in 'ice' not 'ah' or 'aw'. Since
'leis' comes eight times in the first verse it will be ludicrous if we hear
the singer say 'la(h) eece' or 'la(w) eece', moreover the word will
be robbed of its charm and intent. The singer can avoid all this by
putting the vowel 'i' in the same spot as he has put the consonant T;
that is Just behind his upper front teeth. Singing it in this position, his
mouth spread in a wide smile showing all his teeth (the front ones only,
ZWEI VENETIANISGHE LIEDER. NO. I
of course), the singer can get from here to the consonant V without the
noticeable intrusion of the second syllable 'ee'.
In bars 20 to 28 the voice and accompaniment become, if possible,
softer than before. The writing looks square-cut and ugly, but in fact
it is delightfully impudent and charming if performed according to
Schumann's markings.
Ex. 3
4
"
"
vp
ritard.
tempo
J
zieh'nl O, kbnn-te,wie er schau-en kaan,der Him - mel re-deDtraum,er
pp tempo
\ *' ff =*== M
* y ' -J I 1 V i
I *0 t
The accompanist uses the soft but not the sustaining pedal; his chords
should be unsubstantial they should bounce in perfect rhythm with
the singer. The gondolier no longer swings his oar in this little section
he is pausing, either for a breather or out of politeness to his passenger's
confidences. The ritardando only applies to bar 24. In Example 3 the
reader will notice the slightest ritenuto marked on the first beat of bar 20.
This is my own and it seems instinctive for me to make this finishing
off the old rhythm with a curve before starting the new.
The close of each verse is so charming that I reproduce it here.
Ex.4
Titar
dan
Each step up, on the part of the singer and accompanist becomes lighter
and lighter. The singer's last note is pianissimo in the extreme, in fact
in the second verse his final 'sacht' is barely audible. The pianist will
be hard put to it to match his partner's mez.za voce but he must do so to
remain in the character of the song; for the gondolier, had he created any
disturbance, would have jeopardized his chances of 'un grande regalo'.
Published by Peters
VENETIANISCHE LIEDER
Words by THOMAS MOORE
Music by ROBERT SCHUMANN
No. 2 Op. 25
i LIKE Schumann's two Venetian songs sung as a pair with no applause
between them. Of course they can be sung separately Mendelssohn,
in fact, composed a setting to 'Wenn durch die Piazzetta' without
touching 'Leis' rudern hier'. It is only by a stretch of the imagination
that we can call the second song a continuation of the first, but its
lively confidence makes an admirable foil after the clandestine nervous-
ness of the other. Again, the final 'sacht' of 'Leis' rudern hier' leaves us
more or less suspended in mid-air, halfway between the balcony and
the boat, while the second song brings us into the presence of the lady
whose charms, let us say, have drawn the enthusiastic serenader out into
the night and prevented the overworked gondolier from going home to
his bed.
If we expect to see an abduction or elopement we shall be dis-
appointed. All our hero says in effect is that at night he will come for
his dearest Ninette and together she in her mask, he as a gondolier
they will float away over the silent lagoon. It is all very proper and
inconclusive. Mendelssohn's setting, sentimental and earnest, with its
soft pleading, suggests that the singer is really in love, but Schumann
on the other hand, gives us a young man who makes love like the
average tenor in an operatic role, more concerned with his own
posturings the right hand stretched invokingly towards the audience
than with the lady of his supposed passion; a lover full ofjoie de vivre >
full of gusto rather than passion, enjoying adventure for adventure's sake.
Ex.1 Munter, zart ^
i
"*
fe=
&
F*
'75
Ij6 ZWEI VENETI ANISCHE LIEDER. NO. 2
Scintillating with vivacity and gaiety, the introduction is marked
'Munter' (lively) and 'zart' (sensitive). The syncopated left hand gives
impetuosity, while the right with its gay impudence and curvets
suggests great play with a cloak; a plumed hat brushing the floor in
the most elaborate of bows.
The singer must be impatient for his entry at bar 8. It is better for
him to anticipate his beat on 'Wenn' than to be a fraction late, and
the accompanist makes no slackening in the tempo leading to the
vocal entry.
Ex.2
In bar 9 the semiquaver is as brisk and snappy as possible. Bars 9 to 16
are lively in the extreme and the accompaniment, although a Vamping'
figure, should be energetic. The hands do not fall on to the notes,
they spring up into the air from the keys as if the latter were red hot.
No sustaining pedal is wanted.
Becoming quite sentimerUal at 21 to 24 of each verse, the
singer makes full use of the ritardando mark and sings the phrase
legato.
Ex.3
ntard.
1st v wie A - mor die Ve - DUS am Nacht f ir - ma - meet.
n/ard, _____
=fc
r p K i r
20
durch die La - gu - DCD, mein Le - ben uns f lieh'n !
He can make a portamento from the F sharp to the B on the first syllable
of 'Venus' while in the second verse he makes the portamento on 'leben'
almost heavy with sentimentality. It is too good to be true and should
be overdone.
The piano postlude at the end of each verse is in the same style as
the introduction. After the ritardando (22 to 24) it does not strike the
old lively tempo until the first beat (left hand) of 25.
ZWEI VENETIANISCHE LIEDER. NO. 2
177
Ex.4
30
31
Thefermata on the last quaver of 24 is mine, as is the quaver rest in
the left hand (Schumann's marking gives this chord a minim's length)
for it is charming to hear the suspended A in the treble ringing by
itself before the bouncing rhythm is resumed at 25. Elena Gerhardt
told me that Nikisch always made the singer's B natural on the last
syllable of 'firmament' (verse i) and 'flieh'n' (verse 2) clash with this
high A in the pianoforte. He did it by bringing this A earlier on to the
scene in the following way. It sounds extremely saucy.
Bars 25 to the end are played without the semblance of a rallentando,
in fact I make the slightest accelerando in 31 and 32.
In my opinion the whole song should be sung with swagger and
polite braggadocio.
Published by Peters
S.A. 13
THE PIBROCH
Words by MURDOCH MACLEAN
(From 'Songs of a Roving Celt')
Music bye. v. STANFORD
Op. 157
WHEN I was a youngster in my early twenties and knew everything, I
considered it extremely chic to dismiss Hubert Parry and Charles
Villiers Stanford with a shrug of the shoulders as too Victorian to be
tolerated. Maturity has had a broadening effect (naturally I am
speaking metaphorically) and I ceased to air my opinion when I heard
John McCormack singing Parry's 'Jerusalem' and digested Alec
Robertson's appreciation of 'A Lover's Garland'; when I heard Plunket
Green and later Kathleen Ferrier singing Stanford's 'Fairy Lough',
H' V 1
Allegro moderate e confuoco
pi-broch,man,the pi-broch!
'" i' J.
-ceath the l^t'oin^ sky !
poco cresc.
178
THE PIBROCH 179
Roy Henderson singing 'A Soft Day' and 'The Pibroch*, At their best,
these composers wrote some extremely tine songs which can be sung
and heard today with pleasure.
Even to a Sassenach there is something which sets the blood tingling
in the skirl of the bagpipes and ail through this song we get a very
plausible imitation on the piano of this thrilling martial sound.
Two Scotsmen far from home or at the very least, south of the
border hear the nostalgic call of the pipes and we are told in
picturesque language what this call means to a Celt and how, finally,
its summons must be obeyed.
In the two-bar introduction, played very softly, can be heard the
bagpipes coming from afar and it can be seen how the vocal line
conforms perfectly with the natural speech rhythm.
I think that Stanford's mezzoforte for the singer is a little overdone,
for the speaker is calling his companion's attention to the sound of the
pibroch and he does not want to drown it by his own voice. The
enunciation and rhythm are most energetic, but the tone soft especially
in view of the big crescendi on 'There's battle's roar by sea and shore and
tramp of marching men in it' 'strength of kings defied in it'
'Vengeance crying yet in it', &c. &c. The singer's main considerations
must be to give a feeling of excitement and to make his words clear, for
if we cannot hear what he is saying he might as well not sing at all.
Nearly always so much vigour of utterance is needed that the singing
will inevitably be non legato, in fact at a fast walking tempo it would be
almost impossible to sing legato such a phrase as:
JB j. J^ J J* J\ ;i
There'b breath of moor and ben in it, And sough of High-land glen ID it,
7.? /*
Yet a sensitive artist will manage at 19 to deliver 'dirge of men who
died in it' feelingly and with some smoothness. Some slight easing of
the tempo might be permitted at 33 to 35, There's grief forlorn in
anguish borne adown the fleeting years in it,' and the accompaniment
here has been arranged to help the singer, which can easily be perceived
if the Stanford marks are obeyed.
But the most expressive moments for the singer to seize on are from
41 to the end.
In Example 3 every latitude should be allowed, so that 'love' 'pain'
'home' are full of meaning; there is no question of adhering to the
rigid tempo in these bars and they are legato and colourful. Then, after
thefermata rest at 44 a long one the old tempo and vigour are immedi-
ately resumed with the bagpipe figure seen in Example i; above it
THE PIBROCH
calls the wandVer
home , r in it.
*^ ^: ''i ^
fcjel. r . h j ~
1 4 -
-^* TO
L&-, 1
4.?
44
with mathematical precision and with greater urgency than before
(rnezzoforte now as compared with my recommended piano at the
beginning), the singer says
Ex.4
dim. sempre
The pi-broch,mao, the pi-broch,
47
the pi-broch, hear it
call - IDP- A- f
nr
I can still hear Plunket Green's 'calling afar'. He invested the words,
without lingering on them with a poignant nostalgia.
Stanford closes with a section marked poco piii lento, 54 to 61, all
soft and sustained, and its effect is the more impressive by contrast
with the rhythmical virility of the rest of the song.
To conjure up the picture of home, the singer needs a lovely tone
and legato line and an absolute/^flw.nmo. 'Stars' (57) should be a dream.
At 59 it will be a long wait three beats plus the fermata in 58 but
this long wait is important, for during it, he is making up his mind to
return home and finally the 'let us go' is sung in the same tempo as the
preceding bars and without rallentando. The last three chords on the
pianoforte, in imitation of the singer's preceding notes (59-60), should
sound like a confirmation of the singer's resolution.
THE PIBROCH
181
Ex. 5 p oco j>iu lento
The sil-ver dews of night are soft - ly fall- ing,
/?S
The stars
P^
^F"
'M Jijj.1
are on the heather
let us
E^BEEEE
S-
/TN
4^
1 f
i f
1
-J
o
-^-fl
>. J
In Examples 3 and 5 the accompanist will of course use the sustain-
ing pedal, also at 'There's dash of sea and foam in it'.
A touch of pedal wiH give a stormy splash to the piano part. But the
accompanist should tuck his feet under his piano-stool during the rest
of the song. This is most important, for it is as certain as God made
little apples that there is no sustaining pedal to the bagpipes.
Reprinted by permission of Edwin Ashdown Ltd.
D M535 Roy Henderson (Ivor Newton)
MORGEN
Poem by JOHN HENRY MACKAY
Music by RICHARD STRAUSS
Op. 27 No. 4
i FIND that the quietest and calmest of songs are those that receive, as
a rule, the least thought from the performers. It is the accompanists
that I indict more than the singers, for the latter seeing a long slow
legato line realize at once that they have something formidable to con-
tend with, something that will tax their technique to the uttermost
and will require a most beautiful quality of tone to meet the occasion.
But when I tell accompanists that these are the songs to which I give
the greatest care and thought, they look at me in bewilderment and
simply do not believe me. I have made the same sort of statement again
and again in this book but it cannot be said too often.
'Morgen' is one of Richard Strauss's most delicate jewels and should
be labelled 'Fragile handle with care'. Therein lies its problem, for we
paint with the slenderest brush, with refined shades emanating from
one tint. Any gaudy hue or violent contrast in colour is eschewed, for
'Morgen' is all quiet (piano], rising and falling now a little above and
now below this fine temper.
The introduction is nearly half the length of the song. Let us look
at it, and play it with the words of the poem ever in the forefront of
our mind, telling ourselves that we are wandering, bathed in the golden
light of the sun, down a path where the beloved is waiting: there hand
in hand, all else forgotten, we gaze into each other's eyes in unspeakable
joy and bliss. All is peace and serenity.
Ex.1 Langsam
182
MORGEN
183
If this music means anything to the artists they will give it all their
concentration and love from the very first note, their guiding thought
being that time, as measured by the clock, does not exist: there is no
hurry. It would be an outward and visible sign of insincerity if one saw
the accompanist's hands making graceful passes in the air. No, his hands
do not appear to move at all so that the audience is not aware of any
movement on the stage. Listening, absorbed, the singer stands like a
statue with eyes closed. It is easy to disturb the stillness by shortening
a rest or a sustained note, and performers are continually committing
this offence through carelessness or self-consciousness. Great self-control
is wanted to conquer this weakness; in the above example I have used
crosses to mark the places where the song's repose is so often and so
easily jarred.
It will be observed that the unfortunate beat to suffer is always the
fourth, but this only applies to the introduction, for we shall see later
that the singer can be more impartial than her partner and is open to
more temptation where this shortening of a beat is concerned. In point v
of fact it is the very beat we are so apt to shorten that should be pro-
longed. This lengthening is only fractional and for his part the pianist
will prevent exaggeration by making sure his melody sings sustainedly
from one note to the next; making, as Strauss has marked, one long
phrase.
Phrase i to 4 is an upward one, and we wait at the top of it before
starting the downward curve 5 to 8, and bar 8 is a very soft resting place
where we dwell, so as to give more point to the crown of the arch. It
seems ages before we leave bar 1 2 preparatory to making that gracious
descending curve which brings in the singer. Yet these curves or in-
flexions all drawn delicately are made by the melody, not by the
always feathery accompaniment. Earlier I said that the melody sings,
184 MORG-EN
but this might lead the reader astray, for a conventional 'singing piano-
forte tone' is not desirable. The upper sustained notes are depressed
carefully and tenderly; they give the impression of a singing tone only
by contrast to the harp-like arpeggios underneath them.
At bar 1 6 the pianist begins a repetition of the pattern he had from
i to 15 only now he is joined by the voice, where the singer's thoughts
become articulate. Having shared these thoughts with her during the
thirteen bars of introduction we are not surprised by her seeming to
start in the middle of a sentence, *And tomorrow the sun will shine
again': it all seems so natural and inevitable, especially if the singer,
matching her tone to the pianoforte's whisper, lets her tone grow out
of the alto G sharp in the accompaniment bar 14. It is as if she were
weaving an improvised obligate round the now familiar pattern. She
sings an even pianissimo without rise or fall, without any sophisticated
striving after effect. The music is all there on the printed page and
speaks for itself, if we allow it.
Ex.2
Qsekr ruhig
1 HP 1 r
Und mor-pen wird die Son-ne wie - der ichei-nen und auf dem
/4 15 16
^r-r^r^ r jtjl |r P P' jl j '
We - ge, den ich ge - hen \ver- de,wird ucs, die Gliick-hch-en
17 18 19
.
sie wie-der ei - neo in-mit-ten die-ser bon-oeD at- me n den Er -de.
,20 ^/ -i?^ 3
Once again the crosses arc warning signals against that tendency to
hurry. The accompanist must be impervious to any signs of impatience
from his partner, nor should the singer's even quavers be perturbed by
the triplets in the piano part.
'Sonne' on the first beat of 15 does not want accentuation: the syn-
copated 'den' in 1 7 should not be pounced on triumphantly brand-
ished. Nowhere is there any trace of an accent.
In two places the singer is tempted to emerge from her pianissimo
shell, one is at 'Gliicklichen' (19) and the other at 'wogenblauen' (25).
Ex.3
T-T^|r
y==ts
uud /u dem Strand, dem wei - ten wo - gen - blau - en,
24 26 6
It is, of course, far easier and also extremely commonplace to sail up
MORGEN
185
to those high notes on the wings of a crescendo', but by resisting this
temptation these moments become more beautiful.
The magical ending, seeming to dissolve into silence, should not be
treated with the freedom of a recitative as so many singers suppose.
Ex.4
tmmer
UDS siokt des Glii - ekes btummes Schwei
lt . - --- 1T*n
True, the repeated quavers of 32 are elastic, but the other notes should
be given their full value. Above all, the singer must steel herself and
rigorously count those everlasting rests at 31 and 34; nothing is happen-
ing here and the longing to make an entry before those three beats are
measured out is not easy to resist. It wants self-control. Some singers
and accompanists are as much afraid of silence as a child is of the dark.
Far better to wait too long than too little; thus the song is allowed to
sink gradually into ecstatic silence.
As the last two phrases tend to get slower they will need more
breath. I have made breath marks in the above example, but it should
be remembered that a snatched breath can be disturbing, while a slow
deliberate breath is less noticeable provided it is quiet.
I have rearranged the bass chord in 33, giving the right hand the
lower A as it relieves the left hand of an uncomfortable stretch. As for
the bass in 35, it is better with a small hand to omit the A rather than
indulge in a fussy spreading of the chord.
The sweetness of the postlude should be long drawn out, letting
the music die away to nothing so that the last cadence is but faintly
heard.
MORGEN
Reprinted by permission of Universal Edition A.-G. (Alfred A. Kalmus,
London)
G DBioio Elisabeth Schumann (Violin: Isolde Menges)
C 173840 Lotte Lehmann (Paul Uianowsky)
V 12-0734 Marian Anderson (Franz Rupp)
PD 62714 Heinrich Schlnsnus (Franz Rupp)
P Ro20o8i Lotte Lehmann
P Ro202i8 Claire Dux
P RO2OI95 Richard Tauber
G 03386 Willy Domgraf-Fassbaender
G LB22 Dino Borgioli
P EIIIOO Emmy Bettendorf
^ ^9355 Anton Dermota (Ivor Newton)
G DA644 J onn McCormack (Schneider and Kreisler)
PD 23017 Leo Slezak (Michael Raucheisen)
G DA 1 704 Jussi Bjorling (Harry Ebert)
PD 70512 Herman Jadlowker
Voc 63 1 1 2 Elena Gerhardt
V 64339 Frances Alda
V 043259 Elena Gerhardt
G 3093 Nan Maryska (Brosa and Moore)
G C34i8 Webster Booth (Campoli and Lush)
G DA5504 P. Anders (Weissenborn)
P 62363 Robert Hutt (Richard Strauss)
SCHLECHTES WETTER
Words by HEINRIGH HEINE Music by RICHARD STRAUSS
Op. 69 No. 5
'WHAT wretched weather,' says the singer, looking out of the window
into the darkness, 'it rains and hails and snows.' A tiny flickering light
slowly crosses the street. 'It is an old lady with her lantern and I believe
she is going to buy honey, eggs and butter to bake a cake for her plump
little daughter who, with her golden hair tumbling over her pretty face,
lies snugly at home on the sofa,*
What a contrast to the preceding song's tranquil serenity we have
here! This is a graphic picture of vivacity and humorous cynicism. It
is most difficult to sing, having a range of two octaves. Much of it lies
low in the voice (causing the singer to force from fear of being over-
weighted by an inconsiderate accompanist) ; also there are intervals in
the vocal line which need careful practising to ensure perfect accuracy.
I have never played it for a singer, always excepting Elisabeth Schwarz-
kopf who makes everything she touches sound easy, without being
aware of a struggle, faulty intonation, and an inability to obey Strauss's
instructions.
A rule which all artists must observe is that light-hearted songs of
this nature (Strauss's 'Standchen', Schumann's 'Auftrage', Wolf's 'Er
istY are instances) should be sung and played with such apparent ease
that the audience is able to sit back and relax without anxiety, an ease
which is patent in the Schwarzkopf brilliant recording. The whole effect
is spoiled if the listener sits nervously on the edge of his seat, wonders if
you will get through, prays for you, and finally sinks back exhausted
muttering to himself relieved that it is over 'By George, they did it!'
Technical difficulties must be hidden. This song is a joke despite the
stormy dissonances of the beginning, and it ends in the gayest Viennese
waltz imaginable. Singer and pianist, therefore, firstly intrigue us in
*Schlechtes Wetter' with the picture they are presenting, and finally
charm us with the 'gemiitlichkeit' of the finale.
The rain splattering viciously on the window-pane is heard in the
first twenty bars of the accompaniment. Every note, like a hailstone,
must be felt and the pianist throws his hand on the second beat to
achieve the spiteful sforzando. Some idea of the way the vocal line is
'blown* all over the place can be seen in the following example.
A breath is taken after 'wetter' and after 'sturmt' but not, of course,
on the rests in 4 and 5. It is important that the G flat in 5 should be
dead in tune and clearly heard; neither should there be any doubt as
187
SCHLECHTES WETTER
em schlech - tet> wt-t-ter es
===*fF=^x=^^
-y 4- ~r . 4- -_-
tV- r~ " *
to what is happening in 7 and 8 with the accented D flats (a typically
Straussian effect), and 'und schneit' must not sound as if it is merely
an octave interval being sung slightly out of tune. A question of balance
concerning the accompanist arises here. The mark is fortissimo but if he
sticks rigidly to the letter of the law, the pianist will drown the singer's
low note at 1 1 and cause him to press: to avoid this we make a slight
reduction in volume but surge up strongly as soon as the long low note
on 'schneit' is released.
But now the spiteful spattering of hail and snow gradually decreases
as the pianoforte descends from 1 1 to 18; the window-pane is still shaken
by the blustering wind to remind us that it is still 'dirty weather' with-
out, but the noise becomes a low rumbling in the background enabling
us to hear the singer's thoughts.
SCHLECHTES WETTER
189
Ex.2
etwas ruhtger werden
This is quite a ruminative passage 'I sit at my window and look out
into the night'; but suddenly our attention is roused by a little twinkling
glow, exemplified in the pianoforte's treble, 32 to 50,
Ex.3
37
and the singer lets us know by his pointed tone, eager eyes, and his
clear fresh enunciation that a mischievous idea has occurred to him.
(The hail motif in the accompaniment can still be seen.) He gives ex-
pression to this idea at 53, and as he sings about the old lady searching
the shops for butter, eggs, &c., he cannot refrain from smiling at his
own idle fancy. And as he smiles we gradually become aware that,
without making any structural alteration in it, Strauss has converted
the accompaniment into a Viennese waltz.
SCHLECHTES WETTER
to. **
Since this rhythm holds sway during the rest of the song, it would be
as well to try to put into words the secret of the Viennese waltz, for it
is unlike any other 3/4 rhythm in the world. There is no similarity
whatsoever between this rhythm and Tschaikowsky's waltz, or the
rhythm of the two Spanish dances included in this book.
Let us say that a bar is three feet long one beat to a foot; if each
foot is divided into twelve inches, it can be seen that the first and third
beats are precise, but the second beat is slightly longer, coming as it
does a little early.
i i i i t i i i
I
But although this beat occupies more time than the others it is decidedly
lighter and must not be stressed. I must apologize here for this descrip-
tion for I am by no means certain that the second beat comes on the
'tenth inch', it might be on the ninth or the eleventh, but at least it
gives the accompanist some rough idea of the rhythmical shape. This
shape, however, is not uniform for there are occasions when voice and
piano move together as in bar 60, or when the piano by itself has three
even beats.
Ex.5
breit .
tempo
Sie will ei - nen Ku
SO
SCHLECHTES WETTER
64
At 60 Strauss instructs us to c slow up the time', in fact exactly as one
does in the opening of 'The Blue Danube', and in such instances the
second beat behaves normally.
i
tempo
Q
r
In any case and taking 'The Blue Danube* again as an example it will
be found that this wayward second beat applies only to the accompani-
ment and not to the tune. The singer therefore leaves to his partner the
intriguing task of searching for the Viennese lilt and can simply tell his
accompanist as often as he likes 'No, you haven't caught it yet' a most
happy position for the singer. There is some consolation for the pianist
in the reflection that his gay tune (seen in Example 4 and recurring
frequently thereafter) must predominate, and a sensitive singer will
realize, that where the waltz holds sway, he is accompanying his
partner.
After the words 'die goldenen Lokken wallen uber das siisse Gesicht*
one imagines the lonely watcher rising from his chair laughing at the
far-fetched picture he has created taking a waltz step or two and
gradually gravitating towards tht decanter.
Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.
G 01951
G EG3953
C
Elisabeth Schumann (Karl Alwin)
Karl Hammes (Bruno Seidler-Winkler)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Gerald Moore)
AT THE BALL
English translation from the Russian Music by p. TSGHAIKOWSKY
of A. TOLSTOI by G. H. CLUTSAM Op. 38 No. J
THIS delicious song can easily sound commonplace and dull if the per-
formers do not give it judicious thought.
* It might be well for the student to allow the strains of, shall we say,
the 'Valse des Fleurs' to flow through her mind to help her catch and
hold the fervour and spirit of that most thrilling of waltzes. 'At the
Ball 1 should not be imbued with the splendour, gallantry, and glitter
of the 'Casse Noisette' piece, for the mood of this little song subtly con-
veys, as Alec Robertson says, an unease in its broken phrases while the
other swings you along with its brave momentum.
But we must never forget that though pallid it is none the less a
waltz. If we allow the music to lose impetus, the dancers will sink back
on their heels, the movement thereby assuming the slower ampler con-
tours of the German Landler, an effect Tschaikowsky was far from in-
tending. The structure here is too frail to stand such treatment. To
preserve its lilting lightness we should count one beat to the bar.
From Mascia Predit's beautiful recording we can learn how 'At the
Ball 5 should be sung. She used a white tone which at once suggested a
shy young maiden dazzled by the bright lights and whirling couples;
yet this 'voix blanche' did not restrict the expressive rise and fall of the
vocal line. The broken phrases convey a feeling of excited uncertainty,
for a moment they rise boldly then sink timidly; an alternate advance
and recoil; the fluttering heart of the debutante who now makes up
her mind to take the floor, and the next moment retreats. This cloak
of excessive feminity should never succeed in hiding from us the strong
rhythmic impulse underneath, for this impulse is always there and must
always be felt. The intelligent listener will feel this iron hand in the
velvet glove in the Predit record.
While the piano part gives us the rhythm of the dance, it is the
singer who strikes the personal note, and it is to her we look for romance
and sensuousness. The vocal line should not feel fettered because it
moves along with the accompaniment. It is elastic: an additional reason
for counting but one beat to the bar. Singer and pianist meet on the
first beat of each bar, of course, but what happens in between is the
singer's business; in other words, relying on the piano's steady pulse, the
singer can spin and weave a line, sometimes stretching a phrase, some-
times contracting, which need not stick slavishly quaver by quaver to
the accompaniment. Imagine singing strictly in time the following:
192
AT THE BALL
193
Ex.1
con tnstezza
U J [T I
The dan-cers were whir - ling a - round me
f 9 W If /
The
^
mu-sic their laughter en-hanced When first I be-held thee
/
20
Sing it to yourself, beat three beats to the bar with your right hand like
a conductor of a brass band. Then without quickening the basic tempo
conduct yourself to one beat in the bar beating the time with a loose
arm and wrist. Immediately possibilities ofrubato and flexibility within
the basic tempo become apparent. I have attempted to sketch the way
rubato might be used in the above example. It would be well for the
student to remember that the preference here for one beat to the bar
does not presuppose a faster basic tempo than would three beats, it
merely allows more elasticity and movement.
We are caught up in the whirl of the waltz from the introduction's
very first bar and the accompanist thinks of muted, but none the less
singing strings.
Ex.2
My suggestion in parenthesis should not cut the ground from under
Tschaikowsky's long crescendo and diminuendo but I feel that the uplift
on 5 needs a little more singing than 4; the 'cellos at 6, 7, 8 want to be
heard. Note too the pizzicato at 24, 25 and the sudden urgency at 46
and 50 and the 'cellos moving in contrary motion to the voice at bars
39, 40, 41, &c.
Ex.3
8.A. 14
194
Ex.4
AT THE BALL
piiif
f l * J i
* * P Iff P P iJ'iJiJ U
The song of the sea's ebb and flow.
So
ra-di-act there, in thy beau - ty
T P P IP P
pm
4J
44
45
These little points of interest and charm and more besides can be
found; their recognition by the performers will add spice to the song.
That this simple accompaniment requires imaginative handling let
there be no doubt, Not only do we accompanists strive to match the
singer's fancy, we must also move along sensitively and airily to give
our partner a complete feeling of freedom, and avoid, at all costs,
treading on her toes.
Reprinted by permission of the publishers, Chappell & Co. Ltd.
G DA 1 325 PovlaFrijsh
PD 23106 Lula Mysz-Grneiner
G DB8g^ Leonid Sobinoff
P Ro2L549 Richard Tauber
G DA 1 94 1 Mascia Predit (Gerald Moore)
D M633 Gerard Souzay (Irene Aitoff)
Sch 5512 Nina Koshctz (self-ace.)
G EG897 Ursula van Diemen
P Rao376 Vladimir Rosing (H. Gellhorn)
G 723boD I. Petna
V 1 1-0020 M. Kurenko (S. Tarnowsky)
SILENT NOON
Words by D. G. ROSSETTI Music by R. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
UNFORTUNATELY this lovely song frequently shares, in common with
such a song as Schubert's 'Standchen', the fate of popularity. There
must be hundreds of singers all over the world who have sung 'Silent
Noon' hundreds of times in public; they know it as well as they know
the back of their own hand. This familiarity certainly does not breed
contempt, it is too well loved for that, but it sometimes breeds car-
lessness or inattention on the part of the performers. I am all for allow-
ing the music to speak for itself as I have said again and again in these
pages but I have never suggested that there was ever a moment when
the singer could afford to allow his vigilance to relax, could afford to
cease listening critically to what he is doing. The singer takes too much
for granted, no matter how fine the quality of his voice, who lulls his
conscience with the sanguine belief that he only has to open his mouth
for a miracle to happen. The very fact that most of his audience know
the song almost as well as he does, should put the performer on his
mettle.
To those who insist that English is an impossible language to sing
I prescribe a dose of 'Silent Noon'. 'Open in the long fresh grass' . . .
'look through like rosy blooms' . . . 'gleams and glooms' . . . 'golden
king-cup fields' . . . here are vowels and refreshing consonants that it
is a joy to give voice to. These jewels bedeck the vocal line, a line of
noble breadth never absent for long in any Vaughan Williams' work,
and they give the singer pride in his language. At least they should thus
inspire the singer; how much or how little they do so is a measure of
the singer's discrimination.
'Silent Noon' is all serenity and peace. Its demands on the singer
of taste are, in the first place, straightforward: he must sing smoothly
and pronounce his words clearly. But the fine artist does that without
conscious effort as the result of years of study; it would be impossible
for him to sing it non legato, for his diction to be slovenly. Listening to
Heddle Nash or to Harold Williams, one is aware that they do more
than this. I would say that their concentration was fixed on gradation
of tone.
They would draw their crescendi and diminuendi very finely so that
4 and 5, 7 and 8 would only rise a little above the general mc^oforte;
the pianissimo on 'Your eyes 1 would not be subito but would have been
prepared by the gradual softening of 'blooms'; the bigger crescendo up
195
ig6 SILENT NOON
to 'scatter and amass' would again be made by slow degrees. In fact they
would treat the song instrumentally, imagining perhaps a violinist cop-
ing with each phrase in one bow. Not once should we be surprised,
much less startled, by violent contrasts or sharp points, for there are
no angles or edges; everything is curved.
Ex. 1 Largo c/)f/ ^"^_
y "*' * '' lEEfet
Your hands lie o - pen in the long fresh gras>t>, The fin-ger
4 6 6
points look through like ro - sy bloomsrYour eyes smile peace.
9 $ 9 10 If
Let it not be supposed that the fulfilment of these recommendations
is easy: the phrases are long and must be held out. When we hear a
singer exaggerating the nuances, piling Ossa on Pelion, it is not only
his lack of taste we deplore, his breath support is suspect also. This
treatment has often, in my experience, robbed the very first page
of beauty before we were fairly launched; we hear a great wave of
tone on the crescendi in 4 and 7 followed by correspondingly steep
diminuendi.
The gaudy effects I have mentioned are doubly objectionable if
attended by distortion of vowels; thus we sometimes hear 'lawng fresh
grass' and lazy 'OY on 'rosy blooms'. I would like to point out that
the two Ys' of 'eyes smile' (10) are not separated, so that we do not
hear 'eyeser smile' but 'eyessmile'; these words would run into one
another in speech and they should in song. Again 'inarticulate hour*
(66), the last syllable of 'inarticulate' should be pronounced 'let' other-
wise the listener will hear 'late hour'.
There is a tendency to make some of the quavers in this song too
solid: this makes the music undesirably square. Without departing from
the la: go sostenuto or depriving the utterance of earnestness these quavers
must be supple. As he sings the quavers in 3, the singer is thinking of
the word 'open'; at the quavers in 6, his mind is on the word 'through'.
This 'forward-thinking' gives the music movement without actually
quickening the tempo. No matter how slowly a piece of music is per-
formed it must have impulse. Thus a singer with an eye for country,
looking well ahead, will avoid taking a breath at 57.
He will be silent during that rest but, I repeat, he will not breathe.
It is better for him if he cannot do the huge phrase in one sweep to
breathe after 'So' .(53-54) but the accompanist can help here by seeing
that his two quavers (first beat of 57) are not lethargic but are on the
move, urging.
SILENT NOON
197
Ex.2
r~r
So
.this wiog'd hour is dropt to us from a - bo\e._
This urge from the accompanist plays a big part in the whole song
even in the Quasi Recitative section.
F* y /? f\
i __
Deep m the sun-search'd growths the dra-#o:i-fly haugs
*4
fyu^ Jij'bJ^j |p^zJiJi||jtU._ J^J 1 ?^ I
like a blue thread loos-en'd from the sky :
60
5/
Alec Robertson, one of the finest musicians I know, insists that this
section must and can all be done in one breath, and I agree that would
be the ideal way to perform it. Certainly if you were reciting those
words it would not make sense, nor would it be necessary, to pause in
order to refill your lungs. On the other hand is it desirable to sing this
recitative with the quick rhythm of speech? I confess I prefer it sung
with great tranquillity and with a pause for an unhurried breath after
4 thread': certainly it is an unhurried breath for the 'dragonfly hangs'
motionlessly in an almost heavy stillness. But at 46, 47 the accompanist
SILENT NOON
does not hang about motionlessly, he plays ever so lightly and floats
forward quickly so that the singer comes in sight of the end of the road.
This suggestion of pliability of the quavers is inaugurated by the
accompanist in the opening of the song. His introduction should be
thought out in this manner:
Ex - 4
But I anxiously impress that all this can be achieved without any sus-
picion of restlessness: the listener should not be aware of the workings
of the performers' minds.
Bars 19 to 22 and 30 to 34 should be carefully practised. The com-
poser has made it clear which note he wants to hear above the other
notes in the chord.
Ex.5 Pdco piu mosso
5 4 3 simile \ ., 5 '* 3 ;j 4
PP 19
21
Technically this is not easy, for the chords are not spread (how vulgar
that would be!) and it is cheating, not to say unlovely, to play the
stressed note slightly before the others. The fingering I have marked is
for the stressed note; it can sing out a little above the others if the finger
is slightly stiffened.
I doubt if there are many songs more loved than 'Silent Noon'.
Vaughan Williams has created a thing of beauty. It is for the singer
to preyjrve it.
Reprinted by permission of Edwin Ashdown Ltd.
C
G
G
C
D Kii99
Voc K05309
B2755
DA 1 776
DB2I59
Norman Allin
Stuart Robertson
John McCormack (Gerald Moore)
David Lloyd (Gerald Moore)
Roy Henderson (Eric Gritton)
Clara Serena
ANAKREONS GRAB
Poem by GOETHE
Music by HUGO WOLF
SURELY when Goethe recited these simple and tender lines it was in the
same gentle rhythm, with the same stresses, inflexions, pauses that Wolf
has given us. I like to indulge in the notion that Goethe had this very
music in mind when he wrote this little poem. If singer and pianist will
share my credulity it will not be unhelpful to their performance of the
song and it does give some indication of the almost miraculous fusion
of words and music. (I am aware, of course, that Goethe in all proba-
bility would have detested Wolf's setting had he lived long enough to
hear it, for he was not musically discriminating. Even Schubert's set-
tings of his words left him unmoved. He preferred the efforts of a minor
composer named Zelter, of whose works I, personally, am beautifully
and completely ignorant.)
No composer is so meticulous with his instructions as Wolf. In all
the song's twenty-one bars, there are only two where he leaves us with-
out a guiding word or sign, and even these are phrase- marked. An idea
of the delicate nuances that are expected can be gained by a study of
the two-bar pianoforte introduction.
Ex.1 Sthr langsam und ruhig (wry slowly and
All of it must be legato played with the fingers clinging to the notes.
Not one chord or passing quaver is the same in quantity as its pre-
decessor. The diminuendo at the beginning; the rise in tone up to bar 2
avoiding none the less an over-accentuation of the syncopated C sharp
in the left hand; the gradual falling away into utmost softness all
require the most thoughtful playing.
It is not easy to suggest the rose-scented fragrance of a summer
breeze by the contact of fingers on a keyboard, but if the pianist is
steeped in the poetry of the words, a sweet and tender melancholy will
be infused into his playing. Triihling, Sommer und Herbs t genoss der
gliickliche Dichter' (Spring, summer and autumn befriended the happy
poet) are the words of bars 15-16, and I think of these words when I
play this introduction, for in addition to giving me the leisurely rhythm
199
2OO
ANAKREONS GRAB
these words, and the music that goes with them, warm the heart and
may perhaps give warmth to the tone.
Such is the effect of the introduction that when the singer takes up
the story at bar 3, it seems inevitable that his theme should be of
Nature's loveliness: 'The roses, the vines, the turtle dove, the cricket.'
Ex.2
Zart (ft
wo Re-brDum Lurbeer bich
wo dasTur-tel-chen lockt wo&ichda: Grillcheo f r-gotzt, welch
H^-^l fotfel
Each bar of the vocal line rises in growing enchantment until the
descent at bar 6. The singer, while aware of these mounting phrases, is
not called on to increase his tone, save for the slightest crescendo and
diminuendo at 4. Wolf knows our tendency to louden as we ascend the
stave, so he cautions us at bar 5, where the highest note is reached, with
the words Very softly'.
The suggestion of leaves softly rustling in the light breeze is made
in the treble of the pianoforte (third and fourth beats of each bar in
Example 2) but it must not be underlined.
On * Welch ein Grab ist hier' marked piano to the accompaniment's
pianissimo the singer will be helped towards obtaining a darkened tone
of wonderment, by listening to the pianoforte's big interval from the
high chords in 6 to the low chords in 7.
We become enraptured by this corner of beauty adorned so bounti-
fully by the gods, and Wolf expresses this mood by syncopation at
8-9. This syncopation is dangerous ground for the performers and
needs careful handling. Enthusiasm and energy are not synonymous.
ANAKREONS GRAB
201
- ben schon be - pflanzt - und
If the notes I have marked with an X be accented the reflective mood
of the song will be lost. Guard against this. Disguise the syncopation
by legato singing; by remembering that 'Leben' though dynamically the
biggest note in the song is no louder than a mezzoforte; by taking the
whole phrase from quaver rest (7) to quaver rest (9) in one breath.
(This last recommendation is a tall order and if it cannot be done, a
breath may be taken after 'Gotter'.)
For his part the pianist, though anxious to give his partner support
at 8-9, must avoid percussion; he does not give the semblance of an
accent anywhere. The playing requires great smoothness. It is better
that the mezzoforte be under, rather than over played.
At 1 1- 1 2 comes the answer 'It is Anakreon's grave'.
Ex.4
2O2
ANAKREONS GRAB
The rest after 'Es 1st' (11) is silent testimony to the singer's awe.
Full-time value is given to this rest, and though it will be necessary for
a breath here, no one knows it, for it should be unheard, made with
no movement of the lips. The pronunciation of the V in *ist' will leave
the lips slightly parted all ready for the needed breath; any facial move-
ment will break the spell. 'Anakreons Ruh' is whispered and the singer
can be given whatever latitude he likes on 'Ruh' with no disturbance
whatsoever from the ppp accompaniment.
Although the comma at the end of bar 12 is not Wolf's, a slight
break before proceeding with the last section is essential. In this silent
moment the same delight in the beauty of their surroundings which
seized the performers at the beginning of the song again takes hold of
them, with this difference, that their delight is now enriched by their
experience. Compare 15-16 ('Spring, summer and autumn gladdened
the happy poet') to 3-4.
And then with ineffable tenderness 'This mound protects him in the
winter'.
vor dem Win -ter
i7
hat iha end
. lich der Hti-gel
18
ge-schiitzt
A breath should be taken after 'Winter' but not after 'Hugel'. The
semiquaver rest must be observed for it makes 'geschiitzt' so tender and
protective, but a breath would spoil the sense of it.
After this the accompaniment 1 8 to 21 dies away to nothing. The
pianist gives himself scope to achieve a long diminuendo by not playing
too softly at 1 8. I indicate how the right hand can help the left in the
final bass chord; it must not be spread.
Ex.6
Y*
ANAKREONS GRAB
203
This pianoforte postlude takes us gently by the hand and leads us away.
We go with unwilling steps. Ever and again we turn our heads (the
tied treble notes in bar 20) to look back at the poet's resting place.
Peters Edition. Reprinted by permission of Hinrichsen Edition Ltd., London,
W.C.I
G DB(Soc) Herbert Janssen (Conrad van Bos)
G DA 1 470 Lotte Lehmann (Erno Balogh)
PD 30010 Heinrich Schlusnus (Sebastian Peschko)
G DA 1 1 70 John McCormack (Edwin Schneider)
D LX3O5I Suzanne Danco (Guido Agosti)
PD 67593 Heinrich Schlusnus
G Ji?86 Bernard Sonnerstedt (Folmer Jensen)
ALLO ALg8 Elisabeth Schumann (George Reeves)
West WI5048 A. Poell (F. Holletschek)
AUF EINER WANDERUNG
Words by EDUARD MORIKE Music by HUGO WOLF
i SUGGESTED in 'Anakreons Grab' that the music was not so much added
to the words but was rather the natural music of the verses. Ernest
Newman, whose study of Wolf's works and life proclaim him as the
greatest authority in the world on the subject, tells us that 'Wolf 's is
the essential music of the verses, it inheres in them and must always
have been in them: he has only made it audible' . . . 'His appreciation
not only of the broad significance of a poem but of all its most delicate
detail makes him unique among song writers; none other has anything
like his scrupulous regard for his poetic material, none other so frankly
accepts the poet as his starting point, or makes it so completely his ideal
to fit his music with perfect flexibility to every convolution of the verse.
At his recitals he would often begin by reading the poem to the audience
before a note of the music was allowed to be heard.'
These quotations are from Ernest Newman's Hugo Wolf (Methuen,
1907) and I give them because they define with unmistakable clarity
the root and characteristic of Wolf's songs. There is a lesson here for
singers and accompanists which we should do well to take to heart; it
is this: unless we are on intimate terms with the words with which Wolf
is concerned we shall never become intimate with his song. For argu-
ment's sake I should say it would be possible, though undesirable, to sing,
play, listen to, Schubert's 'An die Musik' and not be greatly concerned
with the words, without one's enjoyment being in any way lessened.
We kiss the hands of the genius who conceived that immortal tune,
but we know it is 'Du holde Kunst' and we leave it at that, not caring
what the remainder of the verse is about, so heavenly is the music, This
could never happen in a Wolf song. Wolf gives us more to think about.
His music of course can tear our heart, can thrill us, bewitch us, make
us laugh, but and this is the vital point he was never interested in
setting words which did not inspire him. He digested them, absorbed
them until they became a part of him, until indeed his music was the
inevitable vehicle for them, once and for all.
We see in 'Auf einer Wanderung' how Wolf laughs with Morike,
how the music meanders joyfully, with the wanderer gazing on a sweet
little town bathed in the rosy glow of evening. We share the intoxica-
tion of the flower's scent, share the sound of the 'Goldglockentone'
(golden bells), the song of the nightingales. Joy reigns supreme through-
out the song, a joy which sometimes seems almost unrestrained, rising
to moments of sheer breath-taking ecstasy.
204
AUF EINER WANDERUNG
205
Technical and musical problems abound for both singer and pianist,
for, as is usual with this composer, voice and instrument each seem to
pursue their way independently. The piano part is an exquisite piece
of music on its own, but we realize how it is wrapped up in Morike's
words when we hear the singer even though the latter rambles on
apparently regardless of his partner.
Ex. 1 Leich t bewegt (Quickly and Ugh tly)
In em freund-li-chesStadt-chen tret ich em,
in den Strnssen hegt ro - trr A- bend-schfin.
The lightly bounding piano part requires no pedal for the first nine
bars (incidentally all the pedal signs in my examples are my own, as
Wolf does not help us in this respect) and should be staccato. The semi-
quaver rest is strictly enforced. I mean by this, that there is literally
half a beat's silence with no hangover of tone whatever: we are skipping
along with youthful zest, not plodding like an elderly rheumatic. This
lightsome touch on the piano throws up the charm of the vocal line
when the singer enters, for the latter tries to sing legato. This is not to
imply that at all costs the singer must be motto legato, it merely means
that the voice part has a line and the piano has not and it is important
we should feel the difference between the two.
206
AUF EINER WANDERUNG
Smooth singing then, must be evident, but not heaviness; we do not
want to miss a word that is being uttered. The good singer, no matter
how sprightly the tempo, finds time to project his words clearly and
freshly to us; thus we hear the first two consonants in 'freundliches 5
delivered almost deliberately.
The diminuendo at 8 precedes a pianissimo preparing us for the shaft
of light at 'roter Abendschein' where the sustaining pedal is touched
to warm the air a little. At the singer's low note in 1 1 the pianist
'feathers' the keys yet he still has another diminuendo at 13 to consider;
it is prepared by making an imperceptible increase of tone at the begin-
ning of the bar and the beauty of this thrilling modulation must be
pointed by a lingering of which no one is allowed to be aware so
that we may enjoy it the more.
Ex.2
Aus ei-nem off - nen Ft* n - ster e - ben
sa. 13 # < to.
u-ber den reich- sten Blu - men - f lor bin- weg, hort man
ta
In
It will be seen that the semiquaver rest in the accompaniment has
disappeared and from 14 to 27 I find I use the sustaining pedal on each
half bar as shown in Example 2: now too the singer finds it easier to
sing legato, he sails up 'liber den reichsten Blumenflor hinweg' with
appreciable smoothness while still adhering to his pianissimo. To make
a crescendo on this phrase deserves the death penalty. On the long note
at 24 there is a slight opening out after the E is attacked, but not before.
Nine singers out of ten do not get dead centre in this E, but lodge a
millimetre below it, they are not helped by the accompanist at all and
AUF EINER WANDERUNG
207
Ex.3
und - ei-ne Stim - me schemtein Nach
VP
^^t^k-f^t
PPP
22
23
should practise it, noting the small semitone intervals in 22-23 anc ^ tne
full tone intervals of 23-24. Till 27 the accompanist's dynamics are
restricted to />, pp, and ppp, but from thence he begins to cast off all
restraint, as the singer thrills with ecstasy at the trembling blossoms and
the deep red of the roses. The voice mounts higher and higher (28, 30,
32) until at 35 it drops from exhaustion and, being by now completely
submerged by the pianoforte, abandons the unequal struggle I have
tried to indicate in the following example by arrows, commas, stresses,
&c. the shape of the rubato which I advise using in this and the suc-
ceeding pianoforte section. There must, I feel, be some elasticity here.
My stressing of comparatively unimportant quavers in 27, 30, 32 sig-
nifies that they need more time (not more tone) to enable the singer
to enunciate clearly; so often all the listener catches is 'Bluthen beben'
'Liifte leben', and without 'dass die' in front of them they do not
make sense. Moreover the very slight waiting on these quavers makes
them a more comfortable springboard for the voice.
It is a glorious but terrific task for the pianist, made the more difficult
by the inner harmony in the rushing chords. For his comfort he arranges
ample time to drop on his bass octaves stepping down from 32 to 35.
He waits on the singer at the 'unimportant' quavers but after that he
dictates the shape of the remainder of each phrase. In other words
the pianist accompanies the singer for one moment but the next
moment the singer accompanies the pianist.
2O8 AUF EINER WANDERUNG
Ex.4 gluliend (ardently)
*^ 1> - hnn H.M^^in hri-hp-re
slow down to - - - Tempo >I
decresc.
Emotional exhaustion, his cup of joy being filled to overflowing,
silences the singer at 35 and the piano in a burst of marvellous transport
tells us what the poet cannot express in words. It used to be said of
AUF EINER WANDERUNG
Wagner that he took the spotlight off the singers too often and threw
it on the orchestra. What he really did was to reveal to us through the
orchestra, in terms of music unimpeded by words, the souls of his stage
characters; we could pursue an innermost train of thought as it de-
scended from passionate excitement to tranquil contemplation without
the singer having to make a prosaic explanation. Wolf does this here.
After the mad joy of 27 to 35 you cannot suddenly whisper 'Enchanted,
long I lingered' without some slight preparation. And in this wonder-
ful transition, 35 to 48, the piano does it for us, gradually leading us
from one mood to another.
I hope my signs in Example 4 will be helpful; the slowing down at
39 and the tempo I at 40 are important. In bar 40 I play the top of the
bass chord with my right hand to avoid a spread which might be neces-
sary if the left hand had to tackle it alone. The one pedal for 35, 36, 37
and for 43, 44, 45 comes as rather a shock when seen in cold print,
but this is what I do.
The music has sunk at 46 to a pianissimo and now the pace slackens
by degrees until at bar 49 it is really slow to give the singer plenty of
time on 'Lang hielt ich'.
Ex.5
rit. ^ ^
a tempo
rit. a tempo
The very soft figure in 5 1 played in the first tempo does not shatter the
reverie, but acts as a gentle reminder that we must be on our way. Even
so the singer lingers again at 52 to be gently urged forward again at 53.
The whispered soliloquy continues 'How I wandered here beyond
the town, I know not' over the bouncing piano figure of the song's be-
ginning, but now 54 to 62 the treble of the accompaniment is some-
times two octaves higher than the voice, making Wolf's ppp sign (at 60
it is pppp) very necessary. Indeed here the pianist again 'feathers' the
keys, making only a faint tinkle in order that the singer need not raise
his voice above a whisper.
However, as if in response to the fresh-rhythmed accompaniment
the singer seems to emerge from his brown study with a passage of
languishing beauty sung with a tenderness that makes us loth to leave
the phrase.
S.A. 15
210 AUF EINER WANDERUNO
Ex.6 bedeutend langsamer (appreciably slower)
Ach hier, wieliegt die Welt so licht!
ptlfr.
PP
65
67
But the sight and the sound of movement, the brooklet's gush, the mill-
wheel's splash bring more life and pace to the music until it surges up
at 78 with an accelerando and crescendo ('I am drunk with joy') to the
psen of 83, 84, 85, where the singer seems to clasp all nature to his
breast in thankfulness.
This climax catches one by the throat, its effect is so shaking that it
does not seem to matter how long the singer takes over it, and the
chords in the pianoforte are spread slowly and hugely with the power
of a hundred harps. From 86 to 91 the voice sinks again, as if choked
Ex.7 , ^
accelerando
Miih-le,
-J>
ichbin wietrun-ken, irr - - ge-fuhrt,_
*
&
i
&jp%r*>
g- '^J 1 ^
7P' ' ' 80
AUF EINER WANDERUNG
211
V
Tempo I
8
meinHerzbe-riihrtmitei - m j m Lit' -
hi
with emotion, and the accompaniment resumes its meanderings which
get fainter and fainter as the wanderer recedes from view. Only at
103-104 does he pause as if to raise his eyes heavenwards once more
and sigh with gratitude.
Ex.8 r f'--
103
104
105
106
107
108
By con espressione in addition to the ritardando Wolf shows us that the
accompanist needs to put his soul into those first two bars. The top
notes should sing, always within the pianissimo, but in spite of the
diminuendo in 104 I find it necessary to play the high G in 105 slightly
more sharply than is marked to make it ring through to 107. It is im-
perative that the reiterated chord in the bass be played terribly softly
otherwise the B flats will boom unpleasantly. The last two chords are
played without delay.
Peters Edition. Reprinted by permission of Hinrichsen Edition Ltd., London.
W.C.i
G DB(Soc) Elena Gerhardt (Conrad van Bos)
T A2540 Karl Schmitt- Walter (Ferdinand Leiter)
W WL5048 A. Poell (F. Holletschek)
V DM 1 380 Blanche Thebom (W. Hughes)
ICH HAS" IN PENNA EINEM LIEBSTEN WOHNEN
From the Italian Song Book
Of PAUL HEYSE
Music by HUGO WOLF
HAVE you seen a little girl anxiously watching a skipping rope being
twirled by two playmates wondering which is the right moment for
her to dart in? Her timing must be exact or else she will stop the spin-
ning rope. With one foot advanced, ready to spring, her body sways
forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards. At last she makes up her
mind, you can tell it by the tightening of her lips, and resolutely she
leaps towards the rope only to beat a hasty retreat, defeated, as she
realizes she has mistimed her entry. 'Now,' cry her companions, 'Now
now.' They never stop the rope spinning to make it easier for the
skipper that would never do.
I have played this song some hundreds of times and very often, as
I watch my singer, I see the same expressions of mystification, hesitancy,
grim resolve, bafflement, that I saw on the face of the little girl trying
to skip. She does not know when to jump in, if her sense of rhythm is
weak. It is not an easy entry. Unlike the wielders of the skipping rope,
the accompanist cannot yell an encouraging 'Now' to help the singer.
It would certainly add to the fun if he did.
Here are the first three bars:
Ex.1
Sehr schnell und munter
Ich hab in Pen-naei-nen Lieb-stenwoh - n?n,
The cause of the trouble is threefold.
The piano part does not begin on the first beat of the bar; Wolf
demands it shall be taken very quickly and in a lively manner; lastly,
there are no accents to act as guide-posts, the first five bars at least
being pianissimo, and staccato (without pedal, naturally). If Wolf had
written bar i with some obliging thumps on the first and third beats
Ex.2
it would have been all too easy. As he did not do this, however, it is
really necessary for the soprano to practise it a dozen times, two dozen
212
ICH HAB J IN PENNA EINEN LIEBSTEN WOHNEN 213
times, until she is sure. So shy about 'coming in' was one young lady
that I played bars i and 2 over and over again until I stopped from
exhaustion and from fear of contracting tennis elbow. 'After all, you
must come in some time or other,' I said to her, 'and if you are a quaver
or two too late, what is a quaver between friends?' I quickly add, how-
ever, that this is an inexcusable attitude. One's pleasure is heightened
enormously when Elisabeth Schwarzkopf or Flora Nielsen flits in the
way Wolf wanted, lightly and well-poised as a ballet dancer.
Our song is about a young woman who tells us 'I have a lover who
lives in Penna and one in the Maremma plain, another in the pretty
harbour of Ancona, to see the fourth I go over to Viterbo. Another
lives in Casentino; the next in my village here. I've got another one
in Magione, four in La Fratta, ten in Castiglione.'
This young lady's affairs may not take so long in the telling as
Leporello's catalogue of Don Giovanni's conquests, neither are they
such grand affairs perhaps as those of the Don, none the less one is
drawn to the conclusion that she was something of a flirt. She is
irrepressibly gay and sings as fast as it is possible to enunciate her
words.
The first 14 bars are all piano or pianissimo with the exception of a
slight crescendo in the accompaniment at 7 with sharp sforzandi in 8 and 9,
Ex.3
t-f-jg-Jg.,
f-fr-^-^-^-F-*
y=
fr-frrgfr
but it will be observed that the latter only make their appearance when
the voice is silent. The same applies to the/or/* and fortissimo chords in
15 and 1 6. I feel that Wolf, wanting the words to be clearly heard, does
not wish the singer to overload the vocal line with tone. She has quite
enough to do, telling the story, singing the right notes and singing them
in time. Her first sustained note is on *Ort' (14, 15) and here she will
naturally want to share the accompanist's crescendo', her excitement
mounts so that when she boasts of Tour in La Fratta' she is forte; but
she really makes the welkin ring when she gets to 'ten in Castiglione'.
The top note can be given with all the brilliance possible and she can
stay on this as long as she likes.
214 IGH HAB 5 IN PENNA EINEN LIEBSTEN WOHNEN
Ex.4
She is left by herself on this top A, for thefermata in the pianoforte is
marked on the rest. The pianist's hands are off the keys and his foot
is clear of the sustaining pedal. A breath may be needed after 'zehn'
because of ihtfermata which is coming on the third and fourth beats of
22. Thisfermata is often neglected but it is good to have it, it balances
the other long note and is made the more effective by the short dry
chord in the accompaniment.
Bar 20 is an important one and deserves a whole paragraph to itself.
It is vital that this bar should be given its full value, in addition to the
one beat rest at the end of 19. One becomes so excited at this point
and the pianist has his own private reasons for getting agitated that
I always make a habit of counting immediately after the words 'La
Fratta'
'Four, one, two, three, four' Crash!
The singer will be impatient to attack her top note but she cannot
do it until her colleague crashes on thefortissimo chords in 2 1 . It is plainly
up to the pianist not to come in too soon. He is in control of the situa-
tion if he can contain himself and count this one-bar rest deliberately.
Now comes the big moment for the accompanist. The nine-bar
postlude is a tour deforce. The pianist was thinking about it at bar 20,
he was thinking about it when the song started, he has been practising
it for weeks. He has been looking forward to it with high hopes and a
little fearfulness. Compounded of fire, passion, dash, and abandon, it is
a virtuoso passage to which even a Solomon or a Horowitz would have to
devote hard practice. What a brilliant finale to this little song it makes!
I give it in full with the fingering I use.
Ex.5 a tempo
ICH HAB* IN PENNA EINEN LIEBSTEN WOHNEN 215
The 'breath' in the middle of 30 is a little rhythmical trick; it gives
sharpness to the four groups of triplets and it serves to give the player
a half second in which to raise his hands above the keys and smash
them down with added strength, so that these triplets can be played
spankingly and at terrific speed.
What actually happens is this: the audience, having listened and
behaved themselves while the singer sang, can no longer bear to remain
inactive. They had to keep quiet for thirty- two seconds: it is too much
for them, poor things. As the accompanist embarks on his postlude con-
centrating all his faculties on his task, he hears half the audience clap-
ping noisily. It is all very unnerving for the player. More than one singer
has had to raise her hand to quell the uproar that comes from the audi-
torium as soon as she has finished singing at bar 23. One goes on play-
ing, of course, gritting one's teeth and breathing fire. No wonder Mme,
Frieda Hempel wanted me to finish the song with a chord when the
vocal part ended: but nobody worth his salt would cut the postlude,
even the accompanist has his amour propre to consider.
I advise practising these last nine bars of 4 Ich hab' in Penna' with
three or four infants in the room banging their tin drums and screaming
for Mother; arrange too for the telephone and door bells to be rung
simultaneously. All this clamour will not approach the din that a few
2l6 ICH HAB* IN PENNA EINEN LIEBSTEN WOHNEN
sophisticated members of an audience are capable of making but it may
help to toughen the accompanist.
Peters Edition. Reprinted by permission of Hinrichsen Edition Ltd., London,
W.C.I
G DB(Soc) Ria Ginster (Michael Raucheisen)
NUN WANDRE, MARIA
Spanisches Liederbuch Music ^HUGOWOLF
IT will be noticed, I hope, in the four songs included in this book
'Anakreons Grab', 'Auf einer Wanderung', 'Ich hab' in Penna'and this
song from the Geistliche Lieder how Wolf inhabits a different world
in each lyric, gives to each poet a different style. His music to a Morike
verse and a Goethe verse seems to be by two different composers so
utterly does he saturate himself in the idiom, atmosphere, psychology
of each poet: a love song from the Spanish Song Book is far removed
in concept from a love song from the Italian; similarly the religious and
deeply felt 'Sohn der Jungfrau' and 'Benedeit die sel'ge Mutter' belong
only and without question to Morike and could never be confused with
'Nun wandre, Maria' out of the Spanish spiritual songs. It is this
astonishing gift of transmogrification that puts Hugo Wolf in a class
by himself.
Joseph is comforting Mary as he urges forward the little donkey
carrying her: 'Your strength is spent, but have courage, I can hear the
cocks crowing, we are in sight of Bethlehem. I know you suffer but
shelter is near by. Gome! Come!'
We see in the pianoforte the little group trudging on and we sense
the desolation of the barren plain. The right hand moving always in
thirds is symbolical of the two figures while the laboured slowness of
the bass tells of weariness of body.
It is impossible for the accompaniment to be anything but legato, for
Joseph's feet, as he tugs at the halter, shuffle through the sand. Always
with the tenderest compassion, the vocal line has the same inflexion that
the spoken word would have, that is to say each phrase starts quietly,
fairly low in pitch; as it rises the tone increases so that the top of the
vocal arch is the loudest; it sinks down naturally at the end of the sen-
tence. Wolf follows this principle throughout the song with varying
degrees of intensity as the poem asks for it. In Example i the rise and
fall of the voice is but a slight undulation where the singer merely rises
from a piano to a mezzopiano and back again. The wide intervals in the
accompaniment's bass (7-8) should on no account be artfully disguised;
not that they are detached the sustaining pedal connects one with the
ot her but a slow pedestrian effort on the pianist's part to bridge the
gap between them is desirable: he obtains this by deliberation rather
than accent.
217
2l8
Ex.1
NUN WANDRE, MARIA
Langsam und ruhig (Slowly and tranquilly)
m
^m
* ? ; IT P E
Nun wan- dre,Ma-n - a, nun
*
r
an - drtf nur fort. Schon kra - hen die Hah - ne und
nah ist der Ort.
Nun wan - der, Ge - lieb - t, du
Jte.
-JL
r
Klein - od mriri, und bal - de wir wer-den in Beth-le-hem sein.
i
dint.
PP
~7 ^J ^
Joseph's solicitude for Mary's waning strength, his distress for the
pain she endures, is shown by the dissonances in the accompaniment,
and the singer, even while he sings, absorbs the sense of strain they
convey. (See Example 2.)
Ex.2
NUN WANDRE, MARIA
^
=E
die Kn
Wohl seh ich. Her - rin. die Kraft dir schwin-den;
^
18
kann die-ue Schmer - zen, ach,kaum ver-wm - den.
Without doubt the entire song is an outpouring of tenderness, but
I think even more remarkable than this is the awe which invests Joseph's
every utterance, an awe which renders his allusion to *the hour of your
deliverance' as something too wondrous and sacred to be mentioned
above a whisper (bars 27-28 in Example 3).
This phrase is infinitely tender, loving, and protective: it is the
softest moment of all, the more noticeable by its contrast with the pre-
ceding 'Nah ist der Ort J where the singer's tone is more prominent
mezzoforte than anywhere else in the song. A great deal depends on
the accompanist's diminuendo in 26, it needs very careful execution.
The performers, while recognizing Wolf's meticulous regard for
detail, should never lose sight of the over-all architecture of his work.
Ex.3
schonkrah'ndie Hiih - ne und nah ist der Ort.
220
NUN WANDRE, MARIA
One realizes, on hearing Bruce Boyce, who sings this song so tenderly,
that his complete grasp of the work as a whole is not obscured by his
consideration for detail. Here, for instance, we see in Example I,
bar 6, that c nah ist der Ort' is on a C sharp, later *nah ist der Ort' rises,
more insistently to an E, bar 15; the climax if I may use that word
without being misleading comes in Example 3, bar 25, this time much
higher and louder than before. Always these words are delivered with
the same rhythm but with varying degrees of pitch and intensity, as
anxiety grows.
Finally while the travellers recede in the distance, we hear the voice
as from afar again repeating
Ex.4 w * e aus we ^ er f rne
pp (as from a distance)
and the footfalls in the accompaniment die away to nothing.
'Nun wandre, Maria' was my first introduction as a young man to
Hugo Wolf. It is small wonder that I have been at his feet ever since.
NUN WANDRE, MARIA 221
Peters Edition. Reprinted by permission of Hinrichsen Edition Ltd., London,
W.C.I
G DB(Soc) Elena Gerhardt (Conrad van Bos)
G DA 1 438 Elisabeth Schumann
G EG34Q8 Karl Erb (Bruno Seidler-Winkler)
G C359I Mark Raphael (Gerald Moore)
G BRM3 Blanche Marchesi (Agnes Bedford)
ALLO ALg8 Elisabeth Schumann (George Reeves)
ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLOURS
Words by WALT WHITMAN
Music by CHARLES WOOD
AN old negro woman lingers all the day by the roadside to watch the
armies under Sherman sweeping south to put an end to slavery. So
blear, hardly human, slave for a hundred years, she stands there covered
with the dust of the road and curtseys to the regiments passing by, wags
her woolly white head with 'turban bound, yellow, red and green' at
the flag.
Walt Whitman's terrific story is told over a background of marching
men, carried along by the strains of a military band.
Very softly the song starts, for the band is away in the distance, but
the rhythm is like iron. The pianist is always conscious that men are
marching to his drum beats in the bass, and tha, his chords in the right
hand, though piano, are puffed by cornet, trombone, or tuba. A soldier
falls out from the ranks, drawn by the rolling eyes of the picturesque
old woman, and questions her.
Ex.l
Alia mar da
; '"JIMHN Hi* M H
/ *
woman, . so ancient, hnrd -ly hu-man With your wool- ly white and
^
ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLOURS
223
j.
TT * *
tur - ban'd head, and bare bo - cy feet?
'Why rising by the roadside here, do you the colours greet?' Whitman
now paints the scene: 'Tis while our army lines Carolina's sands and
pines.' The second verse is in parenthesis because it is an explanatory
recapitulation; a vitally important aside; it is not sotto voce. During this
verse we are aware that the band is getting nearer as the music swells.
Earlier we only heard the distant drums and trumpets but now as the
main body of troops tramps past the old slave's hovel, our ears catch
other sounds,
Ex.2
We hear the jingle of accoutrements by the addition of that quaver
figure in the accompaniment's alto voice. In 20 and 22 the legato syn-
copation suggests the slight time lag that seems to occur in a big body
224
ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLOURS
of marching men between the front ranks near the band and the
men at the rear of the column.
From 32 to 38 the band blares deafeningly. This is an extremely
tricky moment for the pianist; he has to thrash the keys, striving to
procure the most massive sound he possibly can. The composer had
more regard, in this passage, for homogeneity than practicability; it is
impossible in this register of the piano to get a brass band effect with
chords that are shaped to throw all the stress on the fourth or fifth
fingers.
Ex. 3
3*
33
3*
I therefore take the liberty of rearranging these chords in the following
manner:
Ex.4
36
37
39
rir
At 41 the entire character of the music changes. In an attenuated voice,
quavering and halting (magnificently portrayed in Owen Brannigan's
record), the aged woman tells who she is and whence she came. She
lives, for the moment, in the past, a past that now seems like some evil
dream; as she speaks the martial music, the measured tread of soldiery
melts away.
In one sentence she tells the story of her life. But she digs deep down
into her soul to find words to give expression to her thoughts; her utter-
ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLOURS
Ex.5 quasi ad lib.
225
"Me, master, years a hundred since, from mv parents
4^ 43 44 "45
f\ L /l L i neno mosso
v sundered, ^ Then hith-lr me .1 -
46 64 55 56
-cross the sea the cru - el sia - ver brought!'
67 68 69 60 61
ance is laboured as she struggles to hold her emotion in check, especially
from the words 'then hither me', &c. The singer will notice that this
section is marked quasi ad lib and should deliver it without any strictness
of tempo: he remembers too that he is impersonating a centenarian and
his voice is no longer recognizable as the voice which sang the preceding
verses. His tone, now thin and weak, lacks resonance because it is un-
supported by breath, in fact he deliberately exhales his breath as he
sings and inhales at every rest in the vocal line. It is a dangerous and
difficult section, for this desirably feeble delivery threatens to render
the words unclear and if that happens, if we cannot understand what
is being said by the old woman, there is no purpose whatever in the
song.
Fortunately the accompaniment, undergoing such a complete
transformation structurally and dynamically at 41, warns the listener
that he must prick up his ears to catch this whispered message; but the
message will not reach him unless the singer's concentration is intense.
Tone and facial expression may be weak and pitiful but the lips, tongue,
and jaw are not flaccid they project the words with deceiving energy.
'No further does she say.' We hear again the tramping feet and the
martial music as the soldier rejoins the ranks and marches on.
When the heat and stress of the day are over and the iron rigidity
of the music relaxes (the slight hesitancy in the accompaniment right
hand at 79-80) our young friend lies by the camp fire, his comrades
around him sleeping, and he ponders over his experience with this
wonderful old woman.
He sees in the flames her dusky face, her bare bony feet. He sees her
'head with turban bound, yellow, red and green'. 'Are the things so
strange and marvellous you see, or have seen?' he asks. This last verse,
in a slightly slower tempo, is a soliloquy and is sung softly. The person-
ality of the old slave is associated in the mind of the man with the dust
of the road kicked up by the troops, with the flag and with the regi-
mental tunes and so there is a suggestion in the piano of the tap of a
S,A. ifr
226 ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLOURS
Ex.6 U n POCO meno mosso
What is it, fate - ful
79
\vo -man, so blear hard - ly hu-maD? Why
drum. But this drum tap exists only in the imagination, it does not
enforce the discipline that it exacted earlier in the day, but gets
fainter and fainter. The fire sinks. Darkness and sleep draw their veil
over the scene.
Ex.7
si/ too
Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.
G 82407 Stuart Robertson
G 1*10252 Owen Brannigan (Gerald Moore)
INDEX
Adelaide, 5
Agosti, Guido, 19, 159, 203
Aitoff, Irene, 194
Albeniz, I. M. F., 66
Alda, Frances, 186
Allin, Norman, 154, 166, 198
Aimers, Hermann, 11,15
Alwin, Karl, 191
Amarylli, 33
Am Meer, 139
Anakreons Grab, 199, 217
Anders, P., 186
Anderson, Marian, 107, 146, 158, 166,
171, 186
An die feme Geliebte, 5
An die Musik, 204
Andresen, Ivar, 146
Angeles, Victoria de los, 32, 60-2, 86, 88,
90, 171
Arne, Thomas, 78
Ashdown, Edwin, Ltd., 181, 198
Atlas, Der, 134
At the Ball, 192
Augener Ltd., 7, 10, 37, 107, no, 116
Auf dem Schiffe, 16
Auf einer Wander ung, 204, 217
Auf Flugeln des Gesanges, 1 1 1
Auftrdge, 187
Bach, Johannes Sebastian, 106
Badia, C., 90
Baillie, Isobel, 123, 159
Baker, George, 122
Balakirev, Mili, 91
Balogh, Erno, 19, 203
Barrientos, Maria, 61
Baumgartner, Paul, 70, 159
Bax, Sir Arnold, i , 85
Baudelaire, Charles, 63, 75
Bedford, Agnes, 221
Beecham, Sir Thomas, Bart., 33, 57
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 5, 6, 8, 9, 33,
75
Bei der Wiege, 1 1 1
Benedeit die Sel'ge Mutter ', 217
Bernac, Pierre, 48, 52, 66, 67, 70, 77,
129, 130
Bettendorf, Emmy, 32, 171, 186
Bibb, Frank, 146
Bispham, David, 154
Bjorling,Jussi, 186
Blake, William, 120
Blancard, j., 74
Blow, Blow, thou winter wind, 120
Blue Danube, The, 1 9 1
Bohnen, Michael, 154
Bonneau, Jacqueline, 62, 74, 146, 154
Boosey & Hawkes, Ltd., 81, 85, 100, 1 13,
122, 191, 226
Booth, Webster, 186
Borgioli, Dino, 186
Bori, Lucrezia, 90
Boris Godounoff, 114
Bos, Conrad van, 203, 211, 221
Bourdin, Roger, 52, 77, 104
Bourget, Paul, 45
Boyce, Bruce, 219
Brahms, Johannes, 11-20, 22-5, 31, 32,
38,89, 114
Brannigan, Owen, 224, 226
Branzell, Karin, 166
British & Continental Music Agencies
Ltd., 126
Brosa, Antonio, 186
Brownlee, John, 1 10
Brunskill, Muriel, 154
Butterworth, George, 33-5, 71
By the Sea, 139
Caccini, 33
Campoli, Alfredo, 186
Campos, S. del, 62
Capell, Richard, 166
Carrera, de San Jer6nimo, Editors, 90
Caruso, Enrico, 134
Casals, Pablo, 61, 86, 106
Cassado, Caspar, 86
Casse Noisette, 1 92
Chaliapin, Feodor, 114, 146, 165, 166
Chanson d Boire, 127
Chappell & Co., Ltd., 119, 194
Chester, J. & W. Ltd., 4, 6 1
Chopin, Frederic, 24
Clair de lune, 49, 7 1
Claudius, 163
Cloches, Les, 45
Clutsam, G. H., 192
Coates, John, i, 16,99, !I 7
227
228
SINGER AND ACCOMPANIST
Colonnc Concerts, 91
Come away, Come away. Death, 78
Cooper, Martin, 120
Coppola, Pierot, 104
Cradle Song, 1 1 1
Croiza, Claire, 48, 70
Cue nod, H., 74
Culp, Julia, 15, 167, 171
Czernik, William, 1 59
D'Alvarez, Marguerite, 86
Danco, Suzanne, 19, 66, 159, 203
D'Annejouant de Vespinette, 131
Darck, P., 74
Davries, David, 70
Davvson, Peter; 154
Debussy, Claude, 38, 40-3, 45-7, 49, 51,
5 2 75* 9'> IOI I0 3
Decroix-Savoie, Mme, 7
De Falla, Manuel, 58, 60, 61, 86
Del Campo, S., 90
De Lisle, Leconte, 75, 77
Delius, Frederick, 33, 53, 56, 57
Demuth, Leopold, 15
Dermota, Anton, 171, 1 86
Dcrmota, Hilda, 1 7 1
Der skreg en Fuhl, 92
Desmond, Astra, 89, 91, 92, 94
Dickson, D., 126
Die ihr schwebet um diese Palmen, 38
Diemen, Ursula van, 194
Domgraf-Fassbaender, Willy, 186
Don Giovanni, 213
Don Quichotte d Dulcinie, 127
Doppelganger, Der, 139, 160, 166
Dougherty, C., 154
Doyen, J., 48
Dream Valley, 120
Dresden, A., 90
Dubuis, M., 52
Duhan, Hans, 138, 146, 154
Duparc, Henri, 63-5, 67
Durand, Messrs. A. & Son, 48, 52
Dux, C .aire, 1 86
Easton, Florence, 171
Ebert, Harry, 186
Eddy, Nelson, 116
Ehre GotUs aus der Natur, Die, 5, 14
El Mojo discrete, 86
El Pano Moruno, 58, 86
Elwes, Gervase, 122
En Sourdine, 38
Erb, Karl, 171, 221
Er ist's, 187
Erlkb'nig, 114, 147, 165
Eschig, Messrs. Max, 61
Ethiopia saluting the colours, 222
Evans, Nancy, 62
Evening Prayer, The, 1 14
Fairy Lough, The, 1 78
Fantoches, 49
Farrar, Geraldine, 171
Faur6, Gabriel, 38, 40, 42, 43, 49, 66,
7*-3> 75-7, ioi> 104
Faure, Maurice, 74
Favaretto, G., 15, 146
Feldeinsamkeit, 1 1
Ferrier, Kathleen, 24, 154, 178
Fink, E., 167
Finzi, Gerald, 78, 82, 83, 85
Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich, 150, 154
Flagstad, Kirsten, 19, 158
Fletcher, John, 38, 95, 96
Forelle, Die, 155
Forge, Frank La, 107, 154
Foss, Hubert, 22
Four Serious Songs, 15
Friedlander, Max, 19, 23
Frijsh, Povla, 194
Fruhlingslied, 1 1 1
Fruhlingstrost, 16
Fuchs, Marta, 154
Gadski, Johanna, 154, 171
Gallon, Noel, 162
Gange, Fraser, no
Gang zum Liebchen, Der, 16
Gellhorn, H., 126, 194
Gerhardt, Elena, 13, 15, 16, 23, 32, 80,
154, 158, 160, 171, 177,186,211,221
Giannini, Dusolina, 32
Gimenez, A., 90
Ginster, Ria, 159, 216
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 5, 8, 147,
159, 160, 199, 217
Go, Lovely Rose, 120
Graef, V,, 15
Granados, Enrique, 86, 87
Green, 101
Grieg, Edvard, 91-3
Gritton, Eric, 198
Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, 160, 166
Gurney, Ivor, 38, 95, 96, 98, 129
Gyr, S., 52, 146, 154, 167
Hadour, Yvon le Marc, 130
Haeusslein, H., 138, 146
INDEX
229
Hahn, Reynaldo, 49, 101, 102, 104, 120
Hamcl, M., 104
Hamcllc, Messrs. J. & Co., 44, 74, 77
Hammes, Karl, igi
Hammond, Joan, 61
Handel, George Frederick, 33
Hardy, Thomas, 83
Harrell, Mack, 166
Harvey, Frederick, 1 1 o
Haydn, Franz Josef, 75, 106-8
Hegner, Paula, 158
Heine, Heinrich, 134, 139, 187
Hempel, Frieda, 214
Henderson, Roy, 37, 109, no, 178, 181,
198
Henley, W. E., 53
Herbert, R., 7, 10
Her Picture , 1 39
Herrick, Robert, 120
Heugel & Co., Messrs., 104
Hexenlied, in
Heyse, Paul, 212
Hinrichsen Edition Ltd., 94, 203, 211,
216, 220
Hodges, L,, 171
Hoffman, Katherine, 154
Holletschck, F., 203, 211
Holmes, Sir Charles, 49
Horowitz, Vladimir, 214
Hotter, Hans, 15, 146, 150, 160, 162
Housman, A. E., 33
Houston, M., 107
Hudez, Karl, 159
Hughes, W., 211
Hiisch, Gerhard, 15, 146, 154
Hutt, Robert, 186
Ich hab* in Penna eintn Liebsten wohnen, 212,
217
Ihr Bild, 139, 160
In Questa Tomb a Oscura, 5
Ireland, John, 108
Irwin, Robert, 83, no
Ivan the Terrible, 114
Jadlowker, Herman, 32, 186
Janssen, Herbert, 145, 146, 203
Jeg elsker Dig, 92
Jensen, Folmer, 203
Jeritza, Maria, 154
Jerusalem, 178
Jobert, Messrs. J,, 44, 130
Josef, lieber Josef mein, 38
Junge Nonne, Die, 114, 1 38
Kahn, Erich Itor, 126
Kahn, Percy, 23, 171
Kalmus, Dr. Alfred A., 186
Kiddle, Frederick, 122
Kipnis, Alexander, 15, 16, 19, 23, 32,
146, 154, 1 66
Klose, Margarete, 32, 167
JKohlerweib ist trunken, Das, 1 14
Koshetz, Nina, 194
Krag, Vilhelm, 91
Kreisler, Fritz, 186
Kurcnko, M., 194
Labbette, Dora, 57
Lawrence, Marjorie, 126
Lehman, Lilli, 154
Lehmann. Lotte, 15, 16, 19, 23, 32, 146,
154, 166, 171, 186, 203
Leider, Frida, 154
Leiter, Ferdinand, 2 1 1
Lemnitz, Tiana, 32
Leporello, 213
Lestang, Mme de, 133
Lichtegg, M., 138, 146
Lindemann, Fritz, 15
L' Invitation au Voyage, 63
Lloyd, David, 198
Lockwood, E. M., 114
Lodges, L., 90
Loewe, Karl, 1 1 1
Lohmann, P., 146, 167
Loveliest of Trees, 33, 71
Lover's Garland, A, 178
Lush, Ernest, 15, 146, 186
Lydia, 75
MacArthur, Edwin, 19, 158
Machado, R., 62
Mackay, John Henry, 182
Macleod, Fiona, i
Mailied, 5
Mandoline, 49
Marchesi, Blanche, 221
Marot, Clement, 131
Marshall, Frank, 61, 90
Maryska, Nan, 186
Maseaeld, John, 108
Maynor, Dorothy, 70
McCormack, John, i, 2, 4, 15, 178, 186,
198, 203
Measure for Afeasure, 117
Meedintiano, Mme, 48
MeeresStUlt, 160
Mfine Liebe ist grim, 16
230
SINGER AND ACCOMPANIST
Melba, Nellie, 44, 52
Mendelssohn, Felix, 38, in, 175
Mcnges, Isolde, 186
Midsummer Night's Dream, 1 1 1
Mitrani, E., 107
Mollet, P., 74
Moore, Gerald, 4, 15, 23, 32, 37, 44, 62,
74, 77, 90, 94, 104, 107, 1 10, 133,
146, 154, 159, 162, 171, 186, 191,
194, 198, 221, 226
Moore, Thomas, 172, 175
Morales, M. de los A., 90
Morand, Paul, 127, 129
Morgen, 182
Morike, Eduard, 204, 2 1 7
Mosen, 168
Moussorgsky, Modest, 114-16
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 61
Muller, Hans Udo, 15
Muller, Maria, 15
Mullings, Frank, 122
Muntenau, P., 15
Muratore, Lucien, 23
My dearest, my fairest, 12 1
Mysz-Gmeiner, Lula, 154, 158, 166, 171,
194
Nacht und Trdume, 63, 65
Nash, Meddle, 195
Nespoulous, Marthe, 70, 74
Neue Lube, 1 1 1
New Love, 1 1 1
Newman, Ernest, 80, 204
Newmarch, Rosa, 123
Newmark, J., 62
Newton, Ivor, 15, 74, no, 126, 154, 181,
1 86
Nielsen, Flora, 161
Nightingale has a lyre of gold, The, 53
Nikisch, Artur, 177
Nordburg, Herman von, 146
Nordica, Lilian, 52
Norna, Eid, 74
Novello & Co., Ltd., 119
Now sleeps the crimson petal, 1 20
Nun wandre Maria, 2 1 7
Nussbaum, Der, 168
Offrande, 101
komme holde Sommernacht, 16
Oldham, Derek, 122
O liebliche Wangen, 16
Olszewska, Maria, 32, 166
Ombra maifu, 33
Mistress mine, 82
Onegin, Sigfrid, 32, 154
On Wings of Song, 1 1 1
Oxford University Press, 57, 100
PanzeYa-Baillot, Mme, 70, 74, 77
Panze>a, Charles, 66, 70, 74, 77, 138,
146, 154, 158, 171
Parry, C. Hubert, 117, 178
Patzak, Julius, 19
Periquet, E., 86
Peschko, Sebastian, 32, 138, 159, 203
Peters Edition, 19, 23, 32, 94, 138, 146,
154, 158, 162, 166, 171, 174, 177,
203, 211, 2l6, 220
Petna, I., 194
Pibroch, The, 178
Planel,Jean, 104
Plunket-Greene, Harry, 173, 178, 180
Poell, A., 15, 203, 211
Pone, Lily, 52, 70
Poulenc, Francis, 70, 77, 130
Predit, Mascia, 192, 194
Purcell, Henry, 121
Quilter, Roger, 120
Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 123-26
Radford, Robert, 154
Raphael, Mark, 66, 221
Raucheisen, Michael, 146, 154, 171, 186,
216
Rautawaara, Aullikki, 10, 166
Raveau, Alice, 74
Ravel, Maurice, 75, 127, 129-32
Record Guide, The, 86
Reeves, George, 23, 203, 221
Rehkemper, Heinrich, 146, 154
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai, 91
Robado, T., 90
Robertson, Alec, 178, 192, 197
Robertson, Stuart, no, 198, 226
Robeson, Paul, 1 10
Rogers, E., 107
Rokyta, Erika, 152
Romero, A., 90
Rosing, Vladimir, 126, 194
Rossetti, D. G., 195
Rossi-Lemcni, Nicolai, 146
Rothmuller, Marko, 146, 154
Rouart-Lerolle & Co,, Editions, 70
Rousseliere, Charles, 77
Rubens, Paul, 49
Rupp, Franz, 15, 19, 107, 138, 146, 166,
171, 186
INDEX
231
Sack, Erna, 159, 171
Sackville-Wcst, Edward, 86
Sandoz, P., 70
Sari, Ada, 126
Scarlatti, Alcssandro, 61, 66
Schick, George, 1 1 3
Schiotz, Aksel, 145
Schlechtes Wetter, 187
Schlusnus, Heinrich, 15, 32, 138, 146,
*54 I 59> 186, 203
Schmitt- Walter, Karl, 15, 211
Schnabel, Artur, 146, 154
Schnabel, Therese, 146, 154
Schneider, Edwin, 15, 186, 203
Schoeffler, Paul, 15, 146
Schone, Lotte, 158
Schott & Co., Ltd., 133
Schubart, 155
Schubert, Franz, 5, 63, 64, 66, 75, 86,
89, in, 134-6, 138-45, 147, 149-52,
154-7, 160, 162, 163, 166, 195, 199,
204
Schumann, Clara, 19
Schumann, Elisabeth, 8, 10, 23, 107, 1 1 1,
H3> *59> i7i> 186, 191, 203, 221
Schumann, Felix, 16, 19
Schumann-Heink, Ernestine, 154, 159,
1 66, 167
Schumann, Robert, 19, 38, 75, 89, in,
168, 170, 172-5, 177, 187
Schwanengesang, 139
Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth, 10, 159, 171,
187, 191, 213
Sea Fever, 108
Seefried, Irmgard, 114, 158, 171
Seidler-Winkler, Bruno, 32, 171, 191,
221
Sembrich, Marcella, 171
Serena, Clara, 198
Shadow Double, The, 1 39
Shakespeare, William, 78, 82, 83, 105,
1 17, 120, 121
Shaw, George Bernard, 33
Shawe-Taylor, Desmond, 86
She never told her love, 1 05
Sherman, General, 222
Silent Noon, 1 95
Simrock, Messrs. N., 15
Singher, Martial, 70, 130
Sleep, 38, 95, 129
Slezak, Leo, 15, 138, 171, 186
Slobotskaya, Oda, 114
SobinofT, Leonid, 194
Soft Day, 4, 178
Sohn der Jungfrau, 2 1 7
Solomon, 214
Solvejg's Song, 91
Songs of Childhood, 1 1 4
Sonnerstedt, Bernard, 154, 203
Soot, Fritz, 146, 159, 171
Soresia, A., 90
Souzay, Gerard, 52, 62, 66, 74, 130, 146,
*54> 194
So we'll go no more a-roving, 119, 121
Spani, Hina, 90
Spring Waters, 123
Stadt, Die, 138, 139
Standchen, 187, 195
Stanford, Charles V., 178
Stanton, Dorothy, 159
Steiner, Franz, 146
St. Leger, Frank, 126
Strauss, Richard, 182, 183, 186, 187, 189,
191
Suddaby, Elsie, 171
Suggia, Guilhermina, 86
Supervia, Conchita, 61, 90
Swan Song, 139
Swarthout, Gladys, 90
Take, o take those lips away, 1 1 7
Tarnowsky, S., 194
Tauber, Richard, 23, 146, 171, 186,
194
Tavares, S., 62
Teyte, Maggie, 44, 70, 74, 76, 77, 104,
133
Thebom, Blanche, 211
There screeched a bird, 91
Thibault, Conrad, no
Thil, Georges, 74
Thursfield, Anne, 74
Tioutchev, Feodor, 123
Titterton, Frank, 154
To Daisies, 120
Tod and das Afddchen, Das, 1 63
Tolstoi, A., 192
Torres, C., 62
Tourel, Jennie, 104, 126
Town, The, 139
Trianti, Alexandra, 5
Tschaikowsky, Peter Ilyitch, 190-3
Tubiana, Willy, 158
Ulanowskv, Paul, 15, 70, 146, 154, 186
Ullern, J., 104
Unfinished Symphony, 8
Universal Edition, 186
232
SINGER AND ACCOMPANIST
Vallin, Ninon, 52, 62, 70, 74, 90, 167, 171
Valst des Flews, 192
Vanni-Marcoux, 104, 158, 171
Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 195, 198
Vehanen, Kosti, 158, 166, 171
Velasquez, Conchita, 62
Venetian Song, 1 1 1
Vergebliches Stdndchen, 20
Verger, P., 74
Verlaine, Paul, 38, 49, 71, 75, 101
Volker, Franz, 138
Von ewiger Liebe, 24
Wagner, Richard, 209
Waldman, F., 7, 10, 162
Warlock, Peter, 38, 95, 96, 98, 100
Watteau, Antoine, 49
Weissenborn, 186
Wendon, Henry, 122
Wenn durch die Piazzetta, 38, in
Wentzig, 24
Wetzel, H., 167
White, Maude Vale>ie, 119, 121
White Peace, The, l
Whitman, Walt, 222, 223
Wiegenlied, 25
Williams, Harold, 195
Witches Song, 1 1 1
Wolf, Hugo, 5, 1 6, 38, 66, 76, 138, 187,
199, 200, 202, 204, 205, 209, 211-13,
2 i 7-20
Wolff, Ernst, 19
Wonne der Wehmuth, 5, 8
Wood, Charles, 222
Zelter, 199
%wei Venetianische Lieder, 1 72, 1 75
g, Der, 166
C/3
"^
122 527
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11