Songs
Andres Maienlied 'Hexenlied'
(1828)
Op. 8 no.8
Andres Maienlied 'Hexenlied'
De Schwalbe fliegt,Der Früling siegt,Und spendet uns Blumen zum Kranze!Bald huschen wirLies’ aus der Tür,Und fliegen zum prächtigen Tanze!Ein schwarzer Bock,Ein Besenstock,Die Ofengabel, der Wocken,Reißt uns geschwind,Wie Blitz und Wind,Durch sausende Lüfte zum Brocken!Um BeelzebubTanzt unser Trupp,Und küßt ihm die kralligen Hände!Ein GeisterschwarmFaßt uns beim Arm,Und schwinget im Tanzen die Brände!Und BeelzebubVerheißt dem TruppDer Tanzenden Gaben auf Gaben:Sie sollen schönIn Seide gehnUnd Töpfe voll Goldes sich graben!Ein Feuerdrach’Umflieget das DachUnd bringet uns Butter und Eier:Die Nachbarn dann sehnDie Funken wehn,Und schlagen ein Kreuz vor dem Feuer.Die Schwalbe fliegtDer Frühling siegt,Die Blumen erblühen zum Kranze.Bald huschen wirLeis’ aus der Tur, Juchheisa! zum prächtigen Tanze!
Another kind of May song 'Witches' Song'
Swallows are flying,Spring’s triumphant,Dispensing flowers for wreaths!Soon we’ll flitQuietly outside,And fly to the splendid dance!A black goat,A broomstick,The furnace rake, the distaffWhisk us on our way,Like lightning and wind,Through whistling gales to the Brocken!Our coven dances Round BeelzebubAnd kisses his claw-like hands!A ghostly throngSeizes our arms,Waving firebrands as they dance!And BeelzebubPledges the throngOf dancers gift after gift:They shall be dressedIn beautiful silkAnd dig themselves pots full of gold!A fiery dragonFlies round the roofAnd brings us butter and eggs:The neighbours catch sightOf the flying sparks,And cross themselves for fear of the fire.Swallows are flying,Spring’s triumphant,Flowers are blooming for wreaths.Soon we’ll flitQuietly outside – Tally-ho to the splendid dance!
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
Composer
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847), brother of Fanny Mendelssohn and grandson of Haskalah and Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music and chamber music.
Information from Wikipedia. Click here for more information.
See Full Entry
Poet
Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty, was German poet who is considered the most gifted lyric poet of the Göttinger Hain, a group of young poets who saw themselves as heirs of the great lyric poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and whose work was characterized by love of nature and the expression of national feeling.
He was influenced by Johann Uz and Friedrich Klopstock, but his love for the Volkslied and his delight in nature preserved him from the artificiality of Uz and the unworldliness of Klopstock. A strain of melancholy runs through all his lyrics. His ballads are the pioneers of the rich ballad literature on English models, which sprang up in Germany over the next few years.
To many, the opening lines of Hölty's poem Der alte Landmann an seinen Sohn ("he Old Farmer to His Son) are the very embodiment of all Prussian virtues. This poem was set to music by Mozart to a melody adapted from the aria Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from his 1791 opera The Magic Flute. It was played daily by the carillon of the Potsdam Garrison Church where Frederick the Great was initially buried.
Many of Hölty's poems were set to music by composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Several streets and schools in Germany are named after him, including the Hölty-Gymnasium in Wunstorf near Hanover; in 2008, the biennial poetry prize Hölty-Preis was created in his name.
Among the many poems set by Schubert are An den Mond (D193 and D468), An die Nachtigall (D196), Blumenlied (D431), Frühlingslied (D243 and D398), Klage (D436), Mailied (D129, D199 and D202), Minnelied (D429), Die Nonne (D208), Seligkeit (D433), Totengräberlied (D38 and D44) and Winterlied (D401).
Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, click here.
See Full Entry
Sorry, no further description available.
Previously performed at:
- 16 Oct 2019: 29. Der Doppelgänger: Maria Forsström & Matti Hirvonen
-
- 28 Oct 2017: Mastercourse Concert
-
- 23 Oct 2017: Mastercourse Day One
-
- 23 Oct 2017: Mastercourse Day One
-
- 23 Oct 2016: Mastercourse 2016 (for T&Ts)
-
- 21 Oct 2016: A Woman's Love & Life: Juliane Banse & Marcelo Amaral
-
Andres Maienlied 'Hexenlied'
Another kind of May song 'Witches' Song'
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
Composer
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847), brother of Fanny Mendelssohn and grandson of Haskalah and Enlightenment philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music and chamber music.
Information from Wikipedia. Click here for more information.
See Full Entry
Poet
Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty, was German poet who is considered the most gifted lyric poet of the Göttinger Hain, a group of young poets who saw themselves as heirs of the great lyric poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and whose work was characterized by love of nature and the expression of national feeling.
He was influenced by Johann Uz and Friedrich Klopstock, but his love for the Volkslied and his delight in nature preserved him from the artificiality of Uz and the unworldliness of Klopstock. A strain of melancholy runs through all his lyrics. His ballads are the pioneers of the rich ballad literature on English models, which sprang up in Germany over the next few years.
To many, the opening lines of Hölty's poem Der alte Landmann an seinen Sohn ("he Old Farmer to His Son) are the very embodiment of all Prussian virtues. This poem was set to music by Mozart to a melody adapted from the aria Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from his 1791 opera The Magic Flute. It was played daily by the carillon of the Potsdam Garrison Church where Frederick the Great was initially buried.
Many of Hölty's poems were set to music by composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Several streets and schools in Germany are named after him, including the Hölty-Gymnasium in Wunstorf near Hanover; in 2008, the biennial poetry prize Hölty-Preis was created in his name.
Among the many poems set by Schubert are An den Mond (D193 and D468), An die Nachtigall (D196), Blumenlied (D431), Frühlingslied (D243 and D398), Klage (D436), Mailied (D129, D199 and D202), Minnelied (D429), Die Nonne (D208), Seligkeit (D433), Totengräberlied (D38 and D44) and Winterlied (D401).
Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, click here.
See Full Entry
Sorry, no further description available.
Previously performed at:
- 16 Oct 2019: 29. Der Doppelgänger: Maria Forsström & Matti Hirvonen
- 28 Oct 2017: Mastercourse Concert
- 23 Oct 2017: Mastercourse Day One
- 23 Oct 2017: Mastercourse Day One
- 23 Oct 2016: Mastercourse 2016 (for T&Ts)
- 21 Oct 2016: A Woman's Love & Life: Juliane Banse & Marcelo Amaral