Antonín Dvorák:
Biblical Songs op. 99
Hugo Wolf:
Five songs from the „Spanisches Liederbuch“ and from
„Vier geistliche Gesänge“
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy:
Two Sacred Songs op. 112
Max Reger:
“Ich sehe dich in tausend Bildern” op. 105/2
Two Christmas Songs
Susanne Bernhard, soprano
Maria Graf, harp
Harald Feller, organ
Religious song is an attractive type of music „between
the genres“, as it were. During the course of the 19th
century, the sacred song continued to find entrance
into the repertoire performed in the concert halls,
until Max Reger’s songs for organ brought religious
song back into the church. We know of several sacred
songs with piano score by Mendelssohn which he also
expressly declared suitable for performance with an
organ. Harald Feller arranged songs by other composers
from the Romantic era in a version for voice with
organ and harp, a combination that contributes to
vividly expressing both the orchestral and the chamber
musical element.
Soprano Susanne Bernhard became a member of
the ensemble at the opera hall in Kiel at the age of
23. In 2008, she made her debut in the role of Violeta
at the Oper Frankfurt. In her work, she concentrates
on concert and oratorio song and has already performed
at many internationally renowned concert
halls (Berliner Philharmonie, WDR, Saarländischer
Rundfunk, and Bayerischer Rundfunk).
Maria Graf used to be the solo harpist in the
philharmonic orchestras of Munich and Berlin and
is regarded as one of the most famous soloists on her
instrument.
Sacred Songs od the Romantic
Period
The sacred song, or hymn, was a traditional
art form in the church into the
baroque era. During the 19th century, it underwent
a synthesis with the Lied, the genre
which reached full flower during the romantic
age. Ludwig van Beethoven’s six songs on
texts by Gellert are an early example of this
development. This meant that the concert
hall increasingly began to replace the sacred
sphere – even becoming a sort of temple itself.
At the end of the 19th century, it was Max
Reger who tried to bring the hymn back into
the church with his ‘orgellied’, or organ-hymn.
In regard to his own works in this genre, he
said to his publisher, “I wrote the sacred songs
because there is not exactly a great selection of
‘solo songs’ for use in church concerts.” Reger
was also a prominent arranger of a number
of sacred songs by Hugo Wolf, whom he
greatly admired. He related: “… I must also
tell you that I have received a commission to
arrange the sacred songs from Hugo Wolf ’s Spanisches
Liederbuch for organ. Splendid!” One
of Reger’s early arrangements of a work by
Wolf, completed at the beginning of nearly
two decades of constant, intense study of the
latter’s works, was an organ setting of the
piano accompaniment of Wolf ’s four sacred
songs after poems by Eduard Mörike.
This recording includes three original
organ-hymns by Mendelssohn and Reger.
Although both of Mendelssohn’s songs are
actually written for piano, Mendelssohn
gives the performer the option of playing the
accompaniment on either piano or organ. In
the latter case, the organ’s registration is up
to the performer. The instrumental parts of
the other songs are all arrangements. Four
of these (H. Wolf ) are in the quasi-historical
arrangement by Reger. Most of the thirteen
songs on this recording (Dvor?ák, Wolf,
Reger) have new arrangements for organ and
harp that I have created from the piano parts.
In the Biblische Lieder, I have also based my
arrangement on Dvor?ák’s orchestral work.
These instrumental versions highlight
both the orchestral aspects of some songs
as well as their intimate chamber-musical
moments even more vividly. The harp and
the organ complement each other ideally,
because the static quality of the organ is enlivened
through the harp’s dynamic possibilities
and the rapidly fading sound of the harp
is supported by the organ.
The newly built Max Reger Commemorative
Organ in Weiden, Germany (built by
Weimbs) combines the typical sound of the
late romantic German era with the technical
possibilities of modern organ-building technology.
It has characteristically soft colors
that predestine it for realizing the multifaceted
organ part.
Antonin Dvor?ák is one of the most important
representatives of an independent style
of Czech music, which – without directly
relying on folk music or folk dance – reflects
the idioms of Slavic and Czech folklore.
The composer’s inexhaustible imagination,
rooted in the traditions of his native
land, imparts a melodiousness to his pieces
to which form is generally subordinate. This
inventiveness is also what gives Dvor?ák’s music
its immediacy and lasting popularity.
Brahms said about him: “That guy has
more ideas than the rest of us combined. Anyone
else could make main themes from Dvor?ák’s
trash.” The melancholic folksong comes
through in the intimate lyricism of his slow
movements just as does an unadulterated and
– in the best sense of the word – naïve piety.
Dvor?ák first studied sacred music at that
age’s renowned school of organ in the Prague
conservatory. He subsequently joined the
band of a dance composer, was a violist at
the Czech Opera and was finally appointed
as organist at St. Adalbert in Prague. All of
these activities would prepare the ground for
his many-sided compositional works. After
first successes in his homeland, Dvor?ák received
international recognition in 1876 with
his Stabat mater.
Well into his late period, Dvor?ák’s deeply
religious attitude led him to add large sacred
works to his primarily symphonic oeuvre.
In 1894, during his travels in America,
he wrote ten songs for solo voice and piano,
the Biblische Lieder, which are based on texts
from the book of Psalms. They are the apex
of the composer’s composition in this genre;
their melodic abundance and great expressiveness
make them among the most popular
songs of this kind. They have an enormous
spectrum of expression despite their small
form, manifesting a quiet, intimate trust in
God (Nos. 4, 9), dramatic outbreaks of despair
(Nos. 3, 8) or joyous songs of praise
(Nos. 5, 10), for example.
The songs of Hugo Wolf are a late culmination
of this rich genre, which is so important
for the 19th century. Wolf ’s enthusiasm for
both the musical-dramatic works of Richard
Wagner, the influence of which is unmistakable,
as well as the poetry of Robert Schumann,
who – as a literary song composer was
particularly dear to Wolf ’s heart – are highly
evident in his compositional style.
Wolf stands at the end of developments
in the Lied. The exceptionally romantic refinement
of his works, with their harmonic
color and frequently hovering melodies, approaches
impressionism. His dynamic spectrum
ranges from the tenderest lyricism all
the way to orchestral settings. Wolf ’s expressive
harmonies also reflect developments in
the 19th century, which were characterized
by a continual increase of chromaticism, alteration,
enharmonics, modulation and unresolved
dissonances. The vocal line unfolds
more and more from the rhythm of the text.
It thus becomes increasingly rhythmically
differentiated, tending more to a declamatory,
recitative style.
Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder and Spanisches Liederbuch
were composed in 1889–90. The composer
succeeds in creating perfect musical
poetry for the Mörike texts. His “Enchanting
Good Friday” unfolds with birdsong reminiscent
of Wagner’s Parsifal (“Am Charfreitag”).
A floating vocal line above an ascending,
chorale-like movement intimately and tenderly
depicts the baby Jesus (“Schlafendes
Jesuskind”). An inspiring organ melody at the
upper reaches of the instrument expresses the
polarity between joy and sorrow (“Gebet”).
Wolf was inspired to compose the Spanisches
Liederbuch after reading poems by
Geibel and Heyse, who had freely adapted
Spanish folksongs and classical Italian poetry.
The ten sacred songs are at the beginning
of the songbook. They musically express images
and signs of Spanish piety from personal
experience and religious sensitivity. These
include scenes and persons from the Bible,
such as Maria trying to protect her child
from the ruthless cold of the world (No. 4)
or confessions and prayers uttered by sinful
man seeking his redemption in God (No. 7).
The musical settings are full of lyrical color
and dramatic intensity.
The Zwei geistlichen Lieder by Felix Mendelssohn
Bartholdy are psalm settings that
were originally foreseen as arias in the composer’s
oratorio Paulus. When the oratorio
was about to go to print, Mendelssohn took
the two pieces out for dramaturgical reasons.
No. 2, “Der du die Menschen läßest sterben”
(Psalm 90) was originally an arioso that followed
the chorale “Dir Herr, Dir will ich
mich ergeben”, sung after Stephanus’ funeral.
In verse 5 of this psalm (“Du läßest sie ziehn
wie einen Strom”), parts of the chorale melody
can be recognized, thus linking the arioso
to the chorale. The first song, “Doch der
Herr, er leitet die Irrenden recht” (Psalm 25,8)
was an arioso sung by the alto after recitative
No. 13, shortly before Saul went blind on his
way to Damascus. Mendelssohn replaces this
arioso with the setting of “Doch der Herr
vergisst die Seinen nicht”. Four years after
the premiere of Paulus in 1836, Mendelssohn
played Ignaz Moscheles all of the movements
he had rejected. The latter remarked, “… they
may well be more suited as individual works
in the concert hall than they would be in the
oratorio.” Both of the arias were published
by Simrock much later under the title Zwei
geistliche Lieder for soprano and piano (or
organ), op. 112.
Max Reger’s ample array of songs has still
not prevailed to the present day, possibly due
to the harmonically rich accompaniments to
which the melodic lines are frequently subordinate.
But some of these sacred songs are
the exception and have achieved popularity.
The setting of the Novalis text “Ich sehe dich
in tausend Bildern” has an enchanting vocal
line more reminiscent of declamation than
song. It is heard over a hovering, harmonically
colorful and bright organ accompaniment.
The “Mariä Wiegenlied” from the Schlichte
Weisen leans heavily on the Christmas song
“Resonet in laudibus” (also known as “Singen
wir mit Fröhlichkeit” or “Josef, lieber Josef
mein”. The composer achieves such a great
degree of intimacy with his spare but surprising
harmonic turns of phrase and subtle fortspinning
of the Christmas melody that this
song has become one of his most popular
works.
The Christmas song also holds a particular
status. With a dramaticism that sometimes
sounds like Richard Wagner, Reger
paints a very Christmassy mood. This leads
three times to the angels’ song. The voice intones
the line “Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe” at
the same time as the organ cites the chorale
“Vom Himmel hoch”. At first, the chorale resounds
twice at the top of the instrument’s
range – as though soaring through the heavens
above the vocal line. The last time, after
the words “nun sind alle Menschen gleich”, it
makes a forte descent, allowing the vocal line
to joyfully ascend above it.
Harald Feller