In my other blog here I wrote a piece about Richard Strauss’s “Four Last Songs”. “Im Abendrot” is the last song in the series, and the last song Richard Strauss wrote before he died. It’s a meditation on death, and sunset with the image of two larks fluttering upwards, like to souls floating up to heaven.
The benchmark against which all recordings of these songs is measured is Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s 1966 recording with George Szell. It’s a classic. But there are other good versions – by Lisa della Casa and Gundula Janovitz, to name two. There is one other recording that does not suffer in comparison with Schwarzkopf’s. It is by Jessye Norman, with Kurt Masur.
In the first song, “Fruhling”, Norman’s voice seems large for the song and not quite gentle enough. But in “September” she draws into herself, in an interpretation of soft introspection. She sings from within the strings, as if from inside herself, retiring so gently at the end like a sigh. In the second “Beim Schlafengehen” there is a quite magical passage where, after the lovely violin interlude, she follows the line of the melody in almost imperceptible gradations, starting pianissimo then drawing her voice out into a crescendo, then retreating into head voice before building up the crescendo.
Her singing of the final “Im Abendrot” is achingly true to the music and the poetry. She captures perfectly the sense of sad regret of the first three verses. But when she sings the line ‘So tief im Abendrot” from the last verse the effect is magical. Her voice soars and swells heavenwards in a moment of pure ecstasy, and superb control. As if she is the angel waiting to welcome him at the gates of heaven. And in the fluttering upwards of the larks to heaven the song ends.
Here is a fine translation of the song by Ivan Grosz which he posted as a comment on my original post.
Twilight
We have gone through joy and sorrow
Walking hand in hand
Let’s rest from all the wanderings
Here, on this silent land
The valleys slip beneath us
The air is turning dark
Up into the balmy sky
Dreaming soar two larks
Come close to me and let them twirl
It’s almost time to sleep
Be careful not to lose our way
The solitude is deep
Oh broad and peaceful silence
Set in the evening’s dark red glow
Of wandering we are tired
May death be waiting for us now?
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