Richard Strauss: The Four Last Songs (Vier letzte Lieder)

Introduction

The Four Last Songs (German: Vier letzte Lieder), Op. posth., for soprano and orchestra are, with the exception of the song "Malven" (Mallows) composed later the same year, the final completed works of Richard Strauss, composed in 1948 when the composer was 84.

The songs are "Frühling" (Spring), "September", "Beim Schlafengehen" (When Falling Asleep) and "Im Abendrot" (At Sunset). The title Four Last Songs was provided posthumously by Strauss's friend Ernst Roth, who published the four songs as a single unit in 1950 after Strauss's death.

Strauss died in September 1949. The premiere was given at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 22 May 1950 by soprano Kirsten Flagstad and the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.

Background

Strauss had come across the poem Im Abendrot by Joseph von Eichendorff, which he felt had a special meaning for him. He set its text to music in May 1948. Strauss had also recently been given a copy of the complete poems of Hermann Hesse, and was strongly inspired by them. He set three of them – Frühling, September, and Beim Schlafengehen – for soprano and orchestra, and contemplated setting two more, Nacht and Hohe des Sommers, in the same manner. He also embarked on a choral setting of Hesse's Besinnung, but laid it aside after the projected fugue became "too complicated".

With the exception of the song "Malven" ("Mallows") composed later the same year, the songs are Strauss's final completed works.

In the 1954 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,^[3] the three Hesse songs were listed as a specific group, separate from "Im Abendrot" which had been composed two months prior to those three. The overall title Four Last Songs was provided by Strauss's friend Ernst Roth, the chief editor of Boosey & Hawkes, when he published all four songs as a single unit in 1950, and in the order that most performances now follow: "Frühling", "September", "Beim Schlafengehen", "Im Abendrot".

Roth's published sequence does not follow the order of composition for the individual songs ("Im Abendrot" May 6, 1948; "Frühling" July 20, 1948; "Beim Schlafengehen" August 4, 1948; "September" September 20, 1948), nor does it match the order of the pre-publication posthumous premiere by Kirsten Flagstad conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. Although most recordings adhere to the published order, the sequence premiered by Flagstad – "Beim Schlafengehen", "September", "Frühling", "Im Abendrot" – has occasionally been followed, including in Sena Jurinac's 1951 recording with the Stockholm Philharmonic conducted by Fritz Busch; Lisa Della Casa's 1953 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm; and Felicity Lott's 1986 recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Neeme Järvi.

The work has no opus number; it is considered posthumous as the work was published in 1950 after Strauss's death. It is listed as AV 150 in von Asow and Hermann's thematical index, and as TrV 196 in the index of Franz and Florian Trenner.

Subject matter

All of the songs but "Frühling" deal with death and all were written shortly before Strauss himself died. They are suffused with a sense of calm, acceptance, and completeness.

The settings are for a solo soprano voice given soaring melodies against a full orchestra, and all four songs have prominent horn parts. The combination of a beautiful vocal line with supportive horn accompaniment references Strauss's own life; his wife Pauline de Ahna was a famous soprano and his father Franz Strauss a professional horn player.

Towards the end of "Im Abendrot", after the soprano's intonation of "Ist dies etwa der Tod?" ("Is this perhaps death?"), Strauss musically quotes his own tone poem Death and Transfiguration, written 60 years earlier. As in that piece, the quoted seven-note phrase (known as the "transfiguration theme") has been seen as the fulfillment of the soul through death.

Instrumentation

The songs are scored for piccolo, 3 flutes (3rd doubling 2nd piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat and A, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F (also E-flat and D), 3 trumpets in C, E-flat and F, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, celesta, and strings.

Premiere and first recording

One of the last wishes of Richard Strauss was that Kirsten Flagstad should be the soprano to introduce the four songs, which he finished in 1948, the year before his death at 85. "I would like to make it possible," he wrote to her, "that [the songs] should be at your disposal for a world premiere in the course of a concert with a first-class conductor and orchestra."

The premiere was given posthumously at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 22 May 1950, sung by Flagstad, accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. The performance was made possible due to the magnanimous effort of the Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahudar. Though he could not be present, the music-loving maharaja put up a $4,800 guarantee for the performance, so that the Four Last Songs could be recorded for his large personal collection – then estimated at around 20,000 records – and the recording then shipped to him in Mysore.

The performance was recorded on acetate discs. They became badly worn before the first LP transfer, which was generally considered very poor. Subsequent restorations using modern digital technology were effected in 2007 by Roger Beardsley for Testament Records, and in 2014 by Andrew Rose for Pristine Audio.

Texts

Note: the texts for the first three songs, by Herman Hesse, are copyrighted until 2032, and therefore cannot be reproduced on Wikipedia.

4. "Im Abendrot"

("At sunset") (Text: Joseph von Eichendorff)

Wir sind durch Not und Freude gegangen Hand in Hand; vom Wandern ruhen wir beide nun überm stillen Land. Rings sich die Täler neigen, es dunkelt schon die Luft. Zwei Lerchen nur noch steigen nachträumend in den Duft. Tritt her und lass sie schwirren, bald ist es Schlafenszeit. Dass wir uns nicht verirren in dieser Einsamkeit. O weiter, stiller Friede! So tief im Abendrot. Wie sind wir wandermüde-- Ist dies etwa der Tod?

Through sorrow and joy we have gone hand in hand; from our wanderings, we will rest in this quiet land. Around us, the valleys bow, the air is now darkening. Only two larks soar upwards dreamily into the haze. Come close, and let them twitter, soon it will be time for sleep - so that we don't get lost in this solitude. O vast, tranquil peace, so deep in the sunset! How weary we are of wandering-- Is this perhaps death?

Lyrics

歌曲文本（德文原词连中文翻译）

一、春(Frühling)

In dämmrigen Grüften träumte ich lang von deinen Bäumen und blaue Lüften, Von deinem Duft und Vogelgesang. Nun liegst du erschlossen In Gleiß und Zier Von Licht übergossen Wie ein Wunder vor mir. Du kennest mich wieder, du lockest mich zart, es zittert durch all meine Glieder deine selige Gegenwart!

忧伤的山谷里， 长久以来，我梦见： 梦见你的树木与蓝天， 梦见你的香气和鸟语。 现在你来了： 穿戴华美 灿烂地闪耀 在我眼的你像个奇迹。 你还认得我， 温柔地拥抱我。 我四肢发抖— 全因你的辉煌！

（作于1948年7月20日）

二、九月(September)

Der Garten trauert, kühl sinkt in die Blumen der Regen. Der Sommer schauert still seinem Ende entgegen. Golden tropft Blatt um Blatt nieder vom hohen Akazienbaum. Sommer lächelt erstaunt und matt In den sterbenden Gartentraum. Lange noch bei den Rosen bleibt er stehn, sehnt sich nach Ruh. Langsam tut er die müdgeword'nen Augen zu.

花园披着丧服； 冷雨渗进花朵。 夏季在发抖， 静待她的大限。 金黄叶子一片一片 自高高的洋槐树飘落。 夏季笑了—惊讶、虚弱的笑— 垂死的夏季梦见花园，在笑。 她在玫瑰花旁逗留了 一会儿，想歇息歇息； 然后慢慢合上 累极的眼皮。

（作于1948年9月20日）

三、就寝的时候到了(Beim Schlafengehen)

Nun der Tag mich müd' gemacht, soll mein sehnliches Verlangen freundlich die gestirnte Nacht wie ein müdes Kind empfangen. Hände, laßt von allem Tun, Stirn, vergiß du alles Denken, alle meine Sinne nun Wollen sich in Schlummer senken. Und die Seele unbewacht, Will in freien Flügen schweben, Um im Zauberkreis der Nacht tief und tausendfach zu leben.

现在我厌倦了白天； 我所有热切的渴望 当愉快地屈服于星夜之下， 像个昏昏欲睡的孩童。 双手，放下所有工作； 额头，忘掉所有想法； 我现在 只望沉沉睡去。 那被释放的灵魂 想在天上自在飞翔， 飞进夜的魔球， 留在里面直到永远。

（作于1948年8月4日）

四、日暮之时(Im Abendrot)

Wir sind durch Not und Freude gegangen Hand in Hand; Vom Wandern ruhn wir nun überm stillen Land. Rings, sich die Täler neigen. Es dunkelt schon die Luft, zwei Lerchen nur noch steigen nachträumend in den Duft. Tritt her und laß sie schwirren, bald ist es Schlafenszeit, daß wir uns nicht verirren In dieser Einsamkeit. O weiter, stiller Friede! So tief im Abendrot. Wie sind wir wandermüde Ist dies etwa der Tod?

从前，我们甘愿 牵手同行，齐感欢欣； 现在让我们歇息吧— 因为我们一直在寂静之境徘徊。 山谷越靠越近； 天色已渐沉； 只剩一对翱翔的百灵鸟， 黄昏时分，沉醉于梦中。 靠过来呀，让百灵鸟到处飞； 就寝的时候快到了； 别让我们迷路 迷失在这荒凉之地。 广阔宁静的和平啊！ 日暮之时，多深刻的和平。 我们徘徘徊徊的，多累— 可能这就是死亡？

（作于1948年5月6日）