Six Chansons by Paul Hindemith
In the undogmatic spirit with which I've resolved to treat these Monday projects, I offer you today not a single Italian madrigal, but rather six linked chansons. Both the poetry and the music were written by Germans living in the southern Swiss canton of Valais: Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) and Paul Hindemith (1895-1963).
Rilke moved to Switzerland after the First World War. He found a home in the Chateau de Muzot, near Sierre, where in very intense bursts of productivity he wrote two masterpieces: the 'Duino Elegies' and the 'Sonnets to Orpheus'. Less well-known are the some 400 French poems he wrote during this period, including 'Vergers' (Orchard),
a series of quatrains on themes of nature.
In 1938, Hindemith left Germany (in part because his wife was Jewish), and he too settled in the Valais for a time. He became friendly with a choir director named George Haenni. Haenni knew of Rilke's 'Vergers', and presented a copy of the collection to Hindemith in hopes that the latter would set some of the quatrains to music. Four days later, Hindemith sent the completed manuscript of the 'Six Chansons' to Haennl.
I sang some of the 'Six Chansons' when I was a student at SSU, and fell in love with their colorful harmonic language and their sensitive treatment of Rilke's delicate poems. As a young choral director, I conducted a number of the pieces (though never [yet] the entire set), and became especially attached to 'Un cygne', the second song of the set.
Much later, in a powerful scene in the film 'Awakenings', I discovered 'Der Panther', and this led me to many of Rilke's poems about animals and nature, including his other swan poem, 'Der Schwan'. This poem was really important to me after the passing of my mom in 2013, and it and Rilke's setting of 'Un cygne' are somehow bound up in my mind and soul.
I think you'll really like these songs. They are very approachable and not hard to sing. (If the French is a challenge, just sing on 'doo'!) Also fun to just listen. I'm attaching a score and a recording of the entire set. Here's a link to a different (also excellent) recording, set up as a playlist so it's easy to zero in upon any specific chanson. I'm also including a text sheet with nice translations by A. Poulin, Jr.
I think this music might complement your enjoyment of our strange but nice weather, and also might provide a little much-needed calm and optimism in the midst of the ups and downs of this turbulent month.
In the undogmatic spirit with which I've resolved to treat these Monday projects, I offer you today not a single Italian madrigal, but rather six linked chansons. Both the poetry and the music were written by Germans living in the southern Swiss canton of Valais: Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) and Paul Hindemith (1895-1963).
Rilke moved to Switzerland after the First World War. He found a home in the Chateau de Muzot, near Sierre, where in very intense bursts of productivity he wrote two masterpieces: the 'Duino Elegies' and the 'Sonnets to Orpheus'. Less well-known are the some 400 French poems he wrote during this period, including 'Vergers' (Orchard),
a series of quatrains on themes of nature.
In 1938, Hindemith left Germany (in part because his wife was Jewish), and he too settled in the Valais for a time. He became friendly with a choir director named George Haenni. Haenni knew of Rilke's 'Vergers', and presented a copy of the collection to Hindemith in hopes that the latter would set some of the quatrains to music. Four days later, Hindemith sent the completed manuscript of the 'Six Chansons' to Haennl.
I sang some of the 'Six Chansons' when I was a student at SSU, and fell in love with their colorful harmonic language and their sensitive treatment of Rilke's delicate poems. As a young choral director, I conducted a number of the pieces (though never [yet] the entire set), and became especially attached to 'Un cygne', the second song of the set.
Much later, in a powerful scene in the film 'Awakenings', I discovered 'Der Panther', and this led me to many of Rilke's poems about animals and nature, including his other swan poem, 'Der Schwan'. This poem was really important to me after the passing of my mom in 2013, and it and Rilke's setting of 'Un cygne' are somehow bound up in my mind and soul.
I think you'll really like these songs. They are very approachable and not hard to sing. (If the French is a challenge, just sing on 'doo'!) Also fun to just listen. I'm attaching a score and a recording of the entire set. Here's a link to a different (also excellent) recording, set up as a playlist so it's easy to zero in upon any specific chanson. I'm also including a text sheet with nice translations by A. Poulin, Jr.
I think this music might complement your enjoyment of our strange but nice weather, and also might provide a little much-needed calm and optimism in the midst of the ups and downs of this turbulent month.