Of the hundred or so songs Nikolai Medtner composed, a little more than half are shared between his two favourite poets: Goethe and Pushkin, with around thirty poems each.
As for Goethe, the composer set to music poems that are rarely heard in the repertoire, but fortunately he did not hesitate to return to poems that had already become well known among enthusiasts thanks to the songs of other composers. This allows us to enjoy this “new” perspective (both more recent and less common) on the two Wanderers Nachtlied, Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, Nähe des Geliebten, or the song I’m proposing for this week, Meeresstille.
In the poem, we are presented with a decidedly uncomfortable situation in the eighteenth century, when Goethe experienced it: the total absence of wind during a sea voyage. At first, everyone’s patience was tested, with the ship motionless in the middle of the sea; if it lasted too long, it became dangerous, as water and provisions were running low day by day.
Goethe describes absolute stillness and the sailor’s concern in the two stanzas of his poem; in his song, Medtner conveys above all, in my view, the concerning. He composed it between 1907 and 1908, when he was twenty seven or twenty eight, and published it as No. 7 of Opus 15, Zwölf Lieder von Goethe.
We will hear Meeresstille, together with five other songs by the Russian composer, on Monday the 17th at the recital by Erika Baikoff and Roman Borisov at the Schubertíada; the chance to hear such rarely performed pieces is one of the many reasons to be in Vilabertran that day. For now, let’s listen to the song performed by Robin Tritschler and Iain Burnside.
After the song, as always, you’ll find an overview of this recital and the next three. Shall we meet there?
Tiefe Stille herrscht im Wasser,
Ohne Regung ruht das Meer,
Und bekümmert sieht der Schiffer
Glatte Fläche rings umher.
Keine Luft von keiner Seite!
Todesstille fürchterlich!
In der ungeheuren Weite
Reget keine Welle sich.
La calma profonda regna a l'aigua,
la mar descansa immòbil,
i el mariner observa amoïnat
la plana superfície que l'envolta.
Cap brisa per enlloc!
L'espantosa calma de la mort!
En la vasta extensió
no belluga cap onada.
Monday 17 August: Erika Baikoff & Roman Borisov
From this concert we have already heard some of the songs from the three cycles that will be performed, and, in addition to the Medtner song I’m proposing this week, one of Rachmaninov’s:
Tuesday 18 August: Samuel Hasselhorn & Ammiel Bushakevitz
Within the Schubert 200 series, this year’s programme, Hoffnung, is dedicated to works by Franz Schubert composed in 1826. We’ve already listened to several of them.
Wednesday 19 August: Johannes Martin Kränzle & Hilko Dumno
We will have Mahler twice over (the Kindertotenlieder and a selection from Des Knaben Wunderhorn); also the Sechs Monologe aus “Jedermann” and a short selection of Schubert lieder, none of which, interestingly, we have listened to here.
Thursday 20 August: Andrè Schuen, Daniel Heide & Pere Arquillué
