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Solch ein lauer weißer Tag - (2009)
Max Dauthendey
for mezzo soprano and piano
Solch ein lauer weißer Tag,
Mag die Hände gar nicht rühren,
Nur die Augen liegen wach.
Draußen welken gelb die Bäume,
In der stillen Esche nicken
Graue Blätter, altersschwach.
Graue Blätter, graue Träume.[ 2 pages, circa 2'10" ]
Max Dauthendey
Such a tepid, white day
Shall not even stir the hands,
Only the eyes lie awake.
Outside trees wither yellow,
in the silent ash-tree doze
gray leaves, old and infirm.
Gray leaves, gray dreams.
Maximilian Dauthendey (July 25, 1867 - August 29, 1918) was born in Würzburg, and became known as a German author and painter of the impressionistic period. His career began as a photographer in his father's atelier. Thereafter he led a restless life in Germany, Sweden, London, and Paris, extending his range later to the USA, Mexico, Greece, Egypt, and the Far East. Finally after a trip through the middle East and to Asia, he was caught in Java at the outset of World War I and died there. A solitary Romantic, he published many collections of poems as well as novellas.
In seven lethargic lines, his text captures that "gray" day when the outer winter coming on pervades the heart with its emptiness. For this, a curtain of suspensions introduces a somewhat diatonic vocal line over a series of chordal pyramids based on minor sevenths to capture the austerity of such a moment in the perspective of a man.
The score for Solch ein lauer weißer Tag is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.
