Music and Texts of GARY BACHLUND
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Gesang der Ungeborenen - (2009)
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
for high voice and piano
Vater, dir drohet nichts,
Siehe, es schwindet schon,
Mutter, das Ängstliche,
Das dich beirrte!
Wäre denn je ein Fest,
Wären nicht insgeheim
Wir die Geladenen,
Wir auch die Wirte?[ 2 pages, circa 1' 15" ]
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Father, there is no threat to you,
See, it lessens already,
Mother, so fearful,
Do not be deterred!
Shall there not be a feast,
Shall it not be in secret,
We shall be the invited,
We also the hosts?
For more on the poet, please see the page for my settings, titled Drei Lieder von Hugo von Hofmannsthal for soprano and piano. An interesting poem for its time, in which the unborn speak to the fears of their parents. In another century as is ours, children have been spoken of as "burdens" within the context of politics, but fears have come throughout the ages, from very real concerns over childbirth and the costs of children. Yet other previous centuries saw children as the only alternative for a future, as source of wealth and even strength. This issue remains unsettled within the heart of man, and Hofmannsthal gives the children a voice which is often not only unspoken but unwished.
The "in two" Schwung of this setting should be stressed as noted. The introduction is an onrushing on sixteenth notes as the triadic harmony builds to the vocal entrance. The parallel triads in the right hand are accompanied with rolling arpeggios.
The form is a simple two-verse construction, in which the last lines of the repetition allow the vocal line to rise again to its highest and leave the final question lingering on the mediant of the scale. A ritardando may be read into the final measures a piacere.
The score for Gesang der Ungeborenen 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.
