Music and Texts of GARY BACHLUND
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O du, die mir die Liebste war - (2015)
Wilhelm Busch
for baritone and piano
O du, die mir die Liebste war,
Du schläfst nun schon so manches Jahr.
So manches Jahr, da ich allein
Du gutes Herz, gedenk ich dein.
Gedenk ich dein von Nacht umhüllt,
So tritt zu mir dein treues Bild.
Dein treues Bild, was ich auch tu,
Es winkt mir ab, es winkt mir zu.
Und scheint mein Wort dir gar zu kühn,
Nicht gut mein Tun,
Du hast mir einst so oft verziehn,
Verzeih auch nun.2 pages, circa 2' 45"
Wilhelm Busch
O you, who were my dearest,
You sleep now many a year.
Across these years, as I am alone,
Dear heart, I remember you.
I remember, when enfolded by night,
And your clear image appears to me.
Your steady vision, that I do well,
It chides as it beckons to me.
And if to you my word, when too bold,
Is not at its best,
You, who so often forgave,
Forgive me even now.
A chromatic setting, made more so by polytonal relationships of the twelfth and by gestures falling by half-steps, carries the pathos of the text. The plea at the end repeats several times, "forgive me." For other settings of Busch's texts, click here.
The score for O du, die mir die Liebste war 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.
