Music and Texts of GARY BACHLUND
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Verborgenheit - (2009)
Eduard Mörikefor high or medium voice and piano
Laß, o Welt, o laß mich sein!
Locket nicht mit Liebesgaben,
Laßt dies Herz alleine haben
Seine Wonne, seine Pein!
Was ich traure, weiß ich nicht,
Es ist unbekanntes Wehe;
Immerdar durch Tränen sehe
Ich der Sonne liebes Licht.
Oft bin ich mir kaum bewußt,
Und die helle Freude zücket
Durch die Schwere, so mich drücket,
Wonniglich in meiner Brust.
Laß, o Welt, o laß mich sein!
Locket nicht mit Liebesgaben,
Laßt dies Herz alleine haben
Seine Wonne, seine Pein![ 3 pages, circa 3' 45" ]
Eduard Mörike
For other settings of Eduard Mörike (1804-1875), please see links for them in my Authors' Index - M. This setting was originally conceived for high voice, though I have made an edition for low voice as well herein included.
Let me, world, yes, let me be,
Tempt me not with tenderness,
Let his heart secluded know of
No more wonder, no more pain.
What I lament, I cannot say,
It is an unknown sorrow;
Ever through my tears I see
Love's radiance that can never be.
Oft, I am scarcely aware,
And the sheer joy brought forth
Through the pain, thus presses
Sweetly on my heart.
Leave me, world, yes, leave me be,
Tempt me not with tenderness,
Let his heart secluded know of
No more wonder, no more pain.
The triadic relationships are built over the superstructure of a diminished seven chord, such that the minor mediant, diminished fifth and major sixth become the harmonic structure for this setting. That two, at the minimum, sing against one another reflects the notion in the text that "bliss" and "pain" might be together experienced as the opposite of love. The vocal line therefore lean towards an octatonic scalar shape, though this is incidental to a denser harmonic vocabulary for the combining of triadic and octatonic features.
The setting's third stanza of the poem breaks into a faster agitato, reflecting the impact of "die helle Freude" shining through the darker "seclusion" -- Verborgenheit -- as the vocal line rises to its highest point against the darker colors into which the reprise of the first stanza draws the song to its close.
The ranges for both editions, high and low, are as follow.
The score for Verborgenheit 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.
