Empress : Kaiserin

Tränen auf tränen dann, stürzet hernieder...

I wouldn't say I broke down during voice lesson this evening, but rather - I cried. Nope, I wasn't scolded (I was never scolded :P), nor am I overwhelmed by the stress Frau Lim put me through every lesson. Let's leave this with a touch of suspense first while I explain in detail.

Still on Schumann's Frauenliebe und Leben, we worked on the last two songs. And there! After less than three months, I've finally lived through a woman's love and life (Frauenliebe und Leben). We're moving on to Mozart's operatic arias from next week onwards. Ah, Italian, not at last.

A brief intro on Schumann's Frauenliebe und Leben:
1. Seit ich ihn gesehen - "Since I saw him". This woman met this young man and fell madly in love with him. However, he did not know about it.
2. Er, der Herrlichste von allen - "He, the most wonderful of all men". She continues to sing his praises and belittle herself. At the middle section she sings "Hear not my silent prayer, you must not know of this lowly existence, my glorious Star!"
3. Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben - "I cannot grasp it, I cannot believe it". She is in disbelief, because this man she secretly admired just confessed his love to her.
4. Du Ring an meinem Finger - "You ring on my finger". She now wears an engagement ring on her finger. Her lover has proposed to her.
5. Helft mir, ihr Schwestern - "Help me, sisters". Her close friends came to help prepare her on her wedding day.
6. Süßer Freund, du blickest - "Sweet friend, you look (at me in wonder)". She explains to her husband why she is crying. At the end of the song we found out that she is pregnant and is weeping for joy.
7. An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust - "On my heart, on my breast". She is overjoyed and excited, and sings about the joy for being a mother. [This is what I sang today. Left totally breathless, because the song is so fast and the phrases are so long! Yet the excitement of a mother - though I'm inexperienced on that aspect, lol - must be expressed.]
8. Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan - "Now you have caused me pain for the first time". The last song of the cycle. Let's recap: She meets her lover and marries him. Then she gives birth to their lovechild. And now the lover has caused her great pain - because he now sleeps the Sleep of Death. And the song cycle concluded with a piano interlude with most of the materials extracted from Seit ich ihn gesehen, the very first song of the cycle.

Yes, he passed away, and the setting of the song is so depressing, that I, minutes after Frau Lim started to work on the song, was reacting to the text with silent tears. Although I never liked Schumann (those of you who know my "musical" side should already know that), I cannot deny the fact that this man is a master when it comes to melody-weaving. The text from the last song is sad, but when set into music by Schumann it tells a devastating story. You expect it to be sung in a very slow tempo. And each of the long phrase is made out of repeated pitches. Would you then expect the song to carry a boring tune? Exactly the opposite. The first line of the song starts with an A, and the rest of the pitches are on D. And every sung repeated note tore and slashes at my heart. How is that possible? Schumann's mastery of song setting and word painting. For those seriously interested in how the song is really like, because I know I'm a failure at expressing myself, please look for the score or recording. The song cycle is "Frauenliebe und Leben", Opus 42, from Robert Schumann; the last song (the 8th song), marked "Adagio" and in D minor.

I'll post the text of the depressing song later, with translations promised.

posted by empress @ 5:57 PM