Keith_W
Master Contributor
Schubert wrote so many lieder that I still haven't finished listening to all of them. Some of them are brilliant, some are not so brilliant. That's why we need a thread like this so that we can share his music, our favourite performances, and do a bit of analysis. I don't like music threads where people simply post album covers or YT videos without telling you why you should listen to them, so I am hoping we can avoid that here. I'll start.
Felicity Lott / Graham Johnson Der Blumen Schmerz D. 731 ("The Flower's Pain")
English translation from Oxford
With what dread do I hear
the first breezes of spring;
how sad it is to me
that flowers rise up again.
They lay so quietly
in their mother’s arms,
and now the poor things
must come out into the teeming world.
The delicate children shyly
raise their heads:
‘Who summons us into life
from the peaceful night?’
Spring, with magic words,
breathing sweet delight,
lures them through the dark portals
from their mother’s breast.
In a lustrous bridal ceremony
the flowers appear in their glory;
but the groom is already far away,
and the mighty sun glows harshly.
Now their fragrance reveals
that they are full of longing;
the refreshing scent that spices the air
is the child of sorrow.
The chalices droop,
gazing earthwards:
‘O mother, receive us again,
for life gives only pain.’
The withered leaves fall;
the snow gently covers them.
O God, so it is with all;
only in the grave is there peace.
Comment. This is a strophic song, meaning that the structure is repeated with variations. The first two strophes introduce the flower subject as an allegory of the poet's own death wish, and the tone is dark and moody. It then transitions to a naive and childlike A Major as the "delicate children" peek into the world, before they are plucked for a bright and beautiful wedding ceremony. But the mood quickly changes when the ceremony is over, leading to flowers that are left to droop and die, with only their fragrance lingering. The music seems to hang in mid air when snow covers the dead flowers, and the poet muses that only death brings us peace.
Felicity Lott / Graham Johnson Der Blumen Schmerz D. 731 ("The Flower's Pain")
English translation from Oxford
With what dread do I hear
the first breezes of spring;
how sad it is to me
that flowers rise up again.
They lay so quietly
in their mother’s arms,
and now the poor things
must come out into the teeming world.
The delicate children shyly
raise their heads:
‘Who summons us into life
from the peaceful night?’
Spring, with magic words,
breathing sweet delight,
lures them through the dark portals
from their mother’s breast.
In a lustrous bridal ceremony
the flowers appear in their glory;
but the groom is already far away,
and the mighty sun glows harshly.
Now their fragrance reveals
that they are full of longing;
the refreshing scent that spices the air
is the child of sorrow.
The chalices droop,
gazing earthwards:
‘O mother, receive us again,
for life gives only pain.’
The withered leaves fall;
the snow gently covers them.
O God, so it is with all;
only in the grave is there peace.
Comment. This is a strophic song, meaning that the structure is repeated with variations. The first two strophes introduce the flower subject as an allegory of the poet's own death wish, and the tone is dark and moody. It then transitions to a naive and childlike A Major as the "delicate children" peek into the world, before they are plucked for a bright and beautiful wedding ceremony. But the mood quickly changes when the ceremony is over, leading to flowers that are left to droop and die, with only their fragrance lingering. The music seems to hang in mid air when snow covers the dead flowers, and the poet muses that only death brings us peace.
