I'm not sure how, but we're already into the last week of August and, therefore, of the Schubertíada. The three previous articles were written before it started, but I had no time to prepare the last one. Here I am, trying to write something... We're paying attention to the concerts on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29; as you can see, I published the post on Tuesday to allow you some time to prepare them, just in case. After Thursday, the remaining three concerts will be chamber music; on Sunday, the Schubertada will end with a family concert.
Let's go back to the songs, though. On Wednesday afternoon there will be the second concert by artists Lied the Future with the duos Florian Stoertz and Aleksandra Myslek and Eva Zalenga and Teodora Oprișor; as I write this, we still don't know what program they are making with baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle, but we can check the website before or after. In the evening, there will be a recital featuring the wonderful soprano Malin Byström, who will be accompanied by Magnus Svensson. In a year in which artists have barely proposed songs in French, she dedicates more than half of the program to the mélodie, lucky us! As always, you will find a sample of the program at the end of the article.
On Thursday, there will be a different concert with the Chamber Choir of the Palau de la Música Catalana, a staged concert in which the original schubertiades will be remembered. The majority of the program will be composed of works for choir by Schubert, but there will also be some lieder and works by composers admired by the apple of my eye. To illustrate this brief note, I propose a beautiful song, Psalm 23, better known by the first words of the text, Gott ist mein Hirt [The Lord is my shepherd].
Schubert composed it in December 1820 at the request of Anna Fröhlich, who for a year had been a singing teacher at the new Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde conservatory; she wanted the song to be performed by her students. Many of you may have recognized the initial words of the prayer. At that time, it was prohibited to translate the Catholic Bible from the Latin, and I suppose the composer could have used the Lutheran translation. However, he used the translation of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible by the eminent Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of Fanny and Felix.
The song was first performed in August 1821. It became a regular piece at the Conservatory and its popularity soon transcended this institution, which is not surprising because its ethereal atmosphere makes it (almost) impossible not to pay attention. We will listen to it in its original version for two sopranos, two altos and piano, performed by Patricia Rozario, Lorna Anderson, Catherine Denley, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Graham Johnson. I hope you like it and we will meet tomorrow and Thursday in Vilabertran.
And next week... Well, it looks like I'm going to be having a wonderful musical hangover.
Gott ist mein Hirt, mir wird nichts mangeln,
er lagert mich auf grüne Weide,
er leitet mich an stillen Bächen,
er labt mein schmachtendes Gemüth,
er führt mich auf gerechtem Steige
zu seines Namens Ruhm.
Und wall’ ich auch im Todesschatten-Tale,
so wall’ ich ohne Furcht,
denn du beschützest mich;
dein Stab und deine Stütze
sind mir immerdar mein Trost.
Du richtest mir ein Freudenmahl
im Angesicht der Feinde zu,
du salbst mein Haupt mit Öle
und schenkst mir volle, volle Becher ein,
mir folget Heil und Seligkeit
in diesem Leben
nach, einst ruh’ ich ew’ge Zeit
dort in des Ew’gen Haus.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Dimecres 28 d'agost: Malin Byström & Magnus Svensson
Dijous 29 d'agost: Cor de Cambra del Palau de la Música Catalana
Comments powered by CComment