This week, we also commemorate an anniversary after having recalled Berlioz last week. In fact, the 150th anniversary of the death of another composer, Carl Loewe, also known as "the king of the ballad". He was one of our first composers here on Liederabend, we listened to one of his songs in August 2012. Back then I told a few notes about him; he was born in Löbejün (north of Germany) a few weeks before Schubert was born in Vienna, both in similar family circumstances. Both enjoyed an excellent musical training thanks to their achievements as choir boys, but the parallelism between their lives ends here.[...]

The 2019 marks 150 years since the death of Hector Berlioz, he's one of the composers we celebrate this year. Let us face facts: songs are not the best known of Berlioz's work; The most performed are those included in Les nuits d'étè, and I thought that this cycle would be often programmed during this season, but I was wrong. In any case, we are interested in Berlioz's songs, and I suggest that we listen to a really beautiful one, which gives us the opportunity to meet Ophelia again.

Today, the wunderschönen Monat Mai begins; It's a good day to listen to Dichterliebe, at least from those first notes that are a balm for the soul until the seventh song, which is ours today. To talk in order about the songs in this cycle allows us to follow what happens to the poet. He talked to us about a love that begins in May, about tears that are offerings, about his beloved, more beautiful than the sun, about a kiss that cures all ills or about the memories of that kiss. He sent us some contradictory messages (he cries bitterly when she says "I love you"), but the last song we listened, Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome, doesn't [...]

Today is Saint George's Day! And Tuesday; I'm posting one day in advance so that I can give you my musical rose, as usual. So far, a different composer has brought the rose every year; this time we welcome again a Nordic composer, after Sibelius and his wonderful Svarta Rosor of last year. Edvard Grieg visits us with one of his best-known songs, Zur Rosenzeit, with a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

We have a shorter post his week, as usual in Holy Week. In fact, it's a continuation of last week's post. By chance, the first part of Wolf's Spanisches Liederbuch, the Geistliche Lieder (Sacred songs) is most appropriate for these dates.