{"id":345,"date":"2013-03-18T07:30:06","date_gmt":"2013-03-17T20:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/catesings.org\/?p=345"},"modified":"2013-03-18T07:30:06","modified_gmt":"2013-03-17T20:30:06","slug":"music-for-a-monday-die-loreley-liszt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/2013\/03\/18\/music-for-a-monday-die-loreley-liszt\/","title":{"rendered":"Music for a Monday: Die Loreley (Liszt)"},"content":{"rendered":"

My mother had a book of German folk songs inherited from her father.\u00a0 There was a version of Die Lorelei in that book, but this is a whole new level of gorgeous.<\/p>\n

[youtube http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=era5jL4wlx0&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]And speaking of gorgeous, allow me to digress for a moment while I mention the extreme gorgeousness that was Liszt as a young man.\u00a0 I saw his portrait in the Museum of Paris several years ago, and was absolutely mesmerised by it.\u00a0 Those eyes!\u00a0 That intensity!\u00a0 I can even forgive him his unplayable piano music…<\/p>\n

\"Franz-Liszt-a-portrait-by-Henri-Lehmann-in-1839_thumb1\"<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

See what I do for you?\u00a0 Not just gorgeous music for a Monday morning, but also a gorgeous musician.\u00a0 Excuse me while I swoon…<\/p>\n

Anyway.\u00a0 Back to the song.\u00a0 Firstly, the piano part is gorgeous, and ripples like the water – in fact, I think the music paints this song wonderfully all the way through.\u00a0 The Lorelei, you should know, is a beautiful, golden-haired maiden who sits on the banks of the Rhine, enticing sailors to their deaths with her lovely voice.\u00a0 (That’s what happens if you let someone get at the Rhine maidens’ gold.\u00a0 They go evil and start shipwrecking people.\u00a0 Let that be a lesson to you, Alberich!)\u00a0 I love the way the piano accompaniment paints the waves and the shipwreck, while Diana Damrau’s voice floats ethereally over it all.\u00a0 Glorious.<\/p>\n

Here’s the story for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ich wei\u00df nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
\ndass ich so traurig bin.
\nEin M\u00e4rchen aus alten Zeiten,
\ndas kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn….Die Luft ist k\u00fchl,
\nund es dunkelt
\nund ruhig fliesst der Rhein
\nder Gipfel des Berges funkelt im Abendsonnenschein.Die sch\u00f6nste Jungfrau sitzet
\ndort oben wunderbar,
\nihr goldenes Geschmeide blitzet,
\nsie k\u00e4mmt ihr goldenes Haar.<\/p>\n

Sie k\u00e4mmt es mit goldenem Kamme
\nund singt ein Lied dabei;
\nDas hat eine wundersame, gewaltige Melodei.<\/p>\n

Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
\nergreift es mit wildem Weh;
\ner schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
\ner schat nur hinauf in die H\u00f6h<\/p>\n

Ich glaube, die Welllen verschlingen am Ende Schiffer und Kahn<\/p>\n

Und das hat mit ihrem Singen die Lorelei getan.<\/td>\n

I don’t know what it means
\nthat I am so sad
\nA fairy-tale from bygone times…
\nI can’t get it out of my mindThe air is coolAnd night is falling
\nand the Rhine flows peacefully
\nThe peak of the mountain sparkles in the evening sun.<\/p>\n

The fairest maiden sits,Up above, wondrous
\nHer golden jewels are sparkling
\nShe combs her golden hair<\/p>\n

She combs it with a golden comb
\nand sings a song as she does
\nIt has a most wonderful and powerful melody<\/p>\n

The boatman in his little boat
\nEnraptured with a wild pain
\nSees not the jagged cliff
\nSees only what is above<\/p>\n

I think that the waves will devour
\nBoth boat and sailor in the end<\/p>\n

And that, with her singing, was done by the Lorelei.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My mother had a book of German folk songs inherited from her father.\u00a0 There was a version of Die Lorelei in that book, but this is a whole new level of gorgeous. [youtube http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=era5jL4wlx0&hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[182,186,256,311,441],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-diana-damrau","tag-die-loreley","tag-franz-liszt","tag-helmut-deutsch","tag-lieder"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catesings.catespeaks.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}