Morgen!

"Morgen!" ("Tomorrow!") is the last in a set of four songs composed in 1894 by the German composer Richard Strauss. It is designated Opus 27, Number 4.

The German love poem Morgen! which is the text of the song was written by Strauss's contemporary, John Henry Mackay, of partly Scottish descent but brought up in Germany.

History

Strauss had met Mackay in Berlin, and set Morgen! to music on 21 May 1894. It was the one of his four Lieder Opus 27, a wedding present to his wife Pauline. Initially, he set the accompaniment for piano alone, and for piano with violin. It was not until three years later, in 1897, that he arranged the accompaniment for orchestra, still with the violin solo, which is its feature. It remains one of Strauss's best-known and most widely recorded works, and one of his most beautiful songs.

Instrumentation and accompaniment

Strauss wrote the serene accompaniment for orchestral strings, with the addition of a solo violin, a harp and three horns. The orchestral strings are muted, and the dynamic throughout is pianissimo or softer. The harp, playing arpeggios, and the solo violin accompany continuously, and the horns do not play until the last few bars when the violin pauses before ending with an ascending phrase. The last chord is joined by a solo horn.^[1]

Lyrics

The poem reads as follows: Morgen![2] Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde, wird uns, die Glücklichen[3] sie wieder einen inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde… und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen, werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen, stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen, und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes[4] Schweigen...

Literal translation: Tomorrow! And tomorrow the sun will shine again and on the way that I will go, will she us, the happy ones, again unite amidst this sun-breathing earth, and to the beach, wide, wave-blue will we still and slowly descend silently we will look in each other's eyes and upon us sinks the mute silence of happiness

Poetic English translation: Tomorrow! Tomorrow again will shine the sun And on my sunlit path of earth Unite us again, as it has done, And give our bliss another birth... The spacious beach under wave-blue skies We’ll reach by descending soft and slow, And mutely gaze in each other’s eyes, As over us rapture’s great hush will flow.

English edition by John Bernhoff, 1925 Universal-Edition: Tomorrow! Tomorrow's sun will rise in glory beaming, And in the pathway that my foot shall wander, We'll meet, forget the earth, and lost in dreaming, Let heav'n unite a love that earth no more shall sunder... And towards that shore, its billows softly flowing, Our hands entwined, our footsteps slowly wending, Gaze in each other's eyes in love's soft splendour glowing, Mute with tears of joy and bliss ne'er ending...

A translation which is as close as possible to the original German, but adapted to flow in English:

And tomorrow the sun will shine again

And on the way which I shall follow

She will again unite us lucky ones

As all around us the earth breathes in the sun

Slowly, silently, we will climb down

To the wide beach and the blue waves

In silence, we will look in each other's eyes

And the mute stillness of happiness will sink upon us

Opus 27

The other songs of Strauss' Opus 27:

• Op. 27 No. 1 "Ruhe, meine Seele!" (Nicht ein Lüftchen regt sich leise)
• Op. 27 No. 2 "Cäcilie" (Wenn du es wüßtest)
• Op. 27 No. 3 "Heimliche Aufforderung" (Auf, hebe die funkelnde Schale)

Recordings

Among the numerous recordings of this song, which continue to grow in number, are those by the following notable singers.

Arleen Auger Jussi Björling Montserrat Caballé Lisa della Casa Suzanne Danco Diana Damrau Melanie Diener Renée Fleming Heather Harper Anja Harteros

Barbara Hendricks Soile Isokoski Gundula Janowitz Sena Jurinac Jonas Kaufmann Michaela Kaune Hanne-Lore Kuhse Felicity Lott Charlotte Margiono Karita Mattila

Ricarda Merbeth Elisabeth Meyer-Topsoe Birgit Nilsson Jessye Norman Adrianne Pieczonka Lucia Popp Leontyne Price Anneliese Rothenberger Anne Schwanewilms

Elisabeth Schumann Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Elisabeth Söderström Nina Stemme Cheryl Studer Sharon Sweet Kiri Te Kanawa Anna Tomowa-Sintow Deborah Voigt

Videos

Orchestral accompaniment:

• Dame Janet Baker
• Anna Netrebko

Piano accompaniment:

• Leontyne Pryce (soprano)
• Robin Hendrix (contralto)
• Shon Sims (tenor)

Harp and violin accompaniment:

• Jameesa Yarborough

References and notes

1. ^ Richard Strauss LIEDER Complete Edition Vol. IV, London, 1965, Boosey & Hawkes
2. ^ Strauss made a few changes to Mackay's words
3. ^ In line 3 Strauss replaced Mackay's "Seligen" with "Glücklichen"
4. ^ In the last line Strauss replaced Mackay's "großes" with "stummes"

External links

• Sheet music for Morgen
• Text and translations for Morgen
• Reviews of recordings