[11/6/2011] Finally we reach Act III of "Tannhäuser" (continued)

WAGNER: Tannhäuser: Act III, Wolfram, "Wie Todesahnung Dämmrung deckt die Lande" . . . "O du mein holder Abendstern"

Like a presentiment of death, twilight covers the land
and shrouds the valley in sombre raiment;
the soul that yearns for heaven's heights
is fearful before its flight through night and horror.
There thou shinest, oh loveliest of stars!
Thy sweet light thou dost send into the far-off distance,
thy dear beam pierces the evening twilight,
and, in friendly fashion, thou dost point the way out of the valley.

Oh thou, my gracious evening star,
how gladly have I always greeted thee;
from a heart that she never betrayed
salute her as she passes by thee,
as she soars from this earthly vale,
to become a blessed angel yonder.

I.
HAVE I GIVEN THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS THE
EVENING STAR SONG WE WERE ANGLING TOWARD?

Well, it isn't. By the time Wolfram reaches "O du mein holder Abendstern," what seem to me the really important things that happen in this scene have already happened. Hint: In the video performance by Romanian baritone Dan Iordachescu and and in the two upcoming recordings below by Wolframs we've been tracking, listen particularly to the "Wie Todesahnung" recitative.

(Need I add that once again among all our Evening Song singers Friedrich Schorr seems to me the cream of the crop?)

Willi Domgraf-Fassbänder (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; orchestra. HMV, recorded 1931 [audio link]
Friedrich Schorr (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Leo Blech, cond. HMV, recorded September 1927 [audio link]

II.
LET'S RE-COVER SOME EARLIER TURF BY HEARING
GERHARD HÜSCH SING SOME OF OUR EARLIER BITS

And this week we're going to hear them in the right order! We start with the solo in which, with the consent of Landgraf Hermann, Wolfram ratchets up his attempt to persuade Tannhäuser to remain with them by telling him of the effect his absence has had on the Landgraf's niece Elisabeth.

Act I, Wolfram, "Als du in kühnem Sange"

When you strove with us in blithe song,
sometimes victorious against our lays,
anon defeated through our art,
one prize there was that you alone succeeded in winning.
Was it by magic or by pure might
that you achieved the miracle
or captivating the most virtuous of maids
by your singing filled with joy and sorrow?
For, when, in haughtiness, you left us,
her heart closed to our song;
we saw her cheeks grow pale,
she ever shunned our circle.
Oh, return, you valiant Singer,
let not your song be far from ours.
Let her no longer be absent from our festivals,
let her star shine on us once more!

Gerhard Hüsch (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Hans Udo Müller, cond. EMI, recorded August 1936 [audio link]

Now we hear Wolfram's beautiful entry in the Song Contest of Act II, where the knight-minstrels are charged by the Landgraf with explaining the essence of love.

Act II, Wolfram, "Blick' ich umher in diesem edlen Kreise"

When I look around this noble circle,
what a sublime spectacle makes my heart glow!
So many heroes, valiant, upright and judicious,
a forest of proud oaks, magnificent, fresh and green.
And ladies I behold, charming and virtuous,
a richly-perfumed garland of lovely blooms.
My glance becomes enraptured at the sight,
my song mute in face of such radiant loveliness.
I lift my eyes up yonder to one star
which stands fast in the firmament and dazzles me:
my spirit draws comfort from that distance,
my soul devoutly sinks in prayer.
And behold! Before me a miraculous spring appears,
which my spirit glimpses, filled with wonder!
From it, it draws bliss, rich in grace,
through which, ineffably, it revives my heart.
And never would I sully this fount,
nor taint the spring in wanton mood:
I would practise myself in devotion, sacrificing,
gladly shed my heart's last drop of blood.
You noble ones may gather from these words
how I do apprehend love's purest essence to be!
[He sits down.]

Gerhard Hüsch (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Hans Udo Müller, cond. EMI, recorded August 1936 [audio link]

PERHAPS NOW WE MIGHT ALSO FILL SOME OF THE GAP . . .

. . . we left in Act II, when the Song Contest goes horribly wrong, as Tannhäuser derides his fellow Singers' musings on love and lets slip the secret of his erotic dalliance with the goddess Venus. Amid the general horror, I'm sorry to have to report, Wolfram joins in and shows that he's capable of being a sanctimonious schmuck. (By uncanny coincidence this enables us to hear the one excerpt we haven't heard yet which Heinrich Schlusnus recorded in 1935-36.)

Act II, Wolfram, "O Himmel, lass dich jetzt erflehen"

O heaven, be moved now by my entreaty!
Grant my song the gift of divine inspiration!
Let me see sin banished from
this noble and unpollucted circle!
To thee, sublime love, that hast
penetrated in angelic beauty
deep into my heart,
may my song ring out inspired!
Thou dost approach like a messenger of God,
I follow thee from the fair distance --
thou leadest thus into the lands
where thy star ever shineth.


Heinrich Schlusnus (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Clemens Krauss, cond. EMI, recorded 1936 [audio link]

III.
BY ACT III, WOLFRAM HAS REGAINED HIS BEARINGS,
AND HERE FOR ME IS THE SCENE'S DRAMATIC HEART

First let's hear Wolfram's curtain-rise "vigil" solo again, but this 78 recording, by taking a less lugubrious tempo than the Hüsch one and springing for both a chorus and a soprano soloist, takes us an important step deeper into Act III. Again, note in particular those gorgeous phrases of Wolfram "Dies ist ihr Fragen" and "Ihr Heil'gen, lasst erfüllt es sehen!," as he contemplates the devastating effect on Elisabeth should Tannhäuser not be among the Pope-blessed returning pilgrims.

Act III, Wolfram, "Wohl wusst' ich hier sie im Gebet zu finden" . . . The Older Pilgrims, "Beglückt darf nun dich" . . . Elisabeth, "Dies ist ihr Sang"

WOLFRAM: I knew well I would find her here in prayer,
as I so often find her when, down from
the wooded heights, I stray in the valley alone.
The death he dealt her buried deep
in her heart in searing smart,
she prays for his salvation day and night --
oh, eternal might of holy love!
She awaits the return of the pilgrims from Rome.
The leaves are falling already; their return is imminent.
Will he come back with the pardoned?
This is her question, this is her prayer.
You saints in heaven, may she see it consummated!
Though the wound remain unhealed,
oh, that relief, at least, might be granted her!
THE OLDER PILGRIMS [from great distance slowly nearing the stage]: Blest, I may now look on thee, oh, my native land,
and gladly greet thy pleasant pastures;
now I lay my pilgrim's staff aside to rest,
because, faithful to God, I have completed my pilgrimage!
ELISABETH [rises, listening to the song]:
That is their song! It is they! They are returning home!
You saints in heaven, show me now my task,
that I may fulfill it worthily!
WOLFRAM: It is the pilgrims. It is the pious lay
that tells of the salvation of pardon received!
Oh heaven, strengthen now her heart
to meet the crucial moment of her life!
THE OLDER PILGRIMS [constantly nearer the stage]: Through penance and repentance I have propitiated
the Lord, whom my heart serves,
who crowns my repentance with blessing,
the Lord to whom my song goes up!
[Here the pilgrims reach the front of the stage.]
The salvation of pardon is granted the penitent,
in days to come he will walk in the peace of the blessed!
Hell and death do not appall him,
therefore will I praise God my life long.
[The pilgrims have already turned away from the foreground, and steadily grow more distant.]
Hallelujah! Hallelujah in eternity!

["Dies ist ihr Frage" at 1:32; "Ihr Heil'gen, lasst erfüllt es sehen" at 1:47] Willi Domgraf-Fassbänder (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Käte Heidersbach (s), Elisabeth; chorus and orchestra. HMV, recorded 1931 [audio link]

WE COULD MAKE FUN OF YOUTUBE COMMENTERS ALL DAY . . .

. . . but I keep thinking of one who referred to Wolfram's "O du mein holder Abendstern" a "serenade," saying it's the only Wagner "aria" he can listen to repeatedly. Somehow "serenade" doesn't seem quite the way to describe a plea to the Evening Star to shepherd the soul of this about-to-die woman, and yet, and yet . . . there's something here.

I would argue that Wolfram's romance, ineffably beautiful as it is, represents the culmination of an emotional-temperature-lowering dramatic arc. As I've suggested, the "Wie Todesahnung" recitative seems to me more loaded dramatically. Now I'm suggesting that Wolfram's act-opening vigil potentially still more fraught. It helps when the singer finds a more creative -- and paradoxically simpler -- dramatic solution than the sing-songy, manufactured-emotion approach taken by most baritones, and now we're going to hear two proper performances of this part of the scene, picking up with that final section of the Act III Prelude we highlighted in our post-opening performance. And here I'm going to award a perhaps surprising "win" to Eberhard Wächter, who understands the virtue of simplicity -- especially when he can sing the music so beautifully. (Honorable mention here to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; see below. It undoubtedly helps both that there's no Friedrich Schorr recording to set this one against.)

["Dies ist ihr Frage" at 2:11 of track 2; "Ihr Heil'gen, lasst erfüllt es sehen" at 2:23] Heinrich Schlusnus (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Trude Eipperle (s), Elisabeth; Hessian Radio Chorus and Orchestra, Kurt Schröder, cond. Broadcast performance, 1950 [audio link]
["Dies ist ihr Frage" at 2:00 of track 2; "Ihr Heil'gen, lasst erfüllt es sehen" at 2:11] Eberhard Wächter (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Anja Silja (s), Elisabeth; Bayreuth Festival (1962) Chorus and Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, cond. Philips, recorded live, 1962 [audio link]

IV.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT A COUPLE OF OLD SUNDAY
CLASSICS DISCUSSIONS ARE CONVERGING HERE

(1) Remember when we listened to the opening of
Act III of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde?

Amid the Wagner commentators' prevailing nuttiness, I don't think many listeners would expect to think of music like the opening scene of Act III of Tristan und Isolde as among his most powerful. In this March 2010 post we heard a number of performances of the Prelude and the opening of the scene, but this one remains my favorite. (Another Shepherd, note! And our Kurwenal should be, um, familiar!)

[W]e're going a bit [beyond the Prelude] into Act III, to include the lovely little scene between Kurwenal and the Shepherd and the awakening of the unconscious Tristan. Again, you'll find German and English texts at http://www.rwagner.net/libretti/tristan/e-tristan-a3s1.html.

WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde: Act III, Prelude and opening scene
Erwin Wohlfahrt (t), the Shepherd; Eberhard Wächter (b), Kurwenal; Wolfgang Windgassen (t), Tristan; Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Karl Böhm, cond. DG, recorded live, 1966

(2) Then there was the Valerie Masterson post
in which we heard a bit of The King and I

This isn't the first time we've contemplated a recitative that packs a potentially bigger emotional wallop than the musical set piece it sets up. I think of this January 2011 post.

When I wrote about the vicar Dr. Daly's first song in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer, I suggested that while the ballad itself, "Time was when love and I were well-acquainted," is quite lovely, it's the introductory recitative, "The air is filled with amatory numbers," that really gets to me, that rises to the level of musical magic. I would say the same thing about Anna's remembrance of her dead husband in The King and I. While the song proper, "Hello, young lovers," is just fine, and became justly famous, the emotional dynamite is in the introduction, or verse, or recitative -- however composer Richard Rodgers thought of it.

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN: The King and I: Act I, Anna, "When I think of Tom" . . . "Hello, young lovers"

When I think of Tom, I think about a night
when the earth smelled of summer
and the sky was streaked with white,
and the soft mist of England was sleeping on a hill.
I remember this, and I always will.

There are new lovers now on the same silent hill,
looking on the same blue sea.
And I know Tom and I are a part of them all --
and they're all a part of Tom and me. . . .

Valerie Masterson (s), Anna; National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards, cond. Jay, recorded July 1994

V.
AT LAST WE REACH THE EVENING STAR SONG -- AFTER
ELISABETH BEHAVES (I THINK) PRETTY APPALLINGLY

We're skipping over Elisabeth's prayer to the Virgin, pleading to be taken forthwith from this earth (you can hear it quite nicely sung below in the two "complete" performances of our half-act), leaving us just one hurdle to cross before arriving at Wolfram's "Wie Todesahnung" recitative and Evening Star song. It's one I've often had trouble forgiving: her response when Wolfram breaks his silent vigil to ask if he mightn't accompany her. Basically she stiff-arms him like a burly running back rebuffing a would-be tackler.

Come on, folks, isn't it obvious that the lady has made a lousy romantic choice? And then not to permit Wolfram to provide even this minimal expression of support? Sorry, I don't buy this business in the stage direction of her assuring him by her gestures that she thanks him from her heart for his faithful affection blahblahblah. In her defense, however, there is one pretty potent mitigating factor: It wasn't her idea that he fall in love with her, and from what we've seen, there seems little reason to imagine that she has ever given him the slightest encouragement.

Act III, Wolfram, "Elisabeth, dürft' ich dich nicht geleiten?" . . . "Wie Todesahnung Dämmrung deckt die Lande" . . . "O du mein holder Abendstern"

[ELISABETH remains for a long time in devout rapture; as she rises slowly she perceives WOLFRAM, who is approaching to speak to her. She entreats him, by a gesture, not to speak to her.]
WOLFRAM: Elisabeth, might I not accompany you?
[ELISABETH assures him, by her gestures, that she thanks him from her heart for his faithful affection, but that her path leads to heaven, where she has a lofty duty to fulfill; he must therefore let her go alone and must not follow her. She ascends half-way up the height and gradually disappears along the footpath leading to the Wartburg, after her form has long been visible in the distance. WOLFRAM, who has followed ELISABETH with his eyes, sits down and begins to play his harp.]
WOLFRAM: Like a presentiment of death, twilight covers the land . . .

Heinrich Schlusnus (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Hessian Radio Chorus and Orchestra, Kurt Schröder, cond. Broadcast performance, 1950 [audio link]
Eberhard Wächter (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Bayreuth Festival (1962) Chorus and Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, cond. Philips, recorded live, 1962 [audio link]

VI.
FINALLY, I THOUGHT WE'D HEAR THIS WHOLE
FIRST HALF OF ACT III, THEN HEAR IT AGAIN

First we'll hear what has sort of turned out to be our go-to Tannhäuser recording in this Wolfram-centric look at the opera, the 1960 Konwitschny-EMI with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Wolfram and Elisabeth Grümmer as Elisabeth. (Our stopping point will keep us from hearing the Tannhäuser, Hans Hopf, though as I noted previously, given the level of the so-called competition over these last several decades he doesn't sound nearly as bad as he ought to.) Once again, Fischer-Dieskau's baritone is higher and lighter than I'd like to hear in the role, but on returning to the performance after a while, I've been surprised at how much I not only respect but even enjoy this really professional piece of work.

Then I wanted to include a Wolfram who gave me a fair amount of pleasure at several Met Tannhäusers, so I've made an audio file from my LPs of the sometimes interesting but more often problematic Haitink-EMI recording, with the surprising casting of Lucia Popp as Elisabeth, and I have to say she delivers a pretty decent "Allmächt'ge Jungfrau."

Act III, Prelude through "O du mein holder Abendstern"

My original plan was to include the full texts, but that would have made an already enormous post look even impossibly enormous. So let's just plug our one gap, framing Elisabeth's "Allmächt'ge Jungfrau, hör mein Flehen!." But first let's listen again to Milton Cross's 1960 Act III plot synopsis, which we heard Friday night before hearing that performance of our half-act with Hermann Prey as Wolfram and Leonie Rysanek as Elisabeth, Georg Solti conducting. (Of course this also reminds us what happens in the remaining half-act.)

Act III introduced by Milton Cross, Dec. 17, 1960

[audio link]

WOLFRAM: I knew well I would find her here in prayer . . .

[ELISABETH, from her elevated vantage point, has been looking among the proceeding pilgrims for TANNHÄUSER. The singing steadily dies away. The sun goes down.]
ELISABETH [in a pained but peaceful state]: He has not returned!
THE OLDER PILGRIMS [becoming ever more distant and finally disappearing in the valley opening]: Blest, I may now look on thee, oh, my native land,
and gladly greet thy pleasant pastures;
now I lay my pilgrim's staff aside to rest.
[The Pilgrims' voices die away little by little in the distance.]
ELISABETH [with great solemnity sinking to one knee]:
Almighty Virgin, hear my prayer!
I cry to thee, All-glorious!
Let me perish in the dust before thee,
oh, take me from this earth!
Make me, pure and angel-like,
enter into my blessed realm!
If ever, engrossed in foolish fancies,
my heart did stray from thee,
if ever a sinful longing,
a worldly yearning did spring up within me,
I wrestled then beneath a thousand smarts,
to kill it in my heart!
But if I could not atone for every fault -
yet receive me of thy grace,
that, as a worthy maid, I may
draw near thee in humble greeting,
only to implore the richest favor
of thy mercy for his sin!
[She remains for a long time in devout rapture; as she rises slowly she pereives WOLFRAM, who is approaching to speak to her. She entreats him, by a gesture, not to speak to her.]
WOLFRAM: Elisabeth, might I not accompany you? . . .

WOLFRAM: Like a presentiment of death, twilight covers the land . . .

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Elisabeth Grümmer (s), Elisabeth; Chorus and Orchestra of the Berlin State Opera, Franz Konwitschny, cond. EMI, recorded Oct. 17-21, 1960 [audio link]
Bernd Weikl (b), Wolfram von Eschenbach; Lucia Popp (s), Elisabeth; Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, cond. EMI, recorded January 1985 [audio link]


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