The “Masters of the Romantic” concert took place on March 19, 2017, at St. Clare Walker Middle School Theater in Locust Hill, Virginia.
The program included Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer,” performed by Erin Wind along with the Northern Neck Orchestra. Michael Repper conducted. Listen to the second movement, Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld (I Walked Across the Field This Morning) while reading the lyrics below, where you can also find the relevant program notes by Nancy Rowland.
Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld
Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld,
Tau noch auf den Gräsern hing;
Sprach zu mir der lust’ge Fink:
“Ei du! Gelt? Guten Morgen! Ei gelt?
Du! Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt?
Zink! Zink! Schön und flink!
Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt!”
Auch die Glockenblum’ am Feld
Hat mir lustig, guter Ding’,
Mit den Glöckchen, klinge, kling,
Ihren Morgengruß geschellt:
“Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt?
Kling, kling! Schönes Ding!
Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt! Heia!”
Und da fing im Sonnenschein
Gleich die Welt zu funkeln an;
Alles Ton und Farbe gewann
Im Sonnenschein!
Blum’ und Vogel, groß und Klein!
“Guten Tag, ist’s nicht eine schöne Welt?
Ei du, gelt? Schöne Welt!”
Nun fängt auch mein Glück wohl an?
Nein, nein, das ich mein’,
Mir nimmer blühen kann!
I Walked Across the Fields This Morning
I walked across the fields this morning,
Dew still hung on every blade of grass,
The merry finch spoke to me:
‘Hey! Isn’t it a Good morning?
You! Isn’t it becoming a fine world?
Chirp! Chirp! Bright and sharp!
O how I love the world!’
And the bluebells in the field,
Merrily and in good spirits,
tolled out to me, Ding-ding with tiny bells
Their morning greeting:
‘Isn’t it a lovely world?
Ding-ding! Fair thing!
O how I love the world!’
And then, in the sunshine,
The world at once began to glitter;
All things gained sound and color!
In the sunshine!
Flower and bird, great and small.
‘Good day! Good day!
Isn’t it a lovely world?
Hey, you there?! A lovely world!’
Now, will my happiness also begin?
No! No! The happiness I mean
Can never bloom!
Notes by Nancy Rowland
The Songs of a Wayfarer present a tragic story that is supposed to be autobiographical. Mahler wrote these songs after an infatuation with an opera singer that ended in her rejection of him. He wrote that the songs “are conceived as if a wayfaring craftsman has suffered a heavy fate and now goes out into the world and wanders alone aimlessly.” He wrote both the texts and the music. The soloist is mezzo soprano Erin Wind.
Erin Wind is a native of Richmond, Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Longwood University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Iowa.
Brahms – Tragic Overture
Mahler – Songs of a Wayfarer
Schubert – 8th (Unfinished) Symphony
Ravel – Bolero
Michael Repper, Conductor
Sunday, March 19, 2017, at 3:00 p.m.
St. Clare Walker Middle School Theater
Locust Hill
Sunday, March 26, 2017, at 3:00 p.m.
Northumberland High School
Heathsville