NDR Chor / Florian Helgath

Wilhelm Müller, a well-known poet of the Vormärz period, conjured up a vision of the mythical city of Vineta, which is said to lie under the Baltic Sea, in his poem »Vineta«. The sound of the city bells lured fishermen to the mortal depths, just as if »angels were calling«. Johannes Brahms, himself an experienced choirmaster, congenially set Müller’s poem to music in his »Three Songs, Op. 42«.

The sorrow of taking leave from this world also colours Brahms’ late Five Songs, Op. 104: »Night Vigil I and II«, »Last Happiness«, »Lost Youth« and »In Autumn« – the titles speak for themselves.

However, the programme isn’t entirely without cheer: Arnold Schönberg, who was by no means exclusively a twelve-tone avant-gardist, loved folk songs because of their »overwhelming depth of expression«. He composed »Schein uns, du liebe Sonne« (Shine on Us, Dear Sun) for choir in 1928/29.

In the »Jahreszeiten« (Seasons), composed in 1925, his colleague Ernst Krenek explored the connection between the Romantic sound and the twelve-tone technique. In contrast, the young Anton Webern and Alma Mahler were still completely under the spell of Romanticism; their early songs have been arranged for choir by Clytus Gottwald.