Composer

:

Felix Mendelssohn

Genre

:

Choral

Style

:

Choral

Compose Date

:

Jun 19, 1843

Publication Date

:

1851

Average_duration

:

2:13

'Die Waldvogelein, Op. 88/4' is a song composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1848. It premiered in Leipzig on January 1, 1849, with the composer himself at the piano and the singer Pauline Viardot-Garcia. The song is part of a collection of six songs for voice and piano, Op. 88, which Mendelssohn composed in the last year of his life. The song is in A major and has a moderate tempo. It consists of three stanzas, each with a different melody, and a coda. The text is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which describes the beauty of the forest and the birds that inhabit it. Mendelssohn's music captures the joyful and playful spirit of the poem, with its lively rhythms and melodic lines that imitate the birds' songs. The first stanza begins with a cheerful melody in the piano, followed by the voice singing about the birds' songs and the beauty of the forest. The second stanza has a more contemplative mood, with a slower tempo and a more lyrical melody. The voice sings about the peacefulness of the forest and the birds' melodies that soothe the soul. The third stanza returns to the joyful mood of the first, with a faster tempo and a more complex melody. The voice sings about the birds' playful dances and the joy they bring to the forest. The coda is a short section that brings the song to a close with a repetition of the first stanza's melody. The piano plays a descending arpeggio, imitating the birds' flight, and the voice sings a final phrase that expresses the wonder and joy of being in the forest. 'Die Waldvogelein, Op. 88/4' is a charming and delightful song that showcases Mendelssohn's skill in setting poetry to music. Its lively rhythms, playful melodies, and evocative harmonies capture the beauty and joy of nature, and the birds that inhabit it. It is a fitting tribute to Goethe's poem and a testament to Mendelssohn's genius as a composer.

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