Franz Schubert - Ellens Gesang (1825) - II. "Ave Maria" (Elly Ameling)

I recently was fortunate enough to stumble upon a Phillips compilation of Elly Ameling's renditions of various Lieder by Franz Schubert, a composer who is slowly but surely entering into both my music collection and my preferences. There is ample reason to rejoice about this addition, as Ameling (who I first "met" through Haydn's "Orlando Paladino", selections from which I uploaded a few weeks ago) proves to be a possessor of a distinctively lovely voice and an overall impossibly attractive manner; while the material itself evokes contrasting feelings of melancholy, joy, vigor and apathy within my mind. Thus, I find myself unable not to post some of my favorites from the recording, and I would like to begin with a piece both most familiar and largely obscure (in complete form, that is) to the general audience: Ellens Gesang.

When Schubert introduced himself to the poems of the famed Englishman, Sir Walter Scott, in 1825, the composer was quickly attracted to the idea of writing musical settings based on the German translations of the bard's verses in hopes of basically becoming more widely-known in Europe and England, in particular. Thus, the young composer set himself a task of composing music for seven out of thirteen songs that appear in Scott's classical "Lady of the Lake" poem (which had already been set, albeit in operatic form, by Rossini), including three solo pieces for the title character, Elena herself. The pieces are said to have been first performed at the castle of Countess Sophie Weissenwolff in the little Austrian town of Steyregg and dedicated to her which led to her subsequently becoming known as the Lady of the Lake herself. The cycle was subsequently published in 1826 as Schubert's op. 52. In this particular case, I want to center the attention of the listener on Elena's pieces which prove to be, as a complete "concerto" for the voice and the piano, to be one of Schubert's most endearing creations. For this duo of postings I'm providing both the English texts of the songs and short descriptions coupled with my own small ideas,

III. "Ave Maria". Whilst the first two arias for Elena are comparatively unconnected to the main drama (the fact that they are not exactly intended to be a representation of the action itself notwithstanding), being simple settings of Scott's verses, the last song is, in spite of its' slightly anonymous text which allows for the piece to be sung in a wide range of situations, much more dramatically acute and intimately connected to the situation Schubert is describing: in Scott's poem the character Ellen, the "Lady of the Lake" has gone with her father to hide in the "Goblin's Cave" nearby to avoid drawing the vengeance of the King on their host, the Clan-Alpine chieftain, Roderick Dhu, who has been affording them shelter since the King had exiled them. She sings a prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary, calling upon her for help, which forms the most famous selection amongst Schubert's "Lady of the Lake" settings, surely one of Schubert's best works. What catches one's attention immediately is a certain wonderful understatement of the piece that connects it intimately to the preceding numbers: the prayer is structured as a three-part succession of the same melody stated by the soloist (with a possibility, well within the period's idiom, to vary the ornamentation) over a basic bass line played by the piano. This simplicity is, however, contrasted by the sheer beautiful richness of the vocal line (reminding me of another perfect example of the song school: Solveig's sublime aria from "Peer Gynt") that connects small hints of coloratura with long-breathed legato lines.

Text: Ave, Maria! Maiden mild!
Oh listen to a maiden's prayer;
For thou canst hear tho' from the wild,
And Thou canst save amid despair.
Safe may we sleep beneath thy care
Tho' banish'd outcast and reviled,
Oh, Maiden hear a maidens prayer.
Oh Mother, hear a suppliant child!
Ave Maria!

Ave, Maria! Undefiled!
The flinty couch we now must share,
Shall seem with down of eider piled
If thy, if thy protection hover there.
The murky cavern's heavy air
Shall breath of Balm if thou hast smiled;
Then, Maiden hear a maiden's prayer.
Oh Mother, hear a suppliant child!
Ave Maria!

Ave, Maria! Stainless-styled!
Foul demons of the earth and air,
From this their wonted haunt exiled,
Shall flee, shall flee before thy presence fair.
We bow us to our lot of care
Beneath Thy guidance reconciled,
Hear for a maid a maiden's prayer;
And for a father bear a child!
Ave Maria!

Hope you'll enjoy :).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Schubert
• belcanto
• romantic
• classical

[olmomclp]

wonderful!

[olmomdgdmtal5p]

Elly Ameling is the best !

[KeltyI]

@olmomdgdmtal5p could not agree more

[DrRyan87]

@guernican Hahahahaha yes, she most certainly is not. Thank goodness!

[guernican]

She's marvellous, but she's no Florence Foster Jenkins.

[PercivalBlakeney]

Vox Elly Ameling, vox dei est.

(My Latin's even worse than my English...LoL)

Большое спасибо маэстро!!

;-)

[georgiannanyman]

So grateful to find this ! Wishing that all voice students in this new generation could have access to this true understanding of the art of song and have this standard of excellence in languages and observance of style as a standard to uphold against the recent trend toward low standards and aim.

[mceavm]

muy bueno y siembre será hasta el fin del mundo...

[Capilleary]

Oh, WOW.

I just can't formulate any other thoughts after this, can't find just the right words to express myself.

[EnglishBayley]

The great ones always make it sound so simple. Effortless. Ameling is amazing.

[stingamajig]

This is really beautiful, but I think it sounds better in italian.