Angels’ Wings (Music for Yodit) is an arrangement for string orchestra of ‘Engelsflügel 2’, the third of my set of three piano pieces written in homage to Johannes Brahms. These pieces were conceived as interludes to be played between Brahms’ four final Piano Pieces, Op. 119. However, as a stand-alone piece it is my hope that this short work captures a spirit of remembrance and solace.
I was chatting to Martin over Skype one Saturday evening during Yodit’s illness and said that I was sorry there was nothing I could do to help. Martin replied: ‘Actually, there is’. He suggested that if I were to write a few bars of music and Yodit could hear them, it might provide her with some comfort to know that people were thinking of her. I immediately set to work and 24 hours later – I have never produced anything at that speed before – I had written Song for Yodit, and sent it to Martin in the form of a MIDI realisation. Thus Yodit was able to hear the piece, and I believe it did help her in some small way [her immediate reaction was: ‘Wow! Wow!’ – MA]. It had its first performance at her funeral on 1 May 2015.
In simple ternary form, with a brief return of the central part and short coda, Song for Yodit is quite uncharacteristic of my other work, which mixes anger and consolation in fairly equal proportions; here there is only consolation.
Johannes Brahms arr. Ragnar Söderlind
Vier Gesänge, Op. 43: No. 1, ‘Von ewiger Liebe’
This arrangement has its origins in an e-mail exchange with Martin in the last days of Yodit’s life, as his ‘Music for Yodit’ project was beginning to take shape. He wrote to me that Brahms’ song ‘Von ewiger Liebe’ – in his view the greatest song anyone ever wrote – had been going through his head for weeks, in a kind of loop, with the climactic phrase ‘unsere Liebe’ – ‘our love’ – constantly ringing round his mind. Brahms is the favourite composer of both Martin and Alex, and he is one of my favourite composers, too. I asked Martin if he would like me to make a version of ‘Von ewiger Liebe’ for string orchestra as a sort of ‘motto piece’ for the entire undertaking and he readily agreed. My arrangement – which I made in a single day – attempts to preserve something of the dramaturgy of the original poem — by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, after a Wendish (western Slavic) folk text – and to use the resources of a full body of strings to realise the symphonic potential of this astonishingly powerful composition.
Dunkel, wie dunkel in Wald und in Feld!
Abend schon ist es, nun schweiget die Welt.
Nirgend noch Licht und nirgend noch Rauch,
Ja, und die Lerche sie schweiget nun auch.
Kommt aus dem Dorfe der Bursche heraus,
Gibt das Geleit der Geliebten nach Haus,
Führt sie am Weidengebuesche vorbei,
Redet so viel und so mancherlei.
‘Leidest du Schmach und betrübest du dich,
Leidest du Schmach von andern um mich,
Werde die Liebe getrennt so geschwind,
Schnell wie wir frueher vereiniget sind.
Sceide mit Regen und scheide mit Wind,
Schnell wie wir frueher vereiniget sind.’
Spricht das Mägdelein, Mägdelein spricht:
‘Unsere Liebe, sie trennet sich nicht!
Fest ist der Stahl und das Eisen gar sehr,
Unsere Liebe ist fest noch mehr.
Eisen und Stahl, man schmiedet sie um,
Unsere Liebe, wer wandelt sie um?
Eisen und Stahl, sie koennen zergehn,
Unsere Liebe muss ewig bestehn!’
Dark, how dark it is in wood and field!
It is evening already; now the world has fallen silent.
Nowhere lights still shining and nowhere any more smoke.
Yes, now even the lark has fallen silent.
Out of the village comes the young lad,
Escorting his sweetheart home.
He leads her past the willow bushes,
Talking so much, and of so many things:
‘If you suffer shame and if you grieve,
If you suffer disgrace in front of other people because of me,
Then our love shall be ended ever so swiftly
As swiftly as we once came together;
It shall go with the rain and go with the wind,
As swiftly as we once came together.”
Then speaks the maiden, the maiden speaks:
‘Our love shall never come to an end!
Steel is firm and iron is firm,
Yet our love is firmer still.
Iron and steel can be recast,
But who would transform our love?
Iron and steel can melt;
Our love, our love must last forever!’
Translation by Martin Anderson
Symphonic Song is a lyrical, at times dramatic, threnody for string orchestra. Commissioned by Martin Anderson as part of a recording project to commemorate the life of his late fiancée, Yodit Tekle, the work was composed in May 2015, in Tangier, Morocco. It is cast as a continuous dark-hued narrative, and incorporates some material from my Tenth Piano Sonata, dating from the same year. The sonorous fortissimo ending is marked Grandioso.