Choral(/Vocal) Piece of the Day, Installment 48: Twelve Songs, Op. 27., by Alexander Zemlinsky (Soprano Solo and Piano) Arranged for Soprano Solo, SATB Chorus and Piano or Chamber Orchestra (2018); English Singing Translations by Stanley M. Hoffman.
1. Abduction (Entführung) - Stefan George
2. Summer (Sommer) - Kalidasa
3. Spring (Frühling) - Kalidasa
4. Now Is the Time (Jetzt ist die Zeit) - Kalidasa
5. The Rejected (Die Verschmähte) - Amaru
6. The Autumn Wind (Der Wind des Herbstes) - Kalidasa
7. Misery (Elend) - Langston Hughes*
8. Harlem Dancer (Harlem Tänzerin) - Claude McKay*
9. African Dance (Afrikanischer Tanz) - Langston Hughes*
10. Give Me a Song Again (Gib ein Lied mir wieder) - Stefan George
11. The Time of Rain (Regenzeit) - Kalidasa
12. Wanderer’s Nightsong (Wandrers Nachtlied) - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
* NB: The German translations for Nos. 7–10 are protected in the European Union until 2036 or 2037. The rights to them are in limbo there as the translator, Anna Siemsen, died intestate. Thankfully, Nos. 7–10 may be performed in German or in English in the United States.
I wrote my 1993 doctoral dissertation based on this set of songs. Nearly all of Zemlinsky’s music entered the Public Domain in 2012. In 2017–2018, I completed a newly edited piano/vocal score which includes my own English translations. I also orchestrated the songs and created versions of them for soprano solo and SATB chorus. You can read the Preface to the scores by following the next URL. https://www.stanleymhoffman.com/_files/ugd/f3e5c9_73872388eff14f7bb05ba2c7fe17f800.pdf
I am pleased to make my editions and arrangements available for performance. Please contact me via my website, http://www.stanleymhoffman.com, to request performance materials: URLs for the watermarked PDFs of the four main scores appear below.
2024 UPDATE and COMMENTARY:
UPDATE: Nos. 1–6 and 10–12 are now also available in the piano/choral version from Sheet Music Plus; nos. 7–9 are available only from the composer; see ordering information on his website. www.stanleymhoffman.com/works-unpublished.
COMMENTARY: Many thanks to choirplace.com for posting about this collection. However, otherwise these editions have received little attention since their creation which seems unfair to them. Just take a look at the choral excerpt for 4. Now Is the Time (Jetzt ist die Zeit), choir directors; it is a secular choral "chestnut," and yet no one has even noticed yet. The same is true for 9. African Dance (Afrikanischer Tanz).
Available Editions:
Piano/Vocal Score (soprano solo and piano) - URL for the watermarked PDF: https://www.stanleymhoffman.com/_files/ugd/f3e5c9_0bcce279af154a76b710afac844d02e8.pdf
Piano/Choral Score (soprano solo, SATB chorus, and piano; each song is also available separately – see below) – link to a watermarked PDF
https://www.stanleymhoffman.com/_files/ugd/f3e5c9_a9f4938cb9ce4c5c8dffa68b66def840.pdf
Full Orchestral Score for the vocal version – link to a watermarked PDF study score
https://www.stanleymhoffman.com/_files/ugd/f3e5c9_b3a92593e4794323a77a92fddb3ef326.pdf
Full Orchestral Score for the choral version – link to a watermarked PDF study score
https://www.stanleymhoffman.com/_files/ugd/f3e5c9_4ee16a3d5ea34021a4b9e46838a00918.pdf
Instrumental Parts that work with both versions
URL for Piano/Choral Scrolling Score on YouTube:
URL for Full/Choral Scrolling Score on YouTube:
Instrumentation (Chamber Orchestra:)
Flute/Piccolo
Oboe/English Horn
Clarinet in B-flat/optional Soprano Saxophone in B-flat in songs 7–9
Bassoon
2 Horns in F
Trumpet in B-flat
Trombone
Tuba
Percussion
(Glockenspiel, Suspended Cymbal, Wind Chimes, Bass Drum, Timpani, Tom-toms [4]) Keyboard (Celesta/Piano)
Harp
Strings
Duration:
ca. 17:00
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