George Parker (baritone)
Gedenke doch mein Geist zuriick
(Remember, 0 my soul) Bach
Four Serious Songs, Op. 121 Brahms
1 One thing befalleth the beasts and the sons of men (Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh) (Ecclesiastes, 3). 2 So I returned and did consider (Ich wandte mich und sahe an) (Ecclesiastes, 4). 3 0 Death, how bitter art thou (0 Tod, wie bitter bist du) (Ecclesiasticus, 41). 4 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of the angels (Wenn ich mit Menschen und mit Engelszungen redete) (I Corinthians, 13)
Brahms's ' Four Serious Songs , Op. 121, was his last published work. Written in 1896, it is supposed to have been inspired by the foreboding of Clara Schumann s approaching death. These four songs are full of a deep emotional feeling, so much so that Brahms himself refused to hear them performed at a public concert, as he knew the music would move him too deeply.