Sung by DALE SMITH
Wie Melodien zieht es mir
(Like melodies it draws me on) Sapphische Ode (Sapphic
Ode)
Bei dir sind meine Gedanken (With you are my thoughts)
In Waldeseinsamkeit (In forest loneliness) Der Schmied (The Blacksmith)
WIE MELODIEN sings of ' something ' which comes like melodies and spring-blossoms, but is elusive as grey mists and breaths of air. ' But yet,' says the song, in Rhymes there lies well hidden a fragrance which brings tears to the eyes.'
The Sapphic Ode is a memory of the beauty of roses, wet with dew, and of the beloved one's kiss, when two souls wore moved by deep emotion. Musically it is a song of intense beauty. Notice the elegance and perfect shape of the long phrases that compose the melody.
With you are my thoughts is a simple serenade from a distance, in three similar verses, with a noticeable figure of accompaniment that is kept up with insistence and artistic finish.
In the next song the verse states, without comment, that ' I used to sit at your feet, in the loneliness of the forest, with my head in your lap ... the sun went down glowing and far away a nightingale sang.' The music helps, with ca'm elaboration, to colour tho picture.
The Blacksmith is one of Brahms' most vigorous songs. A maid sings of her lover, the smith, whose cheery hammer rings on the anvil like a peal of bells. As she passss, she sees with admiration his prowess at the forge, where the flames roar and blaze forth around him. The accompaniment, in its bold strokes, suggests the energy of the smith and the clang of his hammer.