English The Secret Invitation Composed May 22, 1894. | Language German | |
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Catalogue Op. 27 number 3, TrV 170. Dedication Pauline de Ahna, composer's wife. | ||
"Heimliche Aufforderung" ("The Secret Invitation" or "The Lover's Pledge"), Op. 27 No. 3, is one of a set of four songs composed by Richard Strauss in 1894. It was originally for voice and piano, but it was orchestrated in 1929 by the German conductor Robert Heger. The text is from a poem in German by John Henry Mackay.
Contents
The first phrase of the song is "Auf, hebe die funkelnde Schale empor" (In English: "Up, raise the sparkling cup").
History
Strauss composed the song in 1894 and gave it as a wedding present to his wife, the soprano Pauline de Ahna.
Strauss recorded the orchestral version in 1941 with Julius Patzak (tenor) and the Bavarian State Orchestra, and in 1944 the piano version with himself accompanying Alfred Poell (baritone).
Lyrics
Strauss altered three words slightly: the originals are in square brackets.
Instrumentation and accompaniment
Orchestration by Heger:
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, percussion, harp and string section
Opus 27
The other songs of Strauss' Opus 27:
Videos
Ben Heppner, with orchestral accompaniment
Ben Heppner, with piano accompaniment