Music for the Soul (1)

“Morgen” — A song by Richard Strauss

Sometimes we just want to close our eyes for a few moments and be taken somewhere else. Literally to be moved. To forget our worries and to escape to a world of peace, happiness, love and contentment.

Good music has the power to do this for us, if we are ready to embrace its gifts. Here is a song by the German composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949) that I think is simply three and a half minutes of pure heaven and, as such, invaluable food for the soul.

First the words. Strauss chose the love poem “Morgen” (Tomorrow), written by his friend, John Henry Mackay. Here it is in the original German.

Morgen Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde, wird uns, die Glücklichen sie wieder einen inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde… und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen, werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen, stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen, und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes Schweigen…

This is a beautiful and romantic poem. A lover, feeling the pain of separation, is looking forward to tomorrow and being reunited with their lover. Here is an English translation.

This is already a poem to be treasured, one that speaks to us of longing, of love as part of nature, of peace and the silent stillness of being happy together in love. But somehow, silently reading the poem (or even reading it aloud) is not enough. Certainly it engages our minds and perhaps it starts to touch our hearts too; but to enhance our experience of the love, peace and joy of the message, we need Strauss’s music.

The composer sets this poem as a duet between solo violin and soprano singer, supported by the piano. It is, after all, about a couple, so we need to hear both voices. Unusually, the poem begins with the word “And”, as though we are interrupting the lover in the midst of their thoughts. The song starts with these lover’s thoughts of tomorrow, a beautiful theme in rising thirds played on the violin, filling us with hope and longing while the piano’s accompaniment (in triplet arpeggios) speaks to us of a quiet, relentless and irresistible onward momentum that will bring the lovers together, tomorrow.

Towards the end of the violin’s love theme, rather unexpectedly, the singer joins in quietly, as though woken from their private thoughts and suddenly unable to resist sharing with us their good news about tomorrow.

The song then continues with a repeat of the violin theme, this time accompanied by the singer, the two voices complementing each other perfectly, sometimes in imitation, sometimes in canon but always building together towards the magical ending that is one of the joys of this song.

When we get to the last two lines and the word “silently”, the music simply stops. The restless piano arpeggios which have accompanied the lover from the start fall silent, replaced by very quiet, sustained block chords. The violin too falls silent, leaving the singer alone to describe “gazing into each other’s eyes…the stillness of happiness” with a phrase that steadily and hopefully rises to the word “happiness” and then descends to a peaceful conclusion to words “silence descends over us.”

The singer is then silent while the violin and piano conclude the song with a repeat of the rising love theme, a simple but eloquent expression of the hope, longing and optimism of the lovers, finally reunited in the silent bliss of eternity.

It was another great composer, Gustav Mahler, who said “If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.”

My words here cannot hope to convey the beauty of this song. I hope, however, that they are sufficient to capture your interest and lead you to want to enjoy the song for yourself. If so, sit down, relax, close your eyes and enjoy some musical nourishment for the soul.

Here are some useful links.

Listen to the song. (Note: there are many versions available on YouTube)

Follow the sheet music:

I hope you enjoyed Morgen by Richard Strauss. If so, please let me know in the comments below. I enjoy writing these posts on Medium. I enjoy even more receiving your feedback and comments. Thank you and happy listening.