Morgen!, für tiefe Singstimme und Orchester

Richard Strauss found in the soprano Pauline de Ahna not only a lifelong companion and muse but also a perfect interpreter of his songs. From the early years of their marriage dates Morgen!, composed some months before which is contained in the op. 27 (1894). The cycle consists of four songs (Ruhe meine Seele, Cäcilie, Heimliche Aufforderung and Morgen!) which Strauss wrote as a wedding present for Pauline, whom he married on September 10, 1894 in Marquatschein. The songs were composed initially for voice and piano, but 1897 Strauss orchestrated them for her to perform at the concerts he conducted.

Morgen!
John Henry Mackay, 1864–1933
Engl. translation: William Mann

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 ...

Tomorrow!

And tomorrow the sun will shine again,
And on the path that I shall take
It will unite us, lucky ones, again
Amid this same sun-breathing earth.

And to the beach, broad and blue-waved,
We shall climb down quiet and slow;
Speechless we shall gaze each in the other’s eyes,
And the speechless silence of happiness will fall upon us …