by Mike Telin
What is it about the central German city of Weimar that has inspired so many important artists, musicians, poets and philosophers?
In 2019 composer Margi Griebling-Haigh had the good fortune to visit the picturesque city twice — she too was inspired. “The apartment I was staying in was on the top floor of an old building on the Herderplatz. My window overlooked the bell tower of the church in which Bach wrote most of his organ concertos,” she recalled during a recent conversation. “It snowed most of the week I was there — it was beautiful. But looking out at the bell tower and hearing them ring, I realized that this is what Bach would have heard. I actually recorded them on my phone, and I knew that somehow I would use them in a piece.”
On Tuesday, February 14 at 7:30 pm at Fairmount Presbyterian Church Chapel, Griebling-Haigh’s Weimarer Winterszenen and Lufthaltenlieder will receive their world premieres during a program titled “A Romantic German Valentine.” The program will also include Schubert’s Auf dem Strom, Der Hirt auf dem Felsen and Schumann’s Drei Romanzen & Drei Fantasiestücke performed by Gabrielle Haigh (soprano), Robert Woolfrey (clarinet), Jesse McCormick (horn), Margi Griebling-Haigh (English horn), and Randall Fusco (piano). Suggested freewill donation: $20 at the door.
Griebling-Haigh said that Weimarer Winterszenen for English horn and piano, was inspired by her first trip to Weimar in February of 2019 to hear her daughter Gabrielle perform the role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus at the city’s Lyric Opera Studio.
“I had a bit of free time, so I was wandering around seeing the sights, and there was just something about walking down these tree lined streets covered in snow that you don’t get anywhere else.” The opening movement, “Winter Mitternacht” (winter midnight), is about walking down the Steubenstraße in the soft snow, while the second, “Wintermorgen,” depicts ducks and geese splashing around on the icy river Ilm.
“Gabby’s husband came over as well and we spent a lot of time in the Frauentor Café having cake with whipped cream on it. So Winternachmittag is a cozy little waltz.” The concluding movement, “Winter Abend,” depicts the sound of the Herderplatz church bells muffled by the snow.
“The other thing about this piece is that I have never written a large work for the English horn. It’s also been a goal of mine for a long time and this became the piece to make that happen.”
The composer noted that the song cycle Lufthaltenlieder for soprano, clarinet, horn, and piano, was written especially for her daughter and was created as a result of her winter and summer trips to the city. Both gave her the opportunity to visit the haunts of composers, poets, and philosophers who had called Weimar home. The work’s three movements are settings of texts of two poems by Heinrich Heine and one by Goethe.
“Heine’s ‘Lieb’ Liebchen’ is an agitated, heartbeat type of song, and ‘Ein Weib’ is about a pair of tramps who live together. The male keeps getting arrested for various things and the female simply lies in the bed and laughs about it. At the end of the poem he is arrested and hanged and she just drinks red wine and laughs. The end of the poem talks about the bells ringing. So I had the opportunity to steal from myself, and the bells return. Goethe’s ‘Wandrers Nachtlied II’ is very serene.”
Joining the conversation, pianist Randall Fusco said that he looks forward to playing an entire concert of Romantic music. “It gives you a chance to really sink into the keyboard and go for that luscious, bigger-than-life sound that the period has in mind.”
The pianist pointed out that both Schubert pieces, “Auf dem Strom” (soprano, horn, and piano), which will open the program, and the concluding “Der Hirt auf dem Felsen,” (soprano, clarinet, and piano) were both written in 1828, the year the composer died. He added that it’s interesting to see how Schubert treats the voice and the instruments in both works.
“For example, in ‘Shepherd On The Rock,’ the voice and clarinet take turns being heard and there are some nice, almost yodeling effects in both parts. Both this piece and ‘Auf dem Strom’ begin with lengthy instrumental solos, but as soon as the voice enters, in ‘Strom,’ it is pretty much a duet throughout the whole piece. And in both the piano is functioning more as a — dare I say? — continuo instrument. I’m providing harmony that is either rhythmic or arpeggiated. So Schubert was putting his knowhow into the writing for the voice and for the instruments.”
Like the two Schubert pieces, both Schumann’a Drei Romanzen and Drei Fantasiestücke were also written in the same year, 1849. “What’s challenging about them is that the lines are long,” Fusco said. “That’s the thing about Romantic music. Unlike classical melodies that can neatly fall into two- or four-bar phrases, it’s not uncommon in the Romantic era to have melodies that go on for eight bars. And even though you need to breathe, you do need to create the feeling that those eight bars are one unit.”
The pianist added that both Schumanns are more of a duo between the piano and the instruments. “There’s a lot of melodic intrigue in the piano part, whereas with the Schuberts, I’m providing harmonic and rhythmic support for the soloist.”
Winding down the conversation, Griebling-Haigh said that it’s been fun to see the program take shape. “I asked Jessie and Robert what they would like to play, and surprisingly they both proposed these Schumannn pieces that were not written for their own instruments. So it’s funny how it has all come together.”
“I’m looking forward to this,” Fusco said. “I’ve played a lot of Margi’s music and these two pieces are really gratifying. This is going to be a fun concert, and for anybody who wants to go to a concert on Valentine’s Day, this is the one to hit.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com February 9, 2023.
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