Schlummer unter Dornrosen, op. 19

The Schlummer unter Dornrosen song cycle, Op. 19, opens the series of four song cycles, composed by the director of church music Neithard Bethke. A common element in each of these cycles is that, apart from a mainly chordal accompanying instrument (piano, harpsichord, organ, harp), the singer is joined by a solo counterpart in the form of a solo instrument. The soloistic interplay between voice and instrument thus intended produces a very special musical tension that adds significant tonal stimulus to the literary expression of the text. For the Schlummer unter Dornrosen song cycle, sixteen texts, each of them with a very different structure, were chose from the nineteenth-century collection of poems entitled “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”, and combined them to form a coherent song cycle. This does not exclude the fact some of the songs can and may be performed individually. The almost intimate interplay between violin and voice and the close thematic inclusion of the piano part make these songs quite special, and they are sure to enhance the repertoire of any singer.