Hymn to the Night (Beethoven)
Hymn to the Night is a piece of music for a polyphonic choir. Ludwig van Beethoven is often named as the author , from whom the underlying melody comes, but not the choral setting. Because of its festive, contemplative character, the work is often performed at Christmas time.
structure
The work consists of two stanzas of identical setting, which in turn are divided into two parts. The first part is in the form of a calmly flowing chorale melody. The second part has a more lively style, especially since the text here also conveys a spirit of optimism. It shows an increase, the climax of which is reached with the first syllable of the word "gladly", emphasized by a strongly tense chord that dissolves in "fleh'n skyward". As the text of the second part differs only slightly between the verses and is also repeated, it acts as a refrain .
text
The text comes from Friedrich von Matthisson (1761–1831):
1. Holy Night, O pour
heavenly peace into this heart!
Bring rest to the poor pilgrim,
dear refreshment for his pain!
The stars are already glowing brightly,
greetings from a blue distance:
I
would love to
flee to you heavenward!
2.
Harp tones , soft and sweet, Wail me tender air,
From heaven's paradise,
From love sea of bliss.
Just glow, you golden stars,
waving from a blue distance:
I
would love to
flee heavenward to you !
Possibilities of interpretation
Although the work is preferably performed in a Christmas context and the beginning “Heil'ge Nacht” is reminiscent of Christmas carols, the text or music have no specific Christmas references. A religious interpretation is conceivable in which it is the “holy” Christmas night that gives the believer peace and new hope for the joys of Paradise and thus gives him strength to cope with his life. But against the background of the epoch in which the text was written, namely the Romantic period , it is simply a contemplation of a peacefully falling night, which offers people ("pilgrims") relaxation after the day's work ("Heavenly Peace", "Lovely refreshment"). The metaphorical application of religious terms (pilgrimage, holy) to the everyday is a well-known element of the pictorial language of Romanticism. The longing for redemption in the distance symbolized by the stars ("would like to flee to you [...] heavenward") follows romantic thought structures.
Emergence
The musical ideas of the choral movement come from the 2nd movement of the piano sonata No. 23 "Appassionata" by Ludwig van Beethoven published in 1807 . The movement first introduces the main theme (on which the choral work is based) and develops a variation movement from it . Beethoven never made a choral setting out of it himself.
Friedrich Silcher (1789–1860) put a solo vocal part with the text by Friedrich von Matthisson over Beethoven's piano work and published this arrangement in the 1830s together with similar ones in his work "Melodies from Beethoven's sonatas and symphonies set up for songs for one voice" . Lyricist Matthisson was very much appreciated by his contemporary Beethoven, and Beethoven himself set several of Matthisson's texts to music.
Silcher's arrangement was finally adapted for four-part male choir by Ignaz Heim (1818–1880) and was published in 1862 under the title "Heilge Nacht".
Web links
- Hymn to the Night (Beethoven, Ludwig van) : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Public domain sheet music for Hymne to the Night (Beethoven) in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Text accompanying a concert program with information on the creation of the work, accessed on December 22, 2016
- ^ Ludwig van Beethoven: Correspondence. Complete edition , ed. by Sieghard Brandenburg , Volume 1, Munich 1996, No. 47