Hausegger, Siegmund von

Siegmund von Hausegger – Three Hymns to the Night after poems by Gottfried Keller, for baritone and orchestra

(b. Graz, 6. May 1872 – d. Munich 10. October 1948)

I. Silence of the Night
II. Restlessness of the Night
III. Under Stars

Siegmund von Hausegger may have been the least absolute composer of the last two centuries. Everything he wrote had either a program or a text. In addition to his five symphonic works, he wrote two operas, over a dozen choral works and better than 60 songs. In his songs, like Wolf, he often absorbs an ingratiating lyricism into the narrative thread or meaning of their texts. He wrote the first two of the Hymns to the Night in 1901; the third in 1902.

I. Stille der Nacht I. Silence of the Night

Wilkommen, klare Sommernacht, Welcome, clear summer night
die auf tautrunken Fluren liegt! Lying over the dew-drenched meadows
gegrüßt mir gold’ne Sternenpracht, I greet you, sublime starry splendor
die spielend sich im Weltraum liegt! Playfully swaying in the sky’s expanse …

… Siegmund von Hausegger may have been the least absolute composer of the last two centuries. Everything he wrote had either a program or a text. In addition to his five symphonic works, he wrote two operas, over a dozen choral works and better than 60 songs. In his songs, like Wolf, he often absorbs an ingratiating lyricism into the narrative thread or meaning of their texts. He wrote the first two of the Hymns to the Night in 1901; the third in 1902. …

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