Thursday, March 4, 2010

Today I went to a free concert. Have I mentioned the free concerts at the Four Seasons Centre? If I haven't, I don't know why because I think they're fabulous.

Today it was a recital by the voice performance students at University of Toronto. The recital title was called Lachen und Weinen, Weinen und Lachen: From Ectasy to Agony and Back Again. It was (as per usual) a truly lovely way to spend a lunch hour.

One of my favourite songs was by a contemporary Canadian composer; a composer who just happened to be attending the concert and obliged in giving the audience some insight into his process behind composing the pieces (which I thought was super facinating). It was the last piece of the recital, it was song by a beautiful mezzo-soprano, it was a German poem by Heinrich Heine which translates to:

My sweet Love, when in the grave,
In the dark grave you lie,
Then will I climb down to you
And nestle at your side.
I kiss and caress and press you wildly,
You're still cold and white!
I wail, I tremble, and weeping mildly,
I become a corpse myself.
The dead arise and midnight calls,
They dance in airy swarms,
But you and I stay in the grave
And I lie in your arms.
The dead arise, and judgement day
Calls them to torture and pleasure;
But none of this bothers us,
We remain entwined below.

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