I wrote my 1993 doctoral dissertation based on this set of songs. Nearly all of Zemlinsky’s music entered the Public Domain in 2012. In 2017–2018, I completed a newly edited piano/vocal score which includes my own English translations. I also orchestrated the songs and created versions of them for soprano solo and SATB chorus. Copyright issues related to several African-American song texts—in German translation only—prevented me from making these songs available sooner. Those issues were ironed-out in 2022, so I am now pleased to make my editions and arrangements available for performance. Links to watermarked PDFs of the four scores appear at the bottom of the “Unpublished Works” page of my website. Please contact me via my website to request performance materials.
1. Abduction (Entführung) – Stefan George
2. Summer (Sommer) – Kalidasa
3. Spring (Frühling) – Kalidasa
4. Now Is the Time (Jetzt ist die Zeit) – Kalidasa
5. The Rejected (Die Verschmähte) – Amaru
6. The Autumn Wind (Der Wind des Herbstes) – Kalidasa
7. Misery (Elend) – Langston Hughes
8. Harlem Dancer (Harlem Tänzerin) – Claude McKay
9. African Dance (Afrikanischer Tanz) – Langston Hughes
10. Give Me a Song Again (Gib ein Lied mir wieder)- Stefan George
11. The Time of Rain (Regenzeit) – Kalidasa
12. Wanderer’s Nightsong (Wandrers Nachtlied) – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Available Editions: Piano/Vocal Score (soprano solo and piano; each song is also available separately)
Piano/Choral Score (soprano solo, SATB chorus, and piano; each song is also available separately)
Full Orchestral Score for vocal version
Full Orchestral Score for choral version
Instrumental Parts that work with both versions
Instrumentation – Chamber Orchestra: Flute/Piccolo Oboe/English Horn Clarinet in B-flat/optional Soprano Saxophone in B-flat in songs 7–9 Bassoon 2 Horns in F Trumpet in B-flat Trombone Tuba Percussion (Glockenspiel, Suspended Cymbal, Wind Chimes, Bass Drum, Timpani, Tom-toms [4]) Keyboard (Celesta/Piano) Harp Strings
Duration: ca. 17:00
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