Description

The Four Songs op. 27, which Richard Strauss composed as a wedding gift for his wife Pauline de Ahna on September 10, 1894, hold a special place among his many works written for her. Unlike Strauss' earlier song cycles, this set combines poems by different poets - Karl Henckell's "Ruhe, meine Seele," Heinrich Hart's "Cäcilie," and two texts by John Henry Mackay, "Heimliche Aufforderung" and "Morgen" - into a diverse and expressive collection. Pauline, a renowned concert singer, frequently performed her husband's songs, with the impressionistic "Morgen" becoming the best known of Strauss' over 200 vocal works. For the Urtext edition, the composer's original autograph, now preserved in New York, was carefully studied alongside the first published edition from 1894.