("Spring song"), WAB 68, is a lied composed by Anton Bruckner in 1851 for the name-day of Aloisia Bogner.
History Bruckner composed the lied on a text of Heinrich Heine in 1851 for "the name-day of a blossoming spring rose" (), Bruckner's 16-year old pupil Aloisia Bogner,The 16-year old Aloisia Bogner, alias Louise or Luise Bogner, was the older daughter of Michaël Bogner, by whom Bruckner had his living accommodation.C. van Zwol, pp. 715-716U. Harten, p. 151C. Howie, Chapter II, p. 29 for whom he also composed Der Mondabend and the piano works Lancier-Quadrille, WAB 120, and Steiermärker, WAB 122.C. van Zwol, pp. 61-62
The manuscript is stored in the archive of the of Linz. The lied, which was first published in Band II/2, pp. 44–46 of the Göllerich/Auer biography, is issued in Band XXIII/1, No. 1 of the .Gesamtausgabe – Lieder für Gesang und Klavier
Text
Frühlingslied is based on a text by Heinrich Heine, with one minor change: Lovely chimes draw softly Into my soul. Ring, little spring song, Ring out far away.
Ring out to his house, Where the flowers sprout, When you see a rose, Say: "I let greet you".
Music The 24-bar long work in A major is scored for solo voice and piano. This easy composition displays no relationship with Mendelssohn's Frühlingslied. The voice score is conducted cantabile, and the piano accompaniment uses a continuous figuration.
Discography There are two recordings of Frühlingslied: Robert Holzer (bass), Thomas Kerbl (piano), Anton Bruckner Lieder/Magnificat – CD: LIVA 046, 2011. NB: Transposed in F major.Can also be heard on YouTube: A. Bruckner - Frühlingslied Elisabeth Wimmer (soprano), Daniel Linton-France (piano) in "Bruckner, Anton – Böck liest Bruckner I" – CD – Gramola 99195, 3 October 2018
References
Sources August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, – posthumous edited by Max Auer by G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1932 Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXIII/1: Lieder für Gesang und Klavier (1851–1882), Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Angela Pachovsky (Editor), Vienna, 1997 Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012. Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. , Salzburg, 1996. . Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner - A documentary biography, online revised edition
External links
Frühlingslied A-Dur, 1851 - WAB 68 – Critical discography by Hans Roelofs Heine's original text with an English translation is available on The LiederNet Archive: Sweet chimes are softly filling my soul Rüdiger Büll, Ulrike Zeitler (piano) - Frühlingslied, WAB 68, October 2024: Frühlingslied, WAB 68, and Im April, WAB 75