W.A. Mozart "Abendempfindung an Laura" K.523
Arleen Auger - Soprano
Irwin Gage - Piano
Lyricist: Joachim Heinrich Campe
Special thanks to Andrea585ny and Michael from Columbia, US
Mozart's few Lieder are representative of eighteenth century song and its tendency toward sentimental melancholy.
Some are satirical, such as Die Verschweigung, K. 518, and one Das Veilchen, K. 476, even brings to mind the eighteenth century ballad in its through-composed format. Mozart perhaps achieved his pinnacle of sentimentality in his Abendempfindung an Laura (Evening Feelings to Laura), K. 523. Its emotional content looks forward to the nineteenth century, as does its winding, through-composed melody, set against constant arpeggiated chords.
According to Mozart's "List of all my Works," Abendempfindung was completed on June 24, 1787. The song was published in 1789 in Vienna; the text is thought to be by Joachim Heinrich Campe. Abendempfindung has all the markings of eighteenth century sentimental poetry. During an evening, the narrator contemplates the passing of time and life. Soon we must die and our friends' tears will fall on our graves. He then speaks of his own death and asks the listener to shed a tear for him, which will become the most beautiful pearl in his crown.