In addition to the two Opus 85 songs that Beethoven set to poems by Christian Ludwig Reissig (Day 223) (Day 224), Beethoven also composed three other songs to Reissig poems in late 1809. These are catalogued as WoO 137, 138, and 139.
Reissig had been seriously wounded in battle fighting against the French, and consequently found it easy to persuade sympathetic composers to set his poems to music. But then “that rascal Reissig” (Beethoven’s words) published the songs without permission for his own profit.
As Beethoven worked on setting Reissig’s poem “Lied aus der Ferne” (“Song from Far Away”, WoO 137), the song became progressively more ambitious. Beethoven abandoned one version after just one stanza and later reused that music for another Reissig poem (WoO 138).
#Beethoven250 Day 227
“Lied aus der Ferne” (WoO 137), 1809
The late great Peter Schreier can often be counted upon for live performances of Beethoven lieder.
Following a longish piano introduction in 6/8 time, the first verse of “Lied aus der Ferne” reveals the poet’s “tears of longing” for the absence of his sweetheart. Prior to distance separating them, life had resembled “A nightingale copse Filled with games and dancing!”
For the second verse, the meter switches to 2/4 and the tempo slows. The poet relates that “longing often drives me” where he can strive to “glimpse The smile of my heart’s desire!” Alas, it’s nowhere to be found. The gaze “never Returns satisfied.”
The piano starts beating like a frantic heart as the third stanza begins “How my heart beats within me … O come, my fair one, Your young man is here! … For I never before loved As I love you.”
The fourth stanza returns to 6/8 but now faster. The lovers have been reunited and bells are ringing. “Come swiftly, my dearest, To the wedding dance; … Come, transform my humble cottage / Into an enchanted temple of peace, A temple of ecstasy; And may you be its goddess!”