| Cäcilie | |
|---|---|
| Lied byRichard Strauss | |
 Lady Lilith byRossetti (1866). | |
| English | Cecilia orCecily |
| Catalogue | TrV 170 |
| Opus | 27, No. 2 |
| Text | Poem by Heinrich Hart |
| Language | German |
| Composed | September 9, 1894 |
| Dedication | Pauline de Ahna, composer's wife. |
| Scoring | Voice and piano |
"Cäcilie",Op. 27 No. 2, is the second in a set of four songs composed byRichard Strauss in 1894.
The words are from a love poem "Cäcilie" written by Heinrich Hart (1855–1906), a German dramatic critic and journalist who also wrote poetry. It was written for the poet's wife Cäcilie.
German pronunciation:[tsɛːˈtsiː.liːə], or UK English as "Cecilia".
Strauss composed the song atMarquartstein on 9 September 1894.[1], the day before his wedding to the sopranoPauline de Ahna. All four of the Opus 27 songs, includingCäcilie were given as a wedding present to her.
The song was originally written with piano accompaniment in the key of E major, but later orchestrated in his 'heroic' key of E♭. The instrumentation is: 2flutes, 2oboes, 2clarinets in B♭, 2bassoons, 4horns in E♭, 2trumpets in E♭, 3trombones,tuba, 3timpani,harp and the orchestralstring section.[2]
The tempo direction is "Sehr lebhaft und drängend".[3]
Strauss, in his rich and lively orchestration, included parts for a solo string player from each section.
The change of key asemitone down from E to E♭ explains why, from bar 34 on the violas are asked to play the note B, a semitone below the lowest note normally possible on the instrument; and at this point Strauss asks half the violas to tune this string down a semitone.[4] For the same reason the full score, bar 39, gives the secondflute the note B, a semitone lower than its normal lowest note.
| Cäcilie | Cecilia[5] |
|---|---|
Wenn du es wüßtest, | If you but knew, sweet, |
The other songs of Strauss'Opus 27:
There are many recordings of this, one of Strauss's most popular songs. Richard Strauss recorded it in once in 1944, accompanying the Austrian sopranoMaria Reining on the piano.[8]
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Cäcilie" Strauss – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
