Arpeggio Poem

The second poem describes a new part of the landscape. The garden seems to get more beautiful and cared for towards the middle of the cycle. Both the landscape and the speaker’s feelings become more concrete. After the earthy colours of the previous text, the second poem appears brighter and more alive, and the scene is probably set at daytime. The poem contains enjambments and enumerations that create a slightly faster flow compared to the first poem. We found it necessary to take enough time between the first and second song to make room for this change of atmosphere. Despite the soft dynamics throughout, I decided to avoid the left pedal in this song to bring out the lighter colours.

In the beginning, the speaker’s gaze wanders seemingly

It seems as if his gaze is fixed on the distance before it moves to his immediate surroundings as he describes more and more artificial, human-made structures. The unusual plural “paradises” (v. 1) contributes to the impression that the area of the gardens is enormous. The speaker’s awe is conveyed through the inversion of the first sentence, which is noteworthy as it would have been easy to change the word order without losing the rhyme. I try to convey this awe through the way I play the opening arpeggio, which I think of as relaxed and sensual with a slightly heavy left hand and a slow movement that triggers the

The singer can bring out the onomatopoeic quality of the word “säuseln” (to whisper), which illustrates the soft sound the rushes make in the wind and which makes the verse slightly melancholic. Because of the conjunction “Und” and the previous long clauses, one expects a continuation of the description, but the sentence is suddenly interrupted by the conjunction “Doch” (but) in the last verse. Finally, the speaker comes to the fore, declaring that his dream pursues only one thing. It seems, he can rejoice in the beauty of the garden only for short moments of time while he is obsessed with this dream. Because of the surprising change after the eighth verse, I find it important not to lose tension during the molto ritardando. I try to “sing” my expressive left-hand octaves until the end of the phrase despite the slow tempo. The following sforzato arpeggios convey the sudden change, but should not be played to harsh, rather like a friendly admonishment not to get lost in the dreamy contemplation of nature and to follow his real dream instead. I realised that I have to pedal carefully and manage the diminuendo on the octaves without losing the marcato quality. Only the chord on “Traum” should be warm and convey the speaker’s