Richard Strauss (1864-1949):
  Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1
(composed in 1885; first published in 1887)
Text:  Hermann von Gilm

Original Key/Recorded Key:  C Major
Teach-Track begins:  m. 1
Accompaniment Track begins:  m. 1
Pianist:  Daniel Michalak

	One of Strauss?s earliest published songs, Zueignung remains among his most enduringly popular and familiar.  Yet it is also one of those pieces that runs the risk of being ?loved to death,? and can easily sound stodgy and pedantic if taken too slowly (as it often is).  There is an underlying fervor and conviction to the text that must somehow be reconciled with the undeniably dignified, processional quality of the accompaniment.  In this context, the tempo indication of ?moderato? should be understood to approximate andante con moto; there should almost be a feeling of being in a slow 2.

	From a musical standpoint (as opposed to a purely vocal one), the most challenging aspect of the song is the constant tension between eighth-notes in the vocal line and triplet eighths in the piano accompaniment.  This takes a good deal of practice to feel and perform accurately, but it is well worth the effort?and indispensable to the song achieving its full effect.  When the singer?s eighth-notes are late (intuitively lining up with the last of the piano?s triplet eighths), the result is ?sing-song?-y and glib?indeed, it makes the music sound as if it were in 6/8 instead of 4/4.

	But a compelling sense of dignity and restraint, of power held in reserve, is created when the rhythms are performed as written (with the singer?s eighth-notes coming slightly earlier, falling between the second and third of the piano?s triplet eighths).  Without overemphasizing it, we have tried to make this 2-against-3 effect as clear as possible on the teach-track.  Even if you feel you already know the notes, we strongly encourage you to practice with the teach-track until your performance lines up precisely with the vocal line on the recording. 

	While ?Zueignung? is perhaps the quintessential late-Romantic art song, it is emphatically not an aria, and for this reason the temptation to unduly lengthen the climactic high note (?heilig?) should be resisted.  The effect should be that of a natural, temporary broadening of the overall tempo rather than of an actual fermata; to literally ?stop? the music at this point inevitably sounds awkward and self-indulgent?and, given the nature of the accompaniment, places an unfair burden on the pianist to adjust their part in a musically convincing way.

	Finally, unless you are fortunate enough to have access to a Bösendorfer Imperial concert grand (with its extended low notes), we strongly discourage transposition of this song below the key of A major (in which the singer?s high note is an F-sharp).  This is because doing so will force the pianist to redistribute their lowest left-hand chords up an octave, an expediency which robs the end of the piece of much of its power.


Notes © 1998 by Daniel O. Michalak