Full Description
Rainer Maria Rilke's fifteen-part poetic cycle Das Marien-Leben stands as his most eloquent meditation on Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose name he shares. Rilke composed these verses in 1912, and ten years later, Paul Hindemith chose to heighten their rhetoric in an expansive song cycle for soprano and piano, the music revised in 1948. The present edition offers a fresh translation of the texts by Christopher Anderson alongside the sensitive artwork of Nishiki Sugawara-Beda, who has fashioned her concept particularly around Hindemith's music. Supporting essays by translator and artist further situate the work in historical and contemporary contexts. Here is a poetic treasure, less known but no less significant in Rilke's oeuvre, made accessible to English readers in a unique frame.
Contents
Translator's Foreword
Artist's Foreword
Geburt Mariä | Birth of Mary
Die Darstellung Mariä im Tempel | The Presentation of Mary in the Temple
Mariä Verkündigung | Annunciation of Mary
Mariä Heimsuchung | Visitation of Mary
Argwohn Josephs | Joseph's Mistrust
Verkündigung über den Hirten | Annunciation to the Sheperds
Geburt Christi | Birth of Christ
Rast auf der Flucht in Ägypten | Rest during the Escape to Egypt
Von der Hochzeit zu Kana | Of the Wedding at Cana
Vor der Passion | Before the Passion
Pietà | Pietà
Stillung Mariä mit dem Auferstandenen | Consolation of Mary with the Risen One
Vom Tode Mariä (Drei Stücke) I. | Of the Death of Mary (Three Parts) I.
Vom Tode Mariä (Drei Stücke) II. | Of the Death of Mary (Three Parts) II.
Vom Tode Mariä (Drei Stücke) III. | Of the Death of Mary (Three Parts) III.
