Ruth Leon recommends… Four Last Songs – David Dawson – English National Ballet
Ruth Leon recommendsFour Last Songs – David Dawson – English National Ballet
Choreographer David Dawson takes us on a deeply moving journey of his choreographic process for the upcoming world premiere of Four Last Songs, his newest work for the English National Ballet.
Composed in 1948, Four Last Songs is one of the last completed works by Richard Strauss. As the name suggests, it consists of four songs, written for soprano and orchestra.
While Strauss had an illustrious operatic and orchestral career, he also wrote over 200 lieder (songs), taking inspiration from his wife, Pauline de Ahna, a successful soprano.
For Four Last Songs, Joseph von Eichendorff’s poem Im Abendrot (At Sunset), in which an ageing couple at the end of their lives together look at the setting sun, inspired the composer’s first composition of the piece. It is thought that the words of the poem, especially the last line which translates to “Is this perhaps death?”, resonated with 84-year-old Strauss.
Four Last Songs is often described as a poignant farewell to life. Underneath a glimpse of the heavens above, 12 dancers unite in Dawson’s poetic style to the music’s lush, lyrical melodies, ushering in a feeling of serenity, eternity and the sublime.
Im Abendrot is sung here by Jessye Norman, with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted by Kurt Masur.
Such touching music set into dance.
I was very lucky to see the ballet in June 2007 by the cheographer Kenneth McMillan in which the magnificent Darcey Russell danced her farewell to the stage.
Unforgettable.
So unforgettable that you got her name wrong…
The first version of this that I saw was Rudi Van Dantzig’s, which he gave as a gift to the National Ballet School in Canada for its 25th anniversary. For some reason it brought that lovely music, long among my favourite pieces to hear, to a very meaningful life. I rather like the very different look if Dawson’s version, and hope to be able to see it all some time.
Slip of the finger on my IPhone.
Indeed, her name is Darcey Bussell!
The first night was shamingly bad. Why? Because the new ENB Artistic Director saw fit to mike up the orchestra and the soprano, turn the volume up high, and blast us out of our seats with Strauss’s sublime music lost in undifferentiated howling. Two people near me improvised ear plugs.
There was a flurry of complaints, and some loudspeakers were turned down in later performances. But showing judgement as bad as that, so disrespectful to the musicians, the audience and the composer (as well as to the dancers, who were hard to watch so painful was the unmusical noise) I don’t hold out much hope for this new appointment.