Raff re-setting?

[eschiss1]

I'm not that familiar with Raff's song output and am wondering if this might be a Raff song set to new words (Tennyson in this case)- does the melody here- two songs actually, so two melodies- look familiar to anyone? This, if it is by Raff (or rather, a Raff pair of works adapted by the editor to new texts, as I suspect, and not a newly discovered Raff work- during his lifetime no less ) - should probably be moved to the original , and I'll do so - once I know what it is -

"Raff" setting of Tennyson's Tears, Idle Tears?

[Martin Eastick]

I have this volume of Tennyson settings - and did in fact accompany the two Raff settings in a recital quite some years ago now (we also included Xaver Scharwenka's contribution to the same anthology!). As far as I am aware, these are all original works composed specially for the publication. I am hoping that a complete recording could be considered and have already suggested this to Martin Anderson who has asked for approximate timings etc.

The forward states that: "of the forty five songs here printed, thirty five are new and original works, composed expressly for this volume. Herr Joachim Raff was good enough to send two distinct settings of "Tears, idle tears," both of which have been inserted in the collection"

Other composers include: Parry, Joachim, F.Corder, Liszt, Saint Saens, the MacFarren brothers, Stanford, with rest being mainly the usual  British unsungs of the latter 19th century.

[eschiss1]

Interesting, very... thanks.

[Mark Thomas]

Apologies for the belated reply. I've been away on holiday. Thank you Eric and Martin: another Raff discovery!

These two songs do not appear in any previous list of Raff's music (including, irritatingly, my own Catalogue published only last year!) They seem only to have appeared in this collection of Tennyson settings, which was originally published in the UK in 1879 by C. Kegan Paul and Co. The edition from which the IMSLP scores are taken is a US edition of 1880. They'll need a WoO number allocated to them. Based on the evidence of the editor's foreword that they were written expressly for this collection and so were unlikely to have been composed earlier than 1878 and in any event no later than 1879, it'll likely be WoO.52A. I'll confirm that later Eric, you'll no doubt want to add it to the IMSLP listing.

Armed with keywords "Raff" and "Tennyson", I've indulged in some pleasurable digging in JSTOR and have unearthed a little more information:

The British periodical The Musical Times published a glowing extended review of the volume in its issues for January and February 1880, although the reviewer's assessment of at least one of Raff's settings is rather less than glowing: "Next in order come two settings of 'Tears, idle tears,' by Herr Joachim Raff, that prolific composer, when asked for one, having characteristically sent double the number. We cannot recognise either as the ideal of music for such words; but we much prefer the second to the first, wherein Herr Raff indulges to the full his passion for queer harmonies and queerer progressions. Students of composition might profitably examine this work for hints as to what they should avoid. The companion piece is far more musicianly, and infinitely more true to the poet's thought. Indeed, this song contains some remarkably fine passages, worthy of Raff at his best."

The Musical Times also published a rather affecting letter in its October 1882 edition, which is interesting to read in view of the reviewer's doubts about the quality of Raff's settings:

Sir,

The record of a short conversation which I held with Raff in April last may, I think, be interesting to English readers, now that the great musician has passed away. I had visited him to ask his opinion as to which of his songs he considered most worthy of translation into English, and observed en passant that, in going through his songs myself, I was struck by the beauty of the texts of almost all of them. He smiled and remarked that perhaps the most beautiful text did not need translation into English, and, approaching a shelf, took down two English songs by Tennyson, put to music by him and published in the volume of Tennyson's Songs edited by Mr. Cusins.

"Yet," he added, "I doubt if, from a musical point of view, they belong to my best work."

"Why?" I ventured to ask.

"Because," was his characteristic reply, "your Tennyson is too great a poet to permit of such subordination to the composer as is necessary in a song put to music. In other words, he is too thought-heavy. I composed this songlet of his ('Tears, idle tears') in two versions, neither of which satisfied me."

"Why?"

"I grew thought-heavy myself in making them." With these words he presented me with the songs in question, and we parted with a hearty good-bye, and "Auf Wiederschen" when I should return from Genoa, whither I was then bound.

Alas! like too many an "Auf Wiederschen" uttered at parting, it was destined never to be fulfilled. As all the world now knows, Raff was found dead in his bed on Sunday morning, June 25, having died quite suddenly in the night.

Faithfully yours,
E. L'Esterre-Keeling

Just for completeness' sake, Eleonore D'Esterre-Keeling (1856-1939 - L'Esterre is evidently a misprint ), was an English concert pianist and author.

[JimL]

Poignant tidbit.  Perhaps worthy of entry in a 2nd edition appendix?

[edurban]

Nice sleuthing. 

And all these years I thought "Tears, idle tears" was ad copy by one Death Bredon.

David

[Mark Thomas]

Eric, these two songs will have the official designation:  Two settings for voice and piano of Tennyson's "Tears, Idle Tears" WoO.52A. You may want to add this to the IMSLP details. I will update the Raff web site in the next week or so.

[eschiss1]

Thanks!

[Mark Thomas]

A very, very late addendum to this old thread:

Apparently, Raff was asked first to set Tennyson's poem "A Voice by the Cedar Tree", but felt it to be structurally unsuited to a musical setting, and to have an ending which he didn't understand. He asked the publisher for an alternative poem. The source is a recently-discovered letter from Raff to the publisher.

Presumably "Tears, idle Tears" was offered to him instead, and perhaps the fact that he subsequently made two settings of it was recompense for asking for an alternative?