Schlichte Weisen op. 76
Schlichte Weisen op. 76 Bd. V
Aus der Kinderwelt for medium voice and piano
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No. 44 Klein Marie
Text: Johannes Trojan
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No. 45 Lutschemäulchen
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 46 Soldatenlied
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 47 Schlaf' ein
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 48 Zwei Mäuschen
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 49 Ein Tänzchen
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 50 Knecht Ruprecht
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 51 Die fünf Hühnerchen
Text: Victor Blüthgen
Christa und Lotti Reger
- Schlichte Weisen op. 76 for Singstimme und Klavier
Other parts:
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1.
| Reger-Werkausgabe | Bd. II/5: Lieder V, S. 139–158. |
| Herausgeber | Knud Breyer und Stefan König. Unter Mitarbeit von Christopher Grafschmidt und Claudia Seidl. |
| Verlag | Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart; Verlagsnummer: CV 52.812. |
| Erscheinungsdatum | Oktober 2024. |
| Notensatz | Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart. |
| Copyright | 2024 by Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart and Max-Reger-Institut, Karlsruhe – CV 52.812. Vervielfältigungen jeglicher Art sind gesetzlich verboten. / Any unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by law. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / All rights reserved. |
| ISMN | M-007-33910-4 |
| ISBN | 978-3-89948-463-2. |
No. 44 Klein Marie
Johannes Trojan: Marie auf der Wiese, Nr. 56, in:
id.: Hundert Kinderlieder, Freund & Jeckel, Berlin
[Probably] Johannes Trojan: Kleine Marie, in:
Neue Lieder der besten neueren Dichter für’s Volk, ed. by Ludwig Jacobowski, M. Liemann, Berlin
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, Rara.
Note: Jacobowskis Anthologie hat Reger oft zur Textsuche genutzt.
No. 45 Lutschemäulchen
unknown
Note: In keinem der bekannten Gedichtbände von Boelitz nachweisbar. Möglicherweise eigens für die Schlichten Weisen geschrieben.
Note: Reger erhielt den Text vermutlich handschriftlich von dem Dichter, mit dem er befreundet war.
No. 46 Soldatenlied
unknown
Note: In keinem der bekannten Gedichtbände von Boelitz nachweisbar. Möglicherweise eigens für die Schlichten Weisen geschrieben.
Note: Reger erhielt den Text vermutlich handschriftlich von dem Dichter, mit dem er befreundet war.
No. 47 Schlaf' ein
unknown
Note: In keinem der bekannten Gedichtbände von Boelitz nachweisbar. Möglicherweise eigens für die Schlichten Weisen geschrieben.
Note: Reger erhielt den Text vermutlich handschriftlich von dem Dichter, mit dem er befreundet war.
No. 48 Zwei Mäuschen
unknown
Note: In keinem der bekannten Gedichtbände von Boelitz nachweisbar. Möglicherweise eigens für die Schlichten Weisen geschrieben.
Note: Reger erhielt den Text vermutlich handschriftlich von dem Dichter, mit dem er befreundet war.
No. 49 Ein Tänzchen
unknown
Note: In keinem der bekannten Gedichtbände von Boelitz nachweisbar. Möglicherweise eigens für die Schlichten Weisen geschrieben.
Note: Reger erhielt den Text vermutlich handschriftlich von dem Dichter, mit dem er befreundet war.
No. 50 Knecht Ruprecht
Martin Boelitz: Knecht Ruprecht, in:
id.: Frohe Ernte. Noch einmal Verse, J. C. C. Bruns‘ Verlag, Minden i. W.
unknown
Used for comparison purposes in RWA: First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Bonn, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Fa 1318/29.
Note: Regers Vorlage war wohl eher eine Handschrift des Dichters als die Erstausgabe. Zwar nutzte er den Gedichtband von Boelitz mehrfach zur Textsuche (siehe Opus 97 Nr. 1), doch sprechen mehrere Varianten von Regers Lied gegenüber dem gedruckten Gedicht dafür, dass Reger von seinem Freund Boelitz eine veränderte Fassung handschriftlich erhalten hatte.
No. 51 Die fünf Hühnerchen
Victor Blüthgen: Die fünf Hühnerchen, in:
id.: Im Kinderparadiese. Kinder-Reime und Reime, Friedrich Andreas Perthes Aktiengesellschaft, Gotha
[Probably] First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, R E/10.
Note: Das Ehepaar Reger stand mit dem Kinderbuchautor Blüthgen, von dem Reger insgesamt drei Gedichte in Musik setzte (Opera 62 Nr. 9, 76 Nr. 51 und WoO VII/11), seit spätestens Anfang 1903 in brieflichem Kontakt (vgl. Brief Blüthgens vom 19. Februar 1903 an Elsa Reger, Max-Reger-Institut, Karlsruhe, Signatur: Ep. Ms. 1338).
1. The genesis and publication
As a result of Bote & Bock having acquired the publishing house of Lauterbach & Kuhn, Reger’s annual contractual obligations with the latter remained in force with the former (see the comments on op. 76 vol. IV). For the year 1910, he originally intended to fulfil those obligations with “domestic music for cello [and] piano” [See Reger’s letter to Bote & Bock [Hugo Bock] of 16 July 1909] but decided instead to compose a new volume of Schlichte Weisen. He worked on this, along with other, smaller compositions, during his summer holidays in Oberaudorf in Upper Bavaria. His correspondence with Bote & Bock is either lost or inaccessible for this period,1 making it impossible to reconstruct the process of composition and publication. Reger’s post book lists several letters and parcels having been sent to his publisher between 10 August and 10 September 1910.2 We may assume that one of these parcels contained the manuscripts for the new volume of songs. Their publication was advertised for October 1910, both as a single volume and as separate songs3 with the text underlay in German and English.
In his letter accompanying the manuscript, Reger wrote: “Please find enclosed the ‘Christmas surprise’; these children’s songs are absolutely easy in every respect. I think of them as a continuation of the ‘Schlichte Weisen’ volume V, though under all circumstances I’d like to keep the title ‘8 children’s songs’! NB It’s not necessary to transpose these children’s songs for different voices because I’ve written them in such a way that they can be sung by any voice. I don’t think I’m wrong in claiming that these 8 children’s songs can turn out to be a splendid gift; and at the same time, they can just as well be sung in concerts.” (Undated, transcribed excerpt from the accompanying letter to Bote & Bock [Hugo Bock] of 2 or 5 September 1910).
Reger’s decision to give this volume a title that diverged from that of the existing series – Aus der Kinderwelt (“From the world of children”) – had its roots in his own biography, as is made evident by its dedication “To Christa and Lotti Reger”. Christa (born Marie Martha Heyer in 1905) and Selma Charlotte (born Selma Charlotte Meinig in 1907) were the two adopted daughters of Elsa and Max Reger. Christa joined her new family in July 1907, Lotti in October 1908. In a letter of 9 July 1910 to Fritz Stein, Elsa Reger wrote that she had put together “enchanting texts” for the “4–6 children’s songs (little songs) planned for this summer”, (Letter from Elsa Reger to Fritz Stein of 9 July 1910) which suggests that she might well have provided Reger with the idea for this set of songs, and that it was also she (at least in part) who had compiled the texts for them. Six of these children’s poems were by Martin Boelitz,4 who was a good friend of both Regers. Only one of these poems (“Knecht Ruprecht”) was ever published later, so it would appear that Boelitz wrote them specifically for the Reger family. The two poems that were not by Boelitz were presumably the extra two that Elsa Reger had not counted in the total she mentioned in early July. The poem “Kleine Marie” (“Little Marie”) by Johannes Trojan (whose title Reger altered slightly when he published it, namely to “Klein Marie”, no. 44) can be found in the anthology Neue Lieder der besten neuesten Dichter für’s Volk (“New songs for the people by the best of the latest poets”)5 edited by Ludwig Jacobowski – a collection whose poems Reger often set to music. The other song, “Die fünf Hühnerchen” (“The five little chickens”, no. 51), comes from Im Kinderparadiese. Kinder-Lieder und Reime (“In a children’s paradise. Children’s songs and rhymes”)6 by Victor Blüthgen.
2.
Translation by Chris Walton.
1. Reception of the Schlichte Weisen op. 76 vols. III–VI
Reger’s third volume of Schlichte Weisen, published in September 1907, continued a successful series that he had begun back in 1904.212 Lauterbach & Kuhn’s advertising brochure Künstlerische Hausmusik moderner Meister (“Art music for the home by modern masters”) stated the following: “The secret of the great success that the ‘Schlichte Weisen’ achieved immediately after publication lies in part in their relative simplicity (which distinguishes them from the modern art song that is almost inaccessible to a broader public) and in part in the genuinely German emotional content with which Max Reger, with his rich poetic sensibility, has infused in them. The combination of these two qualities makes the ‘Schlichte Weisen’ a treasure trove for the true music lover and indispensable to the music library of every art-loving German family.”1
As in the case of the first two volumes, III and IV were also published as complete sets and in individual editions, with versions for high, medium and low voice, and underlaid with the text in German and in English. The publisher’s aim was to ensure the songs’ widest possible distribution. And in this, they succeeded. The first volume of op. 76 was published in a print run of 4,200,2 for which Reger had proposed a fee of 400 marks. [See his letter to Lauterbach & Kuhn of 18 February 1904] For the second volume, Lauterbach & Kuhn offered Reger 1,875 marks, which he himself reduced to 1,550. [See his letter to Lauterbach & Kuhn of 3 July 1905] For the third volume, which contained just six songs where the previous two had contained 15 each, Reger was paid 1,000 marks. [See the table with fees in Reger’s letter to Lauterbach & Kuhn of 19 July 1907] The print-run of volume III can no longer be determined, but the increased fee paid to the composer indicates that his publisher now had higher expectations for turnover and profits. In the case of the “Mariä Wiegenlied”, probably Reger’s most popular song from vol. VI of the Schlichte Weisen, his publisher (now Bote & Bock) was able to claim in an advertisement of circa 1920 that they had sold “more than 100,000” copies.3
The reception of the first two volumes of Schlichte Weisen was largely dependent on concert performances, for “their popularity [...] seems to have had an impact on the sales of the sheet music [...].”4 “Waldeinsamkeit” (“Woodland solitude”, no. 3), “Wenn die Linde blüht” (“When the linden tree blossoms”, no. 4), “Mein Schätzelein” (“My little darling”, no. 14, “Glück” (“Happiness”, no. 16), “In einem Rosengärtelein” (“In a little rose garden”, no. 18) and “Des Kindes Gebet” (“A child’s prayer”, no. 22) proved to be especially popular. Contemporary statistics show that these songs enjoyed far more performances than any of the songs of volumes III and IV. Only “Von der Liebe” (no. 32) enjoyed similar popularity, followed by “Reiterlied” (no. 34), “Frühlingsregen” (no. 41) and “Der Postillon” (no. 42). Otherwise, the songs from the fourth volume in particular (nos. 37–43) tended to receive few performances in the concert hall. It is possible that by transposing “Das Wölklein” (no. 33 in vol. III) from D-flat major into C major – making it easier to perform – Reger had himself taken into account this shift from the concert hall to domestic music-making.5
The earliest known performance of any songs from the third volume of the Schlichte Weisen was on 10 October 1907, just one month after their publication. Anna Erler-Schnaudt sang “Gottes Segen” (no. 31) and “Reiterlied” (no. 34) at a recital in Munich, accompanied by Paul Aron. However, she does not ever seem to have given any concert performance of the two songs that Reger dedicated to her, namely “Mittag” (no. 35) and “Brunnensang” (no. 43). In terms of concert performances, the most popular songs from the third volume proved to be “Mittag” (no. 35) and “Schelmenliedchen” (no. 36).6 The genre piece “Reiterlied” (no. 34) was also popular.7
In contrast to volumes I–IV, complete performances of Aus der Kinderwelt were the norm on account of the songs having a common theme. On 30 November 1910, all eight songs were performed for the first time. The venue was the Singakademie in Berlin; Gertrud Fischer-Maretzki sang, accompanied this time not by Reger but by Frieda Kwast-Hodapp. In addition to Fischer-Maretzki, Vally Friedrich-Höttges and Sanna van Rhyn also took the whole cycle into their repertoire, performing it throughout Germany. It was rare for individual songs from this collection to feature on concert programmes. The exceptions include “Zwei Mäuschen” (“Two little mice” no. 48), “Ein Tänzchen” (“A little dance” no. 49), “Knecht Ruprecht” (“Servant Rupert”, no. 50) and “Die fünf Hühnerchen” (no. 51), all songs that possessed a quaintness or a distinctive quality that also attracted the praise of the critics. On occasion, “Klein Marie” (no. 44) and “Lutschemäulchen” (“Lollipop mouth” no. 45) were performed too. Reger also wrote an arrangement for concert performance of “Klein Marie” for violin and piano (op. 103c).
Aus Christas und Lottis Kinderleben (vol. VI) was unable to build on the success of Aus der Kinderwelt and we have no evidence of these songs ever having been performed as a group. “Mausefangen” (no. 58) and “Zum Schlafen” (no. 59) were performed on their own more frequently. Above all, however, this sixth volume of Reger’s Schlichten Weisen contains his most popular song of all, “Mariä Wiegenlied” no. 52, which featured on 18 concert programmes between 1912 and 1916 alone, and of which his publisher Bote & Bock was able to claim in the aforementioned advertisement that it was “the most popular encore song in concerts of the best-known women singers”.8
Reviewers showed great interest in the first two volumes of Schlichte Weisen, published in 1904 and 1905 respectively, because Reger had undergone a radical stylistic shift in them.9 But no such discussion was necessary about his subsequent volumes III and IV. In fact, it seems as if a certain weariness had set in among the critics. After a concert on 25 October 1909 in Heidelberg in which Gertrud Fischer-Maretzki and Reger performed songs from volume IV for the first time, the reviewer of the Heidelberger Tageblatt wrote: “In these ‘simple melodies’, except for the ‘Postillon’, a tender, almost overly tender mood prevails throughout. [...] This group [of songs] made less of an impact because they are too homogenous in how they move in the pianissimo regions. One shouldn’t hear them too often.”10 Arthur Smolian also wrote that, given Reger’s “tirelessness in expanding his op. 76”, it would be “less distressing” if these new Schlichte Weisen were here “heard for the last time”.11
But things turned out very differently with the fifth volume. The emphasis on children gave these songs a new focus. In the Deutsche Zeitung, Georg Schünemann wrote after their first performance in Berlin: “Reger has composed these charming verses by J. Trojan, M. Boelitz and Victor Blüthgen so prettily that they are more likely to delight the little ones in a domestic setting. How beautiful is the folksy melody of ‘Klein Marie’, how endearing the velvety soft ‘Schlaf ein’! And how the ‘two little mice’ dance a dainty minuet, while ‘Knecht Ruprecht’ stomps along with his heavy motif in the bass, and even ‘The five little chickens’ quarrel and make up. All this is quite deliciously encapsulated in the music. I got into a real Christmassy mood when hearing these little songs, and people will surely buy one or the other piece from the publisher to play to their own children. You’ll have to be a decent pianist for this, because the piano part is composed in Reger’s well-known, bold manner. But anyone who can perform these pieces as beautifully as Mrs Fischer-Maretzki will give the little ones double the pleasure.”12 Schünemann also wrote: “The concert hall certainly isn’t the right place for these pieces.”13
Reger’s singers were not at all deterred by this, as is proven by the many documented performances of these songs. And their success proved them right. When Sanna van Rhyn sang Aus der Kinderwelt in Dresden on 18 February 1912, “The tumultuous applause, which was often disruptive and made the postludes inaudible, meant that ‘Klein Marie’, ‘Schlaf’ ein’, ‘Zwei Mäuschen’, ‘Ein Tänzchen’ and ‘Die fünf Hühnerchen’ all had to be encored.”14 The reviewer of the Nordwestdeutsche Morgenzeitung, however, who reviewed a recital of van Rhyn’s in Oldenburg, found that there were “almost too many children’s songs”.15
Reger subsequently refrained from continuing his series of Schlichte Weisen and from then on fulfilled his contractual obligation to his publisher by composing recital pieces for instruments. He also explored to the full the potential of the most popular song from the Schlichte Weisen. In 1915, he created versions of “Mariä Wiegenlied” for voice and piano, for voice and organ and for piano alone as a song without words (though with text underlay).
2.
Translation by Chris Walton.
1. Stemma
2. Quellenbewertung
Der Edition liegt als Leitquelle der Erstdruck zugrunde. Einzelausgaben und Bandausgabe, die gleichzeitig erschienen, unterscheiden sich nicht im Notentext. Als Referenzquelle diente die vielfach differenzierter bezeichnete Stichvorlage (siehe Zu den editorischen Besonderheiten in den Liederbänden). Insbesondere im Bereich der Vortragsanweisungen wurde oftmals den Lesarten der Stichvorlage der Vorzug gegeben. Die Entwürfe sowie die Fassung der Nr. 44 für Violine und Klavier spielten für die Edition keine Rolle.
3. Sources
- Entwürfe zu Nr. 46 und 47 (E)
- Entwurf zu Nr. 49 (E)
- Stichvorlage Nr. 44-51 (SV)
- Erstdruck Nr. 44–51, Einzelausgaben (ED-E)
- Erstdruck Nr. 44–51, Bandausgabe (ED-S)
- Nr. 44 für Violine und Klavier (Opus 103c)
- Nr. 45 für zweistimmigen Kinderchor von Adalbert Lindner
Object reference
Max Reger: Schlichte Weisen op. 76 Bd. V, in: Reger-Werkausgabe, www.reger-werkausgabe.de/mri_work_01115.html, version 3.1.5, 28th November 2025.
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