Schlichte Weisen op. 76
Schlichte Weisen op. 76 Bd. VI
Aus Christas und Lottis Kinderleben for medium voice and piano
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No. 52 Mariä Wiegenlied
Text: Martin Boelitz
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No. 53 Das Brüderchen
Text: L. Rafael
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No. 54 Das Schwesterchen
Text: L. Rafael
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No. 55 Furchthäschen
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No. 56 Der Igel
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No. 57 Die Bienen
Text: L. Rafael
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No. 58 Mausefangen
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No. 59 Zum Schlafen
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No. 60 Der König aus dem Morgenland
- Schlichte Weisen op. 76 for Singstimme und Klavier
Other parts:
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- Schlichte Weisen op. 76 Bd. VI (from Mariä Wiegenlied op. 76 Nr. 52), Version for Klavier
1.
| Reger-Werkausgabe | Bd. II/5: Lieder V, S. 179–198. |
| 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. 52 Mariä Wiegenlied
Martin Boelitz: Vor einem alten Bilde, in: Westermanns Monatshefte. Illustrierte Deutsche Zeitschrift für das geistige Leben der Gegenwart, 52. Jg. (1908), vol. 104.2, issue 622 (July 1908 [day unknown]), George Westermann, Braunschweig, p. [580].
Martin Boelitz: Vor einem alten Bild(e), in:
id.: Ausgewählte Gedichte, Fritz Eckardt, Leipzig
unknown
Used for comparison purposes in RWA: First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung.
Note: Textvorlage: Reger besaß eine Mappe mit vierzehn handschriftlichen Texten des Dichters (lose Blätter), wohl in Abschrift (heute in den Meininger Museen/Max-Reger-Archiv). Reger kreuzte sich das Gedicht (dort ohne Titel) an.
Note: Erste Textzeile: Vorlage und Erstausgabe “im” statt (wie bei Reger) “am” Rosenhag.
Note: In den Bänden, welche die Vorlage für die Ausgewählten Gedichte gebildet haben sollen, ist das Wiegenlied (neben einigen weiteren Gedichten) nicht enthalten.
No. 53 Das Brüderchen
L. Rafael: Das Brüderchen, in:
Hedwig Kiesekamp: Goldgretels Weihnachtsbuch. Kindergedichte, Verlag der Universitäts-Buchhandlung Franz Coppenrath, Münster (Westf.)
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Augsburg, Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg, G.
Note: Reger bekam das von ihm benutzte Exemplar von der Autorin mit persönlicher Widmung zugesandt: “Dem Tondichter Max Reger in Verehrung und Dankbarkeit. Die Verfasserin. Münster i W Oct. 010”. – Die drei von ihm in Opus 76 Band VI vertonten Texte strich sich Reger in seinem Handexemplar an (vgl. S. 10 [Nr. 57] und S. 33 [Nr. 53 und 54]).
No. 54 Das Schwesterchen
L. Rafael: Das Schwesterchen, in:
Hedwig Kiesekamp: Goldgretels Weihnachtsbuch. Kindergedichte, Verlag der Universitäts-Buchhandlung Franz Coppenrath, Münster (Westf.)
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Augsburg, Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg, G.
Note: Reger bekam das von ihm benutzte Exemplar von der Autorin mit persönlicher Widmung zugesandt: “Dem Tondichter Max Reger in Verehrung und Dankbarkeit. Die Verfasserin. Münster i W Oct. 010”. – Die drei von ihm in Opus 76 Band VI vertonten Texte strich sich Reger in seinem Handexemplar an (vgl. S. 10 [Nr. 57] und S. 33 [Nr. 53 und 54]).
No. 55 Furchthäschen
Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg: Furchthäschen, in:
id.: Kinderlieder, 2nd edition, Gustav Kiepenheuer, Weimar
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, TB.
Note: Möglicherweise bereits in der 1. Auflage der Kinderlieder, die nicht ausfindig gemacht werden konnte.
No. 56 Der Igel
Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg: Der Igel, in:
id.: Kinderlieder, 2nd edition, Gustav Kiepenheuer, Weimar
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, TB.
No. 57 Die Bienen
L. Rafael: Die Bienen, in:
Hedwig Kiesekamp: Goldgretels Weihnachtsbuch. Kindergedichte, Verlag der Universitäts-Buchhandlung Franz Coppenrath, Münster (Westf.)
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Augsburg, Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg, G.
Note: Reger bekam das von ihm benutzte Exemplar von der Autorin mit persönlicher Widmung zugesandt: “Dem Tondichter Max Reger in Verehrung und Dankbarkeit. Die Verfasserin. Münster i W Oct. 010”. – Die drei von ihm in Opus 76 Band VI vertonten Texte strich sich Reger in seinem Handexemplar an (vgl. S. 10 [Nr. 57] und S. 33 [Nr. 53 und 54]).
No. 58 Mausefangen
Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg: Mausefangen, in:
id.: Kinderlieder, 2nd edition, Gustav Kiepenheuer, Weimar
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, TB.
No. 59 Zum Schlafen
Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg: Zum Schlafen, in:
id.: Kinderlieder, 2nd edition, Gustav Kiepenheuer, Weimar
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, TB.
No. 60 Der König aus dem Morgenland
Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg: Der König aus dem Morgenland, in:
id.: Kinderlieder, 2nd edition, Gustav Kiepenheuer, Weimar
First edition
Copy shown in RWA: DE, Karlsruhe, Max-Reger-Institut/Elsa-Reger-Stiftung, TB.
1. The genesis and publication
On 28 April 1912, Reger wrote as follows to Hugo Bock, the owner of Bote & Bock,: “I shall also send you a few ‘children’s songs’ again as the 2nd volume of the ‘Kinderlieder’, for which I have delightful texts”. (Letter to Bote & Bock (Hugo Bock) of 28 April 1912) He emphasised that it would be “a book of really easy songs”,(Letter to Bote & Bock (Hugo Bock) of 7 May 1912) so he explicitly intended to continue where he had left off with volume V of the Schlichte Weisen. He favoured continuity with regard to his choice of texts, with the difference here that the majority of the children’s poems this time were not by his poet friend Martin Boelitz, who was represented in the volume only with “Mariä Wiegenlied” (“Maria’s lullaby”, no. 52). Also included were texts by L. Rafael (a pseudonym of Hedwig Kiesekamp) and Ernst Ludwig Schellenberg – both poets whose work Reger had repeatedly set to music, and who had personal contact with him. The copy of Rafael’s Goldgretels Weihnachtsbuch (“Golden Gretel’s Christmas book”) that Reger used, and from which “Das Brüderchen”, “Das Schwesterchen” and “Die Bienen” (“The little brother”, “The little sister”, “The bees”, nos. 53, 54 and 57) were taken, contains an autograph dedication from the author.1 In contrast to volume II, the poems by Schellenberg that Reger set to music in volume VI were not given to him in manuscript form (“Furchthäschen”, “Scared bunny”; “Der Igel” “The hedgehog”; “Mausefangen”, “Catching mice”; “Zum Schlafen”, “Going to sleep”; and “Der König aus dem Morgenland”, “The king from the East”, nos. 55–56, 58–60). Instead, he took them from Schellenberg’s poetry volume Kinderlieder.2 However, Reger had received “Mariä Wiegenlied” from Martin Boelitz in manuscript form.3
The Reger family spent the summer months of 1912 on the Schneewinkl-Lehn estate near Berchtesgaden. This estate belonged to Berthel von Seckendorff, a cousin and foster sister of Elsa Reger. Just as Reger had used his holiday in Oberaudorf in the summer of 1910 to compose Volume V of his Schlichten Weisen, so was its successor volume also a holiday project. According to the date of the song “Der Igel” (no. 56), which was originally intended to conclude the collection, this new volume of songs was finished on 10 August 1912.4 Reger sent the manuscript of it to Anton Bock, Hugo Bock’s son, on 20 August: “Please find enclosed a further continuation of my op. 76, ‘Schlichte Weisen’, namely op. 76, vol. 6: nos. 52–60 – ‘Nine children’s songs’ for medium voice with piano accompaniment; a glance at the manuscript will suffice to prove to you that these new children’s songs are child’s play in every respect!” (Letter to Bote & Bock (Anton Bock) of 28 August 1912) For the layout of the printed edition, Reger suggested reusing “the cover of the 1st Children’s songs (with the picture of Lotti and Christa on it)”. (Letter to Bote & Bock (Anton Bock) of 28 August 1912) After some negotiation, Reger accepted an overall fee of 3,500 marks. [See letter to Bote & Bock of 28 August 1912]
When he sent the engraver’s copies on 20 August, Reger asked for the order of the songs to be changed in accordance with “the slip of paper enclosed with this letter, on which the exact order is listed in which the new 9 children’s songs should be engraved!” (Letter to Bote & Bock of 20 August 1912) This paper is no longer extant, but the pagination of the extant engraver’s copies enables us to reconstruct the original order of the songs with relative precision.5
Reger enquired about the proofs on 10 September. [See the postcard to Bote & Bock (Gustav Bock) of 10 September 1912 (“When will I finally get the proofs of the new children’s songs, it’s very urgent”)] By 16 September he was able to confirm having received them, [See letter to Bote & Bock (Gustav Bock) of 16 September 1912] and by 19 September he had corrected them. [See letter to Bote & Bock (Gustav Bock) of 19 September 1912] He wrote to his publisher on 11 October to ask for the publication date, by which time the songs were just about to be printed. [See the postcard to Bote & Bock (Gustav Bock) of 11 October 1912] The November 1912 issue of Hofmeister’s catalogue accordingly advertised Reger’s sixth volume of Schlichte Weisen, which was given the subsidiary title: “Nine Children’s Songs. New Series (from the childhood lives of Christa and Lotti)”.6 Reger had apparently only intended to publish an edition for medium voice, though his publisher began planning a version for high voice at an early date, and Reger was able to confirm that he was in agreement in a letter to them as early as 18 September 1912.7
As the Court Conductor in Meiningen (1911–1914), Reger also cultivated private friendships with the ducal family. He dedicated his Nine Children’s Songs to Marie Elisabeth, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen (1853–1923), the daughter of his employer Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen from his first marriage. This dedication to a lady of advancing age who was unmarried and childless perhaps indicates that she took particular pleasure in interacting with the Regers’ two adopted daughters, and that the Regers reciprocated the friendship.8 The Princess’s teachers had included Theodor Kirchner and Hans von Bülow and she was considered an excellent pianist. She also composed. She invited musicians to play chamber music with her in her summer residence, the Villa Felicitas in Berchtesgaden. These included the pianist Marie Baumeyer along with Richard Mühlfeld (clarinet) and Karl Piening (cello), both members of the Meiningen Court Orchestra.9 The Reger family were also guests of the Princess in their summer holidays in 1912. Besides volume VI of his Schlichte Weisen, the Princess was the dedicatee of another work that Reger composed in Berchtesgaden that summer, namely the fourth volume of Aus meinem Tagebuch (“From my diary”) op. 82.
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 Referenzquellen dienten die erhaltenen Stichvorlagen (Nr. 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60), die vielfach differenzierter bezeichnet sind (siehe Zu den editorischen Besonderheiten in den Liederbänden). Insbesondere im Bereich der Vortragsanweisungen wurde oftmals den Lesarten der Stichvorlagen der Vorzug gegeben. Bei der wenige Monate nach den Originalausgaben erfolgten Herausgabe der Lieder für hohe Stimme war Reger wiederum in den Herstellungs- und Korrekturprozess eingebunden und nahm wohl auch Änderungen vor, jedoch etwas weniger als noch für die transponierten Ausgaben von Band III. Die offensichtlichen Fehlerkorrekturen aus diesen Erstdrucken wurden übernommen (siehe Lesartenverzeichnis).1 Der Neudruck der Nr. 52 () und 60 () aus dem Kunstwart, die Ausgabe der Nr. 52 für tiefe Stimme sowie Regers Fassungen der Nr. 52 für Singstimme und Orchester, für Klavier und für mittlere Singstimme und Orgel mit Violine ad libitum und ferner der Nr. 52 und 59 (Zum Schlafen) für Violine und Klavier waren für editorische Entscheidungen nicht relevant.
3. Sources
- Stichvorlage Nr. 52 (SV)
- Stichvorlagen Nr. 53, 57 und 58 (verschollen)
- Stichvorlage Nr. 54 (SV)
- Stichvorlage Nr. 55 (SV)
- Stichvorlage Nr. 56 (SV)
- Stichvorlage Nr. 59 (SV)
- Stichvorlage Nr. 60 (SV)
- Erstdruck Nr. 52–60, Einzelausgaben (ED-E)
- Erstdruck Nr. 52–60, Bandausgabe (ED-S)
- Erstdruck Nr. 52–60 für hohe Stimme, Einzelausgaben und Bandausgabe (EDhoch-E bzw. EDhoch-S)
- Erstdruck Nr. 52 für tiefe Stimme, Einzelausgaben und Bandausgabe (EDtief-E bzw. EDtief-S)
- Neudrucke Nr. 52 und 60 als Zeitschriftenbeigabe (ND-Z)
- Nrn. 52 und 59 für Violine und Klavier (Opus 103c)
- Nr. 52 für Singstimme und Orchester: Erstdruck
- Nr. 52 für Klavier: Erstdruck
- Fassung Nr. 52 für Singstimme und Orgel: Stichvorlage · Erstdruck
- Nr. 52 für Salonorchester von Johannes Doebber
Object reference
Max Reger: Schlichte Weisen op. 76 Bd. VI, in: Reger-Werkausgabe, www.reger-werkausgabe.de/mri_work_01116.html, version 3.1.4, 2nd May 2025.
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