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Ovnt-lid 02:25
 

Liner Notes

Ovnt-lid (1968) is an exquisite song of incomparable calm and tenderness, tinged with childlike existential melancholy. The interplay between voice and piano is beautifully conceived, with each element proceeding independently—yet in perfect harmony with the other. Two brief recitative passages are supported by expressively inflected chords; the vocal line has an unusually rich melodic value. In essence, the song is a lullaby, and the alliterative syllables enhance the feeling of purity and gentle consolation. Ovnt-lid, while it is a faithful setting of the Yiddish poetry, does not rely on any perceived Jewish melos, although a few fragments in the piano part might suggest a reference to cantorial chant. Ovnt-lid was written for and dedicated to soprano Susan Davenny-Wyner, who joined the family in 1967.

By: Yehudi Wyner

 

Lyrics

Poet: H. Leivick [Leivick Halpern] (1886–1962)

Over all the houses
Above all the rooftops
Silver-white fans
Are flowing,
And they flutter
And they bring with them
Consolation, faith
To those who wail—
And to the weary—
Rest—
And they close
The eye of the tired.
Shut.

All—lyu,
All songs—
All love;
All lips—
All shut.
All—lyu,
Ha—lyu—li.
All here.
All near.
All shut.

Listen, listen:
From a leaf—
Not a rustle.
From a blade of grass—
Not a stir.
Listen, however.

Lyu—lyu—a voice,
A–le–lyu.
Once again
Ha—lyu—li,
All here,
All near—
Forever!

Poet: H. Leivick [Leivick Halpern] (1886–1962)

iber ale shtiber,
iber ale dekher;
trogn zikh ariber
zilber vayse fekher,
un zey fokhn.
un zey trogn
treyst, bitokhn
tzu di vos klogn—
un tzum shvakhn—
ru—
un farmakhn
oyg fun mide
tzu.

ale—lyu.
ale lider—
ale lib:
ale lipn—
ale tzu.
ale—liu,
ha—lu—li,
ale do,
ale hi,
ale tzu.

horkh, horkh.
fun a blat—
nit kayn shorkh,
fun a groz—
nit kayn rir,
dokh horkh.

lyu—lyu—kol:
a—le—lyu
nokhamol.
ha—lu—li,
ale do,
ale hi—
alemol.


 

Credits

Composer: Lazar Weiner

Length: 02:25
Genre: Art Song

Performers: Susan Davenny-Wyner, Soprano;  Yehudi Wyner, Piano

Date Recorded: 11/30/-0001
Venue: Sprague Hall, Yale University, Connecticut

Additional Credits:

Translations and Transliterations: Eliyahu Mishulovin
Preliminary preparations by Adam J. Levitin

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