In darkening caverns
I dreamed long
of your trees and azure breezes,
of your scents and birdsong.

Now you lie revealed
in glitter and array,
bathed in light
like a miracle before me.

You know me again;
you invite me tenderly.
There quivers through all my limbs
your blessed presence.


The debut of the last four songs of Richard Strauss was on May 22, 1950, eight months later after the composer died in Switzerland. Serene, nostagia and simple, he sensed the paradise in his work before he went away. The gap between life and death is bridged by those immortal songs.

Tonight I will go asleep with Strauss, and Schwarzkopf's voice will accompany my sweet spring dreams.