The Winterreise Project - 2. Die Wetterfahne (The Weather Vane). Ted Rhodes & Elisabeth Wagner

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Description

Schubert wrote the majority of his songs for amateur musicians, and yet they are performed almost exclusively by professionals today. The Winterreise Project reunites Schubert's songs with amateur performers similar to those who purchased Schubert's scores and sung his music during his lifetime.

The Winterreise Project is an experimental performance project for amateur musicians that took place in Victoria, Canada in Spring, 2015. A group of 27 amateur adult pianists and singer received professional-level training on weekends and evenings over a two-month period and presented a joint performance of Schubert's song cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey) at the end of the course.

Performers, Song 2: Ted Rhodes (singer) is an Engineer, University Professor and University President (retired). Elisabeth Wagner (pianist) worked as Executive Director of Policy and Research in the Ministry of Health for the Government of British Columbia (retired).

For further information, see our web site at http://www.thewinterreiseproject.ca

Artistic Director: Kathryn Whitney
Director of Collaborative Piano: Anna Cal

A joint reflective performance project run by the SongArt Performance Research Group, the Institute of Musical Research, London and hosted at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Canada.

Translation:

2. Die Wetterfahne

Der Wind spielt mit der Wetterfahne
Auf meines schönen Liebchens Haus.
Da dacht ich schon in meinem Wahne,
Sie pfiff den armen Flüchtling aus.

Er hätt' es eher bemerken sollen,
Des Hauses aufgestecktes Schild,
So hätt' er nimmer suchen wollen
Im Haus ein treues Frauenbild.

Der Wind spielt drinnen mit den Herzen
Wie auf dem Dach, nur nicht so laut.
Was fragen sie nach meinen Schmerzen?
Ihr Kind ist eine reiche Braut.

2. The Weathervane

The wind plays with the weathervane
On my sweetheart’s house.
In my delusion I thought
It mocked the poor fugitive.

Had he only seen it sooner,
This sign above the house,
Then he never would have sought
A faithful woman within.

Inside, the wind unsettles hearts as it does on the roof,
but not so loudly.
What is my suffering to them?
Their child is a wealthy bride.

Translation (public domain) by Kathryn Whitney
Filming by Richard Bailey Digital