| Im April | |
| Composer: | Anton Bruckner |
| Key: | A-flat major |
| Catalogue: | WAB 75 |
| Type: | Lied |
| Text: | Emanuel Geibel |
| Language: | German |
| Dedication: | Helene Hofmann |
| Vocal: | Solo voice |
| Instrumental: | Piano |
("In April"), WAB 75 is a lied composed by Anton Bruckner in .
Bruckner composed the lied on a text of Emanuel Geibel during his stay in Linz. He dedicated the lied to his pupil Helene Hofmann, Pauline Hofmann's younger sister.[1] [2]
The date of composition is uncertain. It was originally supposed that the lied was composed in 1868. Because it was dedicated to "Helene Hofmann", Angela Pachovsky put the date "before 18 September 1865" instead, i.e., before Helene's wedding with Heinrich Heissler.[2]
The manuscript is lost, but a copy is stored in the archive of the St. Florian Abbey.[2] In 1898 the work was issued by Bernhard Herzmansky by Doblinger.[2] The first performance occurred on 5 February 1903 by Gisela Seehofer in a concert of the Wiener Akademischer Wagner-Verein,[3] during which Seehofer sung also Bruckner's Ave Maria, WAB 7 and Wie bist du, Frühling, gut und treu.[2]
The song is issued in Band XXIII/1, No. 5 of the German: Gesamtausgabe.[4]
The song uses a text by Emanuel Geibel.
As a gentle ethereal breath,The air hums so intensely,From all the valleys risesA warm fragrance of violets. I would like to conceive a songSimilar to this evening,But I can not find the sound,So dark, mild and mellow. |
The 60-bar long work in A major is scored for solo voice and piano.[2]
There are four recordings of Im April: