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Henry Dehlinger

  • News
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Henry Dehlinger

Bahnhofstrasse

“The songs are diverse in atmosphere and harmonic language, as befits the narratives, and the writing is rich, often rapturous, as voices and piano meld with urgent purpose.”

— Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone

COMPOSER'S NOTE

Bahnhofstrasse is an existential piece about the loss of youth. In 1917, James Joyce suffered a sudden and painful attack of lumbago while walking along the Bahnhofstrasse, the chic main street in Zurich, Switzerland. His condition was compounded by increasing blindness as a result of glaucoma. 

My setting underscores Joyce’s angst as he discovers youth is fleeting. Yet, being middle-aged, he realizes he’s not old enough to benefit from the "old heart's wisdom" that comes in the autumn of life. The solo vocal line floats wistfully over a minimalist accompaniment that reiterates a simple, eerie motif.

Bahnhofstrasse is suitable for recitals, competitions and auditions and is available in high voice (soprano or tenor) and medium voice (mezzo-soprano or baritone) versions. It also forms part of my complete collection of art songs with texts by James Joyce:

Ten Poems of James Joyce (High Voice and Piano)
Ten Poems of James Joyce (Medium Voice and Piano)

Bahnhofstrasse is available in a choral version (SATB) and is included in my choral suite, Three Choral Songs on James Joyce.

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    Bahnhofstrasse (Medium Voice Solo) 4:23
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THE TEXT 

The eyes that mock me sign the way 
Whereto I pass at eve of day. 

Grey way whose violet signals are 
The trysting and the twining star. 

Ah star of evil! star of pain! 
Highhearted youth comes not again. 

Nor old heart's wisdom yet to know 
The signs that mock me as I go. 

James Joyce, 1882 - 1941

Bahnhofstrasse by Henry Dehlinger

DURATION 
4½ minutes  

YEAR OF COMPOSITION  
2019 

LICENSING 
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) 

INSTRUMENTATION 
High Voice & Piano 
Medium Voice & Piano 

BUY 
Digital & Print: J.W. Pepper

Buy at J.W. Pepper!

For choral versions, click here

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