Mendelssohn’s setting of
Durch Fichten am Hügel (Schubert set it as
Lied der Liebe in 1814) exists only as an unfinished draft, with only the first verse of Matthisson’s six-stanza poem from 1792–3 notated; Eugene Asti has opted to repeat the subsequent verses he supplies (Nos 2, 4 and 6) by starting from the beginning each time with the brief, rippling introductory figure in the piano.
Adelaïde-like (and that, of course, is another poem by Matthisson), the beloved’s image is imprinted everywhere in Nature, and the persona sings of her with grace-noted grace. Remnants of sealing wax on the autograph manuscript would seem to indicate that Mendelssohn himself abandoned all thought of returning to the song, but we are glad to have this charming miniature.
from notes by Susan Youens © 2009
