VWV 44 · Solo Vocal · 2026 · 6:53
Das Verlöschen
Tombeau — Cycle: Das Verlöschen XIV
Solo Vocal Recording of the Year · International Classical Music Awards (ICMA)- Catalogue
- VWV 44
- Key
- B-flat minor
- Form
- Tombeau
- Scoring
- Baritone & piano
- Composed
- 2026
- Duration
- 6:53
First performed Wigmore Hall, London · 14 November 2026 — Nikolai Voss, baritone · Clara Henningsen, piano
Commissioned by Wigmore Hall
To all who keep a light burning
The finale, and the destination the whole cycle has been falling toward. A tombeau in which the first votive candle gutters out and the music, reaching its long-promised B-flat minor, withholds the dominant so that the last chord dies rather than resolves. Voss lets the voice fade beneath the piano's final breath; the lamp motif is heard once more, as its own shadow, and then nothing. It is the cycle's thesis made audible: that some things end without cadence.
From Das Verlöschen · NV-014
On the cycle's thematic unity: The Lamp Motif →
Performance materials +
- Forces
- Baritone & piano
- Tessitura
- Baritone (G2–F4); soprano (C4–B5) where indicated
- Materials
- Voice & piano score
- Availability
- On sale · Voss Editions
- Grade
- Intermediate–Advanced — recital
- ISMN
- 979-0-706044-308-9
Text
Reading view →Das Verlöschen, No. 14 (Finale) · Sung in German
Text by Nikolai Voss
Die erste Kerze geht nun aus,
die ich am Anfang hielt.
Kein Morgen mehr, kein letztes Haus,
kein Ton, der weiterspielt.
The first of all the candles dies,
the one I held to start.
No morning now, no last reprise,
no note to hold apart.
Der Schlussakkord verweigert sich,
er endet, statt zu ruh'n.
Das Flämmchen sinkt. Und über mich
schließt sich das Dunkel zu.
The final chord withholds its close,
it ends instead of stays.
The small flame sinks. And over those
the dark draws down its haze.
