Three Songs for coloratura soprano

Gottfried Keller, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (G)

These short settings date from 1933-34, just before Goldschmidt left Germany to settle in England. They form one of the most unusual and intriguing works in his oeuvre, hinting at new harmonic directions that suggest the influence of the Second Viennese School and of Alban Berg in particular. The result is strangely ambiguous and allusive which, combined with the vocal acrobatics of the coloratura soprano part, gives the music an almost surrealistic feel.