As autumn is approaching, I inevitably feel a melancholy sneaking up on us, and what better way to mark the end of summer than listening to music? Summer days are best spent outdoors, maybe singing, but rainy, cooler autumn evenings are a perfect occasion to sitting down for a few minutes, closing your eyes and listening...
A glimpse of the august sun seen from Åsagrende, Dovre, Norway, august 2022.
The song that accompanies the end of summer for me this year, is Agathe Backer Grøndal's (1847-1907) "Endnu et streif kun av sol"/"One more glimpse of the Sun". This little gem was recorded by several singers during the beginning of the 20th century, and my present favourite is the orchestral version recorded by Kaja Eide in Kristiania, present day Oslo, on 26th of August 1916, exactly 106 years ago today! The lyrics are by Sommerset, and read like this:
Endnu et Streif kun af Sol,
Endnu en luftning fra Hav.
Endnu et Smil fra min Kjærlighed,
Kom saa Død, kom hastelig!
En kun et Blik fra min Ven
Endnu et Tryk af hans Haand,
Endnu en Lyd af de kjendte Trin!
Kom saa, kom, du bedre Land!
Endnu en inderlig Bøn
Til Kristus at han mig føre vil,
(Mens) jeg vandrer op ad den gyldne Sti,
Kom saa, kom! O Evighed!
English words, also by Somerset:
One more glimpse of the sun,
One more breath of the sea.
One more smile from my darling one,
Then death, come speedily!
One more smile from my sweet
One more clasp of a hand,
One more sound of returning feet!
Then come! That better land!
One more passionate prayer
To Christ, that He may be my guide,
As I climb the golden, golden stair,
Then come! Eternity!
You can listen to is online here: https://www.nb.no/items/82ea9c1e2d5d2f655f7077fe8a06b743
A little comment to this link: The service is provided by the Norwegian National Library, which is currently in the process of digitizing their collection of gramophone records, and thus making them accessible to the public. This recording is labeled as sung by a different singer, Clara Hultgren, on their website, but I think this might be a mistake, as the Pathé recording company's catalogue states Kaja Eide as the performer for this record. If you would like to compare, here's a link to another version of the same song, actually sung by Clara Hultgren in 1909: https://www.nb.no/items/f5b60da6317fedebb2c3d4fad7a5642d