We are pleased to present “Lied an den Abendstern” (1845), the first music Richard Wagner heard on the newly created Viola Alta. We would have liked to reconstruct Ritter’s arrangement of this aria from Tannhäuser, but there is no record of it whatsoever; we do not know if he transposed it from its original key of G major, tinkered with the piano reduction, added double stops, octave transpositions, or any of the other tricks of 19th-century arrangements. 

We are doubly pleased to present “Lied an den Abendstern'' twice - once on my “regular” 16 ⅜ inch Philip Injeian viola (Limited Digital Album release only, due to CD space limitations) - and once on an actual eighteen-inch Viola Alta, hopefully recreating the sound Wagner was so enthusiastic about. We are grateful to Carriage House Violins in Newton, MA for loaning us this Viola Alta, a fine instrument built by an anonymous maker in the 19th century, which has been a part of the Cinncinata Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Thankfully, it was never cut down to a “more playable” size, a fate that has befallen many Viola Altas. Construction of Viola Altas (or Ritter Model Violas, as they have come to be called) fizzled out in the 20th century because they are simply too big for all but the lankiest of men to handle. 

A final note about “Lied an den Abendstern”: we wish that Johnny Cash had recorded it, and once you’ve heard it we are sure you will agree.

Daniel Orsen

January, 2023