HUGO WOLF’S COMPLETE SONG TEXTS In One Volume Containing All Completed Solo Songs Including Those Not Published During the Composer's Lifetime With International Phonetic Alphabet Transcriptions Word fo: a Word Translations Commnientney. By BEAUMONT GLASS FSU MUSIC LIBRARY ————————————————————Hugo WolfTABLE OF CONTENTS, Hugo Wolf, an overview of ‘Thoughts on Interpreting Format and Phonetics, an explanation and introduction Morike-Lieder with a brief biography of Eduard Mérike Eichendorff-Lieder with a brief biography of Joseph Freiherr von Fichendorff Goethe-Lieder with a brief biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Spanisches Liederbuch The Spanish Song Book, German translations of Spanish poems Italienisches Liederbuch The Italian Song Book, German translations of Italian poems Lieder nach versel ienen Dichtern Songs with Texts by Various Poets The First Published Songs: Sechs Lieder fiir eine Frauenstimme Six Songs for a Woman’s Voice Sechs Gedichte von Scheffel, Mérike, Goethe und Kerner Six Poems by Schefiel, Mérike, Goethe, and Kemer Alte Weisen, sechs Gedichte von Keller Old Melodies, Six Poems by Keller with a brief biography of Gottfried Keller The Last Songs Published by the Composer: Drei Gedichte von Robert Reinick Three Poems by Robert Reinick Vier Gedichte nach Heine, Shakespeare und Byron Four Poems with Texts by Heine, Shakespeare, and Byron Three Songs from Ibsen’s Play “The Feast at Solhaug” Michelangelo-Lieder Songs Left Unpublished by the Composer: Lieder aus der Jugendzeit Songs from the Time of His Youth Heine-Lieder (“Liederstrauss”) “A Bouquet of Songs,” with a brief biography of Heinrich Heine Songs First Published in 1936 Songs Unpublished until 1976 Appendix Singing translations by Beaumont Glass of selected songs Index page ix page xiv page xv page 1 page 57 page 76 page 131 page 176 page 211 pages 211-222 page 211 page 218 page 223 pages 229-240 page 229 page 232 page 235 page 238 pages 241-309 page 241 page 254 pages 257-294 pages 295-309 pages 310-316 page 317 Note: unlike previous volumes in this series, the individual songs are not arranged alphabetically, but rather according to the collections in which they were published.Hugo Wolf An Overview of His Life Hugo Wolf was bon on March 13, 1860, at Windischgraz, a small provincial town in lower Styria, which then belonged to the Austrian Empire (after World War I the area became a part of ‘Yugoslavia, and the town is now called Slovenjgradec). His father Philipp Wolf was a self-taught musician who had been forced by his own father to take up the family leather business. Young Hugo grew up amid the smells of a tannery. His mother Katharina, of Slovenian background with 1 dash of Italian blood, had a fiery temperament and a stronger character than her husband. Hugo ‘was the fourth child of eight. He inherited his mother’s fire and his father’s passion for music. He had absolute pitch and an exceptional musical memory. AS a child he was allowed to study the piano, and he played second violin in his father’s little houschold orchestra. He and his younger brother Gilbert were also virtuosi of the Jew’s harp. (Another, non-musical talent was Hugo’s ability to spit up to the ceiling, a gift he carried into adult life and enjoyed showing off.) When he was eight years old he saw his first opera, Donizetti’s Belisario, an overwhelming, formative experience. In 1867, when Hugo was seven, their home, the warehouse, and his father’s entire stock were destroyed by fire. The family never fully recovered from that disaster. Philipp was nevertheless determined to see that his three sons would have the secondary education that had been denied to him, Hugo did very well in elementary school; the school years that followed were a different story. At ten he was sent with his older brother Max to Graz to attend the Gymnasium. He lasted only one term. A year later there was another attempt, this time at a boys’ school connected to a Benedictine monastery in a lovely, quiet part of Carinthia. There he excelled in both music and history and played the organ at weekday masses. But he failed Latin. At his next school, in Marburg, he got into fights when teased about his ultra-fanatical reverence for Beethoven. He neglected everything but music; he was able to teach himself composition by studying piano- duet arrangements of symphonies by Haydn. At fifteen he composed a piano sonata, a set of variations, and his earliest songs, He deliberately fell behind in his schoolwork to try to convince his father that he should be sent to the Vienna Conservatoire. Finally, an aunt who lived in Vienna persuaded Philipp to let young Hugo come to live with her and enter the conservatory with her two daughters. ‘Vienna was Paradise to Hugo. He soaked up the rich musical life, joined the rush for gallery seats at the opera, and was befriended by lots of like-minded young musicians, including his fellow student at the conservatory, Gustav Mahler. Hugo was exposed for the first time to the music of Richard Wagner and immediately caught fire. To the youth of that day Wagner and the “New German School” meant freedom and progress. Fifteen-year-old Hugo even managed to ‘meet Wagner and tried to show him his juvenile compositions. Early in his second year at the conservatory he left his aunt’s home to find lodgings of his own, moving twenty-one times during the next two and a half years. At age sixteen he composed more songs, including some promising settings of poems by Heine. Then, early in 1877, he was officially expelled from the Vienna Conservatoire for impertinence and lack of discipline. As a prank, # fellow student wrote 4 threatening letter to the director and signed it “Hugo Wolf.” Hugo, hearing about it, tried to show the director a sample of his handwriting, but the director was too terrified to let him come near, and for a while had him shadowed by the police. Just barely seventeen, Hugo had to go back to Windischgraz in disgrace, a failure in his father’s eyes. He stayed at home during most of 1877, played with the dog, scared his sisters with impromptu noctumal enactments of the “Wolf's Glen” scene from Der Freischiitz, wrote a symphony, and composed several songs, one of which, “Morgentau,” he later considered good enough to be included in his first published collection. Since his father could not afford to send him to again, Wolf got his friends there to line up some prospective students for him, so that he couldx make at least a modest living giving music lessons. Reluctantly, his father let him go. After changing trains at Graz, Wolf suddenly realized that he had left the manuscript of his symphony in the waiting room there. It was never found. He tried to reconstruct it from memory, but never completed the discouraging task. His Viennese friends gave him a warm welcome; they did what they could to find him opportunities to teach. Unfortunately, Wolf had little patience with untalented pupils. When the few that he was able to retain left Vienna for the holidays, he had to limit himself to one meal a day. Sometimes his mother was able to send him homemade sausages. ‘Then, at eighteen, he fell madly in love. The young lady was Valentine Franck, always called “Vally.” twenty-two years old, beautiful, intelligent, high-spirited, and full of laughter. The daughter of a distinguished French professor, she was at home in the best society of Paris and Vienna, where she was practically adopted by her aunt and uncle. Love inspired a burst of song writing, including settings of a number of poems from Heinrich Heine’s romantic Buch der Lieder. Wolf composed at the rate of a song a day, sometimes even two in one day, during May and June of 1778. There was another period of sustained creativity in the fall, also devoted to Heine's poetry. For a while Wolf shared a room with Gustav Mahler. After the first performance in Vienna of Wagner's Gotterdammerung, they made such a racket singing one of the scenes that their landlady threw them out into the street. When Wolf was twenty he was invited to spend the summer with a family at Maierling in the Vienna Woods. Those were happy months. Wolf immersed himself in uncontaminated nature. He was working on his string quartet. Vally Franck came alone to a nearby village to be with him. They were seen to embrace and kiss on a local hilltop. In the fall she returned to France, ‘where she spent the winter. A few months later she broke off their relationship in a letter. Wolf ‘was heart-broken, shattered. He had no pupils and no prospects. He had to borrow money from his friends. His letters home were full of requests for cash, but his poor father was perpetually strapped. After two months of black despair, during which he nevertheless composed a fine cycle of six choruses to poems by Bichendorff, he retumed home to his parents for a dreary summer. Then, thanks to a friend’s recommendation, Wolf was offered a position as chorus master at the Salzburg civic theater at a decent salary. His fortunes seemed to be changing. Shortly after his arrival in Salzburg he was promoted to second conductor. His father was cautiously jubilant. But Hugo’s fiery temperament and impatience with mediocrity scon sabotaged his apparent security He would interrupt the rebearsal of an operetta that bored him to play some Tristan instead, for instance. Furthermore, though his musical gifts were obvious to all, he had no experience as a conductor, and no baton technique. He lasted only two months. His father was again in despair. In due time, Hugo was conscripted into the army; but his military service was of short duration. He was a misfit there too, no doubt. Back in Vienna, he and Mahler and their Wagnerian friends all became strict vegetarians; he even sent back the sausages that came from home. In the summer of 1882 he returned to Maierling, hoping to write an opera and searching for suitable material, There he composed an early masterpiece, “Mausfallenspruchlein,” the setting of a poem by Eduard Mérike. Wolf also went to Bayreuth for the first time and heard two performances of Parsifal, which had its premiere that year. He found it “colossal, sublime.” During the following winter he unexpectedly saw Vally Franck at the home of # mutual friend. She held out her hand to him, but he turned his back and dashied down the stairs and out into the night, so fast that he lost his jacket. He was not ready to reopen a wound that had taken so long toheal.Tn 1883 Wolf met Franz. Liszt and played some of his compositions for him. Liszt urged him to attempt a work in a larger form. Within a month Wolf had begun his orchestral tone-poem Penthesilea, after the drama by Klcist. At the same time he wrote “Zur Ruh’, zur Ruh’,” the first of his songs that shows how he applied Wagnerian principles of declamation and harmony to the miniature world of the art song, a technique that would become his major contribution to the German Lied. During this time and for the next twenty years, the rest of his life, he received precious moral support and encouragement from Melanie Kéchert, the wife of one of his friends and benefactors. He considered that she understood his musical ideals better than anyone else, and he eventually gave her the manuseripts of all his mature songs. In early 1884, Wolf tured to musical journalism to eam a living, and began to write for a fashionable weekly, the Wiener Salonblatt. At last he could count on a regular income and had 2 chance to make @ name for himself. His outspoken ideas and often savage but witty criticisms became the talk of the town for the next three years. He worshipped Mozart, Beethoven, and ‘Wagner—but heaped a Wagnerian’s scorn on Brahms and the reactionary members of his camp Wolf made many enemies in high places, to his later disadvantage. He spent the summer of 1886 with his sister Modesta and her husband, who became a well-loved, trusted friend. He composed ‘an Intermezzo for string quartet at their home. In October, back in the city again, he was in for a shock. His Penthesilea was played through by the Vienna Philharmonic at a trial rehearsal, but totally mangled, deliberately perhaps, by the players, who openly resented his diatribes against Brahms. It was the most bitter moment of Wolf's life as a musician. Nevertheless, some songs in his new mature style and the Jalian Serenade, now his best-known orchestral work, were written after that devastating disappointment. Soon he had the confidence in his own talent as a ‘composer to quit his secure job as a much-read if thoroughly controversial critic. The next blow was the death of his father. Wolf arrived home just in time to hear his father’s last, loving words. Philipp Wolf died before a single one of his son’s works had been performed in public or published. Soon that situation was to change. One of Wolf's friends, Friedrich Eckstein, offered to pay for twelve of Wolf's songs to be printed by a small Viennese publisher. Wolf chose the songs himself. All of his friends were delighted, and Wolf was encouraged to concentrate on composing many more songs. In the middle of January 1888 he went into seclusion with his coffee-machine and his portable rubber bathtub and began to produce one gem after another, the great Morike-Lieder, sometimes three in one day! Wolf was “happy as a king.” ‘Twenty new songs were written in March alone. His method was to read through a poem several times aloud, after a moming walk in the Vienna Woods, and then go to the piano to work out the ideas that had come to him. He wrote to his brother-in-law: “I am working with a thousand horse-power from dawn till late at night.” Meanwhile, a famous contralto, Rosa Papier, publicly performed two of Wolf's soon-to-be-published songs. By May 18th he had completed forty-three Mérike songs in one great explosion of creativity. In August a second major series began, the Eichendorff-Lieder. Before the end of September it was finished, ten of the songs in the last nine days. In October Wolf retumed to Mérike, bringing the total to fifty-two so far in that collection “Often enough tears rolled down my cheeks as I wrote,” he confided to Eckstein. Then he started the Goethe-Lieder, turning them out at the same nearly unimaginable rate. On December 15th, Wolf performed for the first time at a public concert, in Vienna, as accompanist in his own songs, an immediate success with the audience, if not with the ever-teactionary critics. The year 1888 was the happiest and most fruitful of his life. The following year brought more public performances and more controversy, enthusiasm and rejection, In February the Goethe songs were completed. He had composed 116 songs within a year, more than half of those that would eventually bring him fame. In October the creative fever flared up again: he began the Spanish Song Book. His friends banded together to raise money for the publication and propagation of his songs; his enemies were equally active, The Viennese critics threatened to boycott any concert that included Wolf's music. Meanwhile, his work was being noticed in Germany; and beforelong Schot’s at Mainz, one of the leading German publishing houses, was negotiating to take over the publication of his songs. ‘After the Spanish Song Book was completed, Wolf tured to the poems of Gottfried Keller, to celebrate the seventieth birthday of their author. Here the flame of inspiration burned rather fitfully. Wolf's goal was to write an opera, but the perfect libretto eluded him still. In October of 1890 he traveled extensively in Germany, making new friends in every town and spreading interest in his music. On his return he wrote some jewel-like songs for the Italian Song Book and incidental music for Ibsen’s play The Feast as Solhaug, commissioned by the Vienna Burgtheater. In April 1891 Wolf returned to Germany to attend the premiere of his Chrisnacht, a ‘Nativity cantata for soli, chorus, and orchestra, in Mannheim, conducted by Felix Weingariner. ‘Although the work was cordially received by both public and press, Wolf recognized that his “orchestration was too opaque. Soon after, his physical and mental state began to deteriorate. He had persistent throat ailments that lasted for weeks at a time. He was forbidden to smoke or bathe and could barely speak. Worse, he felt that his creative powers were withering away. He was undoubtedly experiencing secondary symptoms of a venereal disease he had contracted when he first came to Vienna at the age of seventeen, In June he wrote to a friend: “It’s all over with me as a composer. | believe | shall never write another note.” Month followed arid month without a single inspiration. Then, suddenly at the end of November, sunlight burst through the clouds: in one glorious month he created fifteen more songs for the Italian Song Book, all highly original gems. Then the door closed again, this time for more than three years. Shortly before his thirty-fourth birthday he fell in love again, with the beautiful thirty-year-old ‘mezzo-soprano Frieda Zemy, who interpreted his songs to his complete satisfaction. They gave successful concerts together in Stuttgart, Mannheim, and TUbingen. She was able to make him forget the torment of his loss of inspiration as a composer, and she was willing to give up her stage career to devote herself to the propagation of his songs. They thought of emigrating together to America, the Land of Gold. Wolf started English lessons. She and he, with two other singers, gave the first all-Wolf concert in Vienna, a sensational success, which they repeated in Graz. Their love affair, though, had its ups and downs; one moment he found her too egotistical and incapable of love, the next he was blinded by passion. After a secret tryst in Munich, he ‘wrote her that he was only fit for solitude. He had hoped that love would reawaken his dormant creativity; when that failed to happen he lost faith in love. Two months after their meeting in Munich, Frieda released him from all obligation to her. On December 2nd, 1894, two of Wolf's choral works were presented in Vienna and earned the approval of Brahms and even of Eduard Hanslick, the powerful critic, formerly Wolf's most rabid enemy. He had now officially “arrived” in Vienna. Some of his confidence returned. He suddenly realized that a libretto he had scomfully rejected five years before now seemed exactly ‘what he needed. It was Rosa Mayreder’s adaptation of Alarcon’s Three-Cornered Hat, which was soon to become Wolf's only opera, Der Corregidor. He went to work with unbounded enthusiasm, tremendously relieved that the long dry-spell at last seemed to be over. He worked ‘on his opera feverishly from six in the morning till seven in the evening, completing two acts in the one month of April. Some scenes stumped him briefly, but generally the fountain was flowing. The entire opera, including the orchestration, took him nine months. While waiting for the parts to be copied and the premiere in Mannheim to take place, Wolf retumed to his Tialian ‘Song Book, interrupted more than four years before. The second part tumed out to be as pure and perfect as the first. In Mannheim he drove everyone mad at rehearsals; cast and orchestra were on the verge of mutiny, but somehow the much-delayed premiere took place and seemed to be a brilliantxiii success. The second performance, after Wolf and all his friends and supporters had left town, vas a pathetic anti-climax. A half-empty house suffered through a lack-luster travesty of a performance, willfully sabotaged by the cast and the orchestra. It was their revenge on the composer for the insults they had borne during the rehearsal period. The opera was dropped from the repertoire. It has only very rarely reappeared anywhere since then. It is full of lovely. even brilliant music; but its structural defects continue to work against it, ‘There was one more, very brief romance—with nineteen-year-old Margarethe Klinckerfuss of Stuttgart, There were moonlight walks in the cemetery, hand in hand. She later maintained that they had been secretly engaged; but after his retum to Vienna Wolf never saw her again. Still to come were two beautiful Byron songs and finally the Michelangelo-Lieder, Wolf's very last compositions, He made some revisions to Corregidor. He participated in a last public concert of his songs in Vienna. Hugo Wolf Societies were formed in Vienna and Berlin. Wolf worked feverishly on a new opera, Manuel Venegas, that was destined to remain a fragment. Then, on September 19th, 1897, he snapped. He told everyone that he was the new director of the court opera, and that his first official act would be to fire Gustav Mahler (who had recently told him that Corregidor would not be produced there). Everyone recognized that Wolf had lost his mind, They were forced to humor him, but called a doctor. Arrangements were made to put him in a private asylum. He believed the carriage was taking him to the prince who was supervisor of the Royal and Imperial Court Opera. He entered the asylum without a word. For two months no ‘one was allowed to visit him. His friends later learned that he came to believe that he was the director of the asylum, then that he was Jupiter and could command the weather. After two months his condition improved: he knew who he was and what he was not. But he suspected Mahler and even his best friends of being partners in a conspiracy to try to cure him of his illness, and he announced his intention to have nothing more to do with any of them. He believed himself fully recovered. But his mind was clearly disordered still. He was full of schemes for escaping from the asylum. By January his illness was in remission and he was discharged into the care of a friend. He was by then a changed man, gentle and listless, sure he ‘would never write another note. He tore up the music he had composed at the asylum, His sister Kithe and Melanie Kéchert, faithful to the end, accompanied him to Trieste, where for the first time he saw the sea. Life seemed kinder for a while. Then, in October 1898, he went mad again. He was found in the woods, dripping wet, after having tried to drown himself in a lake. This time he asked to be put in a mental home. The Hugo Wolf Society of Vienna nobly assumed financial responsibility for his stay as a first-class patient ‘After he died in the asylum on February 22, 1903, he was given the recognition that had eluded him in life. Streets were named after him; wherever he had lived commemorative tablets appeared, to mark the place. Der Corregidor was performed, famous singers featured his songs, and his remains were interred in a “Grave of Honor” near those of Beethoven and Schubert in Vienna’s Central Cemetery. His moving song “Zur Ruh’, zur Ruh™ was sung at his graveside.xiv ‘Thoughts on Interpreting Lieder ‘The singer is an indispensable partner of the composer and of the poet. The singer gives life and expression to the notes and the words and—above alll—to the feelings behind them, the feelings that inspired them. This requires, besides a beautiful voice, a rich imagination and the power to communicate. Every poem was bom out of a special experience (the mundane and the ordinary fare best left to prose); that specialness stirred the composer to set it to music. Tt is our task to try to find—or to imagine—that original, motivating spark of inspiration, and then to illuminate the song from within. ‘Study the poem, immerse yourself in it! Be sure that you understand its message exactly (one nisunderstood word can sometimes alter everything, can even reverse the meaning). Who is speaking those words? Where should you imagine the speaker to be? To whom is he er she addressing those words, and in what frame of mind? Why that word, and not another? Why that phrase? What clue to the poet's meaning, what insight do they give us? Every singer is Simultaneously an actor, communicating words with the most effective and appropriate expression, ready t0 move Us, 10 shatter or to charm. But no matter how expressive, the words must be understood: clarity of diction is essential. Even the most exquisite verbal nuance is wasted if the word is not being received by the listener. But clear diction does not mean “spitting cout” the consonants in little explosions that break up the line of the melody. Consonants need to be resonantly projected, but not exaggerated, and those voiced consonants that lend themselves to legato (especially 1, m, n, ng) should be lovingly cherished, to compensate for the many that do not. ‘The words came first, of course. But the music lifts the words to another realm of the imagination, adding a new dimension, new colors, an intensified spiritual resonance. the union of ‘words and tones is what makes a song; in a truly great Lied the combination of posm and music surpasses what either could accomplish alone. In performance, each clement must get its individual due and yet be blended in harmony with its counterpart. The consonants and vowels — their sheer sound, apart from the meaning of the word they form,— become part of the musical fabric, the musical effect. Be sensitive to the musical possibilities of the language itself. To understand the song the singer must study the accompaniment as well as the vocal line. The piano part is full of clues; look for them! The prelude, the postlude, the interludes—they are your world of the moment, your surrounding atmosphere; often they are you, your feelings, the “subtext” behind the words you sing. Your eyes, your bearing, your entire expression must be in harmony with what is coming to you from the piano, Imagine where you are, what you see before you, what you are feeling. And communicate all of that to the audience as eloquently as ‘you can, without overstepping the boundary between stage and concert platform. Be totally expressive—but not “theatrical.” A great lieder singer invites the audience into the world of the song, to share in moments of beauty and flights of the spirit that the poet and the composer have ‘created and that the interpreter must always endesvor to re-create anew. It is not nearly enough simply to sing the indicated pitches and note values and to pronounce the words clearly and correctly, no matter how beautiful the voice. Live with the song. Explore its world, Without a special contribution from the imagination, the personality, and the very sou! of the singer, the performance would at best offer flowers without any fragrance. ‘The great lieder composers were deeply sensitive to nature and all its moods. The Romantics still had a classical education; living as they did among monuments of history and art, they absorbed a rich cultural awareness, which is reflected in their works. Spend time in nature; visit museums; study paintings and literature of the period; listen to recordings by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Lotte Lehmann, Elly Ameling, and other great interpreters of lieder.Format and Phonetics ‘An Explanation and Introduction Format: The German text of each song or aria is printed in bold type; above cach word is a transcription of the pronunciation in the characters of the Intemational Phonetic Alphabet (“IPA”); beneath each word of the German text is an English word that is as close as practicable to the literal meaning, chosen from among the possible choices offered in a comprehensive German-English dictionary; beneath that, usually, in a fourth line, is the meaning of the line as it might be expressed in English, with its very different syntax, Example (from Verborgenheit, “Seclusion”): las, lorvelt', lorlas mig zaen! ‘lok’at' mugt’ mit ‘izbasga:bon, Lass,o Welt, 0 lass michsein! locket nicht mit Liebesgaben, Let, O world,O let me be! Lure not with love~ offerings, (World, let me be alone! Do not lure me back with offerings prompted by love.) las dis herts la'laeno ‘ha:ban ‘zaena ‘von(in)e, Zaen9 pac! lassdies Herz alleine haben seine Wonne, seine Pei let this heart alone have its rapture, its pain! (Let my heart experience its rapture and its pain in solitude!) ! Often different interpretations may be possible; the translator has made a choice according to his ‘own fecling for the language and his own understanding of the poem. A number of definite errors have been discovered in various otherwise excellent books of translations. Variants in the text are noted beneath or beside the relevant line, with pronunciation (in IPA) and translation of any words different from those in the line. After the end of each song there is a more or less brief commentary, consisting of observations about the nature of the song, with perhaps a hint about the interpretation, some possibly useful background information, an explanation of discrepancies or unusual references, or similar points Spelling has been modernized throughout wherever the pronunciation is unaffected, e.g.: Trane for Thrane, toten instead of rodien, Los instead of Loos. Phonetics: The pronunciation suggested is based on a combination of two authoritative sources, Duden Das Ausspracheworterbuch, and Siebs—Deutsche Hochsprache The diphthongs, for example, are taken from Sicbs, since that version works better for singers, ae, 20, 29 (Siebs) instead of ai, au, 2y (Duden), The treatment of the unaccented ending “er” (as in “Mutter” or “aber”) and words or syllables ending in r (such as “der,” “nur,” “mehrfach,” “yerlor”) is as recommended in Duden. When the following word or syllable starts with a vowel, it is often advisable in singing to pronounce the r, for the sake of clarity and a smoother legato. Where that is the case, this collection offers a choice, e.g: dew/dexr, or ‘o:de(t). The more formal the mood of the song, the more rhetorical or archaic the wording, the heavier the accompaniment, the more likely that the r’s will be sounded distinctly. Some familiarity with current practice among the best German singers is a desirable guide in such, as in all cases.a mm a In general, the pronunciation given is that which would be used in speaking the words (an ‘exception: when the composer has given a note to a vowel that would ordinarily be non-syllabic in speech, e.g: cly:zium—four syllables— instead of ely.zium—three syllables). Double consonants within a word are not pronounced in speech, but may be treated differently in singing, depending on the length of the note values and the importance of the word itself. For instance, in singing a word like “Worme” (ecstasy) in 2 slow tempo, the n will be prolonged, both for expressive purposes and to counteract the abnormal rhythm of the word that is dictated by the music, since in speech it would be pronounced quickly with a very short and open 2. This subtle distinction has not been observed in the present compilation, and is left to the singer’s discretion. Ifa short vowel is to be sung on a relatively long note, some compromise must be made between the normal pronunciation in quick speech and the demands of the music: this is usually accomplished by doubling the consonant that follows the vowel, to indicate its shorter value. “Kann” (can), for instance, must be distinguished from “Kahn” (boat). ‘To remind singers (and speakers) that t, ky and p are more or less strongly aspirated in German (indicated by Duden only in the introductory pages, later merely assumed), certain IPA symbols hhave been added to indicate the degree of aspiration: t*, kt, p* strongly aspirated, t., k’, p' lightly aspirated. When a word ends with the t, k, or p sound, and the next begins with the same sound, or its voiced equivalent (d, g, or b) the final t, k, or p is not aspirated, unless a pause is made between the words (a musical rest, for example). The directors and coaches of German opera houses are very particular about such matters. German audiences expect to understand the words. ‘The translations: The translator has endeavored to make the meaning of the text as clear as possible, without any concem for elegance or poetic beauty in the English wording. Some of the original poems are quite straight-forward; others are subject to various interpretations; still others need to be lived in for a while before they yield up a sense of their message. Some German words are encountered jictionaries usually label them “poetic.” But perfectly ordinary words still “Miidchen,” for example, is usually ‘going to be “girl” rather than “maiden,” unless a medieval atmosphere is an integral factor in the effectiveness of the poem. “Dui” will be “you” rather than “thou,” unless the poem is a prayer. German diction: Vowels: One striking feature of German is the marked difference in duration between long and short vowels. “Abend” (a:bant'- evening), for example, has 4 long ab; in “Nach?” (naxt* - night) the @ is very short. Yet a singer may find the word Nacht on a much longer note than the first syllable of Abend. How to be true to the sound of the word? No matter how short the note, the arin Abend must give the impression of duration through the quality and intensity of the vowel. The a in Nacht must be prolonged without weight or stress, and the ch should be pronounced slightly earlier than if the word were “nach” (naxx - after, toward) for instance, which has a relatively long a. Another characteristic of German is the obligatory use of the glottal stop [I] to separate the end of one word from a following word that begins with a vowel, or to separate certain word elements within a word. Examples: sie entehren ihn (zi: lent‘leiran lim - they dishonor him), du wid ich (du: lont’ lig - you and 1), vereinen (feelaenon/fertaenan - to unite). a] is the IPA symbol for the usual a in German. It is basically a brighter, more forward vowel than our American “ah” (except, perhaps, an “ah” in Boston). The a in “Vater” (fast'v - father) or “haben” (hatbon - have) is long; in “Gevatter” (gafat' - godfather) the a is short.—{a] is a darker version of a, slightly lower and farther back in the mouth; it occurs in the diphthong represented in normal print as aw and in the IPA as ¢9, Examples: Bawm (baom - tree), Haus (hags - house). Besides the difference in duration between “long” and “short,” there is a strong phonetic difference between the following “closed” and “open” vowels: —{e] is a very closed vowel that does not exist in American English, and is usually one of the last to be mastered by singers who are not French or German (it is identical with the French é). {e] is closer to the position of [i] in the mouth than its nearest approximation in standard English. Examples: ewig (ervig - eternal), Seele (ze:la - soul). The difference between “Leben” (lerbon - life, to live) and “lieben” (Litbon - to love) is slight but crucial. —el is similar to the short open ¢ in such English words as “let,” “egg.” It can be long or short; its long version, [e:], is identical to the vowel in “air” without the r, and is written as in German. It is the same sound as é in French. That sound must be avoided when the [e] is short, ‘as in Herz (herts - heart), Herr (her - Sir, Mr.), in both of which the vowel is as in “head” and not as in “hair” (an important distinction); @ can also be short, pronounced [e]. —{2] is a slightly darkened version of {c] and should not sound like the English [4], the vowel in “love,” which in German is only found in the ending er, as in Mutter ¢mot'e - mother) or aber (a:be - but), and is represented in the IPA as [2]. —i] is a closed vowel identical to the ee in “see.” —{j] isa light, short [i] before another vowel, only slightly different from the sound of [jJ; example: faimitlfe (Familie = family), —{i] is open and short, as in “it” or “if” in English, Some Americans do not distinguish between [i] and (e] in everyday speech, making “bin,” “been,” and “Ben” sound the same. They must ‘guard against making the same error in German. Examples: ich (te -1), bin (bin - am), —{o} is a very closed yowel that, like [¢] does not exist in English, but does in French (spelled 6 au, or eau). It is closer to the mouth position of [ul] than its nearest approximation in American English, which is usually a diphthong [40]. Examples: ohne (o:na - without), Tod (vost - death) Boot (boxt - boat) —{o] is very open, almost as much as in French, and always short (Whereas the nearest sound in American speech, the vowel in “awe” is generally long). Examples: noch (nox - still), Sonne (zona - sun). There is a big difference between the sound of offen (ofen - open) and Ofen (oxfon oven). —{u] is closed and similar to the vowel in “moon.” Examples: du (du: - you), Rube (rus - rest, peace), fun (t*u:n - to do). —{u} is oper and short, similar to the vowel in “foot” or “look” (if pronounced according to standard English; many Americans have a problem with this sound in German as in their own regional vernacular). Examples: Mutter (mut'e - mother), und (unt* - and), Kuss (ks - kiss). —{0] is closed and does not exist in English. It is pronounced by forming the lips to make a very closed [o] and at the same time trying to say a closed German (or French) [e]. Examples: schén (fon - beautiful), Aoren (hosran ~ to hear), Konig (kg:ng - king). Most Americans make to ‘open a sound when attempting this vowel. It must be distinguished from its open counterpart: —{ox}, the open version of [g], made by forming the lips to make an open [2] while trying to say [e]. The sound exists in English in “girl,” “world,” “bird,” etc. (before the r is added). Examples: mochte (moegt'a - would like), Gotier (goct'e - gods), Téchier (tcegt'e - daughters). —y] is closed and does not exist in English. It is made by rounding the lips as if to say {u] and trying to pronounce [i]. Examples: griin (gry:n - green), frit (fry:~ carly), sss (zyts - sweet). It is easier than [6] for Americans because (u) and [i] exist in English, whereas pure [0] and [e] do not. —1yl is the open version of [y], made by rounding the lips as if to say [v] and trying to pronounce [1]. Examples: jimger (jrne - younger), Kasse (k*ysa - kisses), Gliick (glyk* - luck),Diphthongs are always pronounced short in German speech, but may be notated long in music, in which case the first of the two vowel sounds must take up most of the duration of the note (as when singing English diphthongs) Examples: Wein (vaen - wine), Haut ( hgot®- skin), Freude (raga joy). Consonants: When the last letter in a word (or word element) is b, d. g, v, ors that final consonant is unvoiced in German, That means that [b] becomes [p], [4] becomes [t}, (g] becomes [k], [v] becomes [f], [z] becomes {s] (exception: when ich follows a verb that has lost its final ¢ through contraction, as in “hab’ ich,” the final consonant of the shortened verb may keep its voiced sound). ‘Americans have a particular problem with a final s after a voiced consonant, as in Herzens (Chertsons - heart's), Lebens (le:bons - life's), niemals (niimals - never), because in English an s after a voiced consonant is usually voiced (as in “lens”), unless the sound is spelled with ¢, as in “fence” or “dance.” Watch out for this common fault! P, ¢, and are usually aspirated in German (that is, mixed with the sound of A); this will be indicated by a following [*] if strongly aspirated, or by ['] if slightly aspirated. When 6, d, and g become p, f, and kat the end of a phrase, they are not as strongly aspirated as the final consonant would be in words actually spelled with p, 4, or k. Example: the difference between fot (tot - dead) and Tod (to:t' - death), if the word happens to end a phrase (otherwise both words sound the same), —ch has two pronunciations: [¢] “ont ch” follows a “front” vowel (i, €, @ 4, i) oF a consonant. It is a light hissing sound, (the lips are not moved, as they are for sh). Examples: ich (1¢ - 1), Milch (malg - milk), durch (dorg - through), manch (mane - many a). “Back ch” [x] follows a “back” vowel (a, 0, x). Examples: ach (ax - ah!), noch (nox - still), Buch (bux - book). There are two common errors in pronouncing [x]: either it sounds too much like {¢] or too much like [k]. Example: Nacht (naxt" - night) must not sound like acke (nak’t' - naked). —J [i] is pronounced like y in English; sometimes it is aspirated with an h for expressive reasons. Examples: ja (ja: or hja:~ yes), jug (jun oF hjon - young). The possible aspiration has not been indicated in this collection. —1 [I] is articulated with the tongue farther toward the front of the mouth than in American speech (but not past the teeth, as in some Russian words). It is a light, lyrical sound, and one of the problems for most American speakers. Examples: Liebe (lisbo - love), Welt (velt* - world). —m [m], n {a}, and ng [q] are hummed very resonantly in German singing. Final » in the ending ‘en, however, is only lightly touched, since such endings serve a grammatical rather than an expressive function, —nk is pronounced (nk), as in denken (denk‘an - to think), Dunkel Cdunk‘at - dark). —qu is pronounced [kv]; that is why German singers often have trouble in Italian with “quesio” or “qui”. Examples: Quelle (k*velo - spring, source), Qual (Kail - torment). —r is uvular in speech (as in French) but trlled or “flipped” by the tongue in singing. Final r is a special case, as discussed above under the heading “Phonetics.” After a long vowel, in the profixes er, ver, zer, and in the endings er, en, etc., itis barely indicated and rarely flipped or rolled in modern German speech. Final double r, as in starr ({t'ar - rigid) is rolled. The IPA symbol (v] represents the sound written “er,” when it is the only vowel in a syllable; {p] is the second vowel in a diphthong. Examples: mot'e (Muster = mother); nuse (nur = only), vergessen (feygeson - to forget), Examples of the sound in English are “mother” and “poor” as those words are pronounced in England or in parts of the eastern United States, without the so-called “mid- western” r. In singing (but not in speech), a flipped r is sometimes sounded at the end of the syllable for the sake of clarity, especially if the next word (or word clement) starts with a vowel. In that case the sound of the vowel [P] is preserved before the r; but the [zis not. Care should be taken to distinguish between the endings “er” and “e” in German (examples: ieber and Liebe); [o] is lighter and closer to [e], whereas [e] is the only sound in German that is nearly equivalent to the English [a], the vowel in “love.” —st and sp at the beginning of a word element are usually pronounced as if the s were sh [{]. Examples: Strasse ('fi'rasa - street), sprechen (Jp' regan - to speak). If st or sp follow a vowel,or if the and the ¢ or p belong to different syllables, then the pronunciation is normal. Examples: erst (exgst'- first) lispeln Clisp'aln - to whisper, to lisp). —v is usually pronounced like f, but there are exceptions, especially in names. Venus (venus) keeps the v sound: Eva can be pronounced both ways, with [f] for Eve in paradise or the heroine of Wagner's Die Meistersinger (e:fa); with [v] for a modern woman (e:va). Note that the final 2 isa pure [a] and never [3] or [4]. —w is pronounced [v]. Examples: Welle (velo - wave), wenn (ven - when, i. —z is pronounced fs [ts]. Examples: zu (tsu: - to, 100), zwei (tsvae - two). Because there are so many consonants in German, and because they often need to be articulated very strongly and sharply, the singer who wants to sing a beautiful Jegato line must be alert to every opportunity to take advantage of those consonants that lend themselves to legato singing, especially /, m, », ng. Those consonants, especially when double, offer the possibility of making a portamento ot slur on the consonant itself, which can give a much needed curve to the otherwise overly angular effect of short choppy syllables bristling with consonants. Seize every chance to exploit those curves! Examples: Wonne (vonne - rapture), Kunmer (ktomme sadness), Wange (vano - cheek). helle (hells - bright). Note that in these examples the 7, m, and [ have been doubled in the suggested pronunciation, to illustrate the point. They are not doubled in speech, and therefore not in the phonetic transcriptions in this collection. Doubling at the discretion of the singer is often done for expressive reasons, to add intensity to key words, such as Liebe! (Ilitbo - love!), Mutter! (mmot'e - Mother!), Sdsse! (zzyso - sweet one!), etc. Lotte Lehmann, in her master classes, used to call out to her students: “Ten I's!” when they were to sing the word “Liebe” in a particularly rapturous phrase, ‘Stressed syllables: primary stress is indicated with the IPA symbol [] in front of the syllable; in cases of possible ambiguity, a secondary stress may be indicated with []. Note: Lieder means “songs,” the plural of the German word for song which is das Lied. In English we can say “lieder singer” or “he sang several lieder,” but not “a lieder”: the term would be “a Lied.” The plural form has become a part of our language, but not yet the singular. In the Appendix (starting on page 310, just before the index) singing translations can be found for the following songs, in the following order: page 310: Kennst du das Land (Mignon), Heisst ‘mich nicht reden (Mignon 1), Nur wer die Sehnsucht kenrut (Mignon I), So lasst mich scheinen (Mignon II1), page 311: Anakreons Grab (Anacreon’s Grave), Gleich und Gleich (Made for Each Other), Verborgenheit (Seclusion), Auf ein Altes Bild (In an Old Painting), Gebet (Prayer), Schlafendes Jesuskind (The Sleeping Christchild); page 312: Gesang Weylas (Weyla’s Song), Der Gtirtner (The Gardener), Das verlassene Magdlein (The Forsaken Maid), An die Geliebie (To My Beloved), Verschwiegene Liebe (Silent Love); page 313: Auch kleine Dinge (Some Very Small Things), Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben sehen (You'd See Your Happy Lover Die before You), Wir haben beide lange Zeit geschwiegen (For Far Too Long), Gesegnet sei (All Praise to Him), Du denkst mit einem Fadchen (With Such a Little Thread), In dem Schatten meiner Locken (In the Shadow of My Long and Curly Hair); page 314: Geisiliche Lieder (Ten Sacred Songs from the “Spanish Song Book”). Hugo Wolf's special use of short pauses: The singer will notice that Wolf often interrupts a musical line with a rest solely for the sake of clear diction. For example, if one word ends in a {t] sound and the next begins with {t), [4], or [ts] he may insert a short rest between them, whereas another composer might let them be joined together as they would be in normal German speech. Also, he frequently places a rest before a word that starts with a vowel, so that the singer will make a clear attack and not slur the word or connect it to the end of the previous word. In this series of volumes the symbol for a stroke of the glottis (!] has only been used within a phrase or word to indicate a necessary separation, and has been omitted after a written-out rest‘mgsrak', Morike-Lieder Mbrike Songs Settings of Poems by Eduard Mérike, composed in 1888 Eduard Mérike (1804-1875) ZThe Swabian pastor Eduard Morike was one of the last romantics, one of the first modem poets Recognition came late, first locally, then—thanks partly to the dissemination of Hugo Wolf's ‘marvelous settings in all the German-speaking countries and beyond. His broad poetic range encompasses both fantasy and realism, deep religious fervor and frank eroticism, wisdom and Wit, classic form and folklore, Besides Wolf, Schumann and Brahms also set some of his poems. All Morike really ever wanted was the leisure to write. The need to make a living was a constant frustration. He had been marked for the church since adolescence, studied theology at the ‘seminary in Tubingen, where he was an indifferent scholar but still managed to pass the exams For eight years after graduation, he served in various small towns as the assistant, the “vicar.” to 2 series of village parsons. Finally he was assigned a church of his own, in a picturesque rural area. He could steal a little time for creative writing and nature, as long as he could borrow a few used sermons from fellow clergymen. He had absolutely no sense of a “vocation.” He frequently applied for sick leave. He was a lifelong hypochondriac. Iliness was his escape into poetry. When he was only nineteen he experienced a “holy” love that haunted him for many years. He ‘met Maria Meyer, an unusually beautiful vagrant with a mysterious aura of spirituality and a touch of madness. He immortalized her in the novel Maler Nolten, and in the eyele of poems be named “Peregrina.” A year or two later, he and his friend Ludwig Bauer invented a dream island Which they called “Onplid,” populated with humans, elves, and gods. Like Maria, it remained in his inner being as a source of continuing inspiration. For four years he was engaged to preacher's daughter, Luise Rau; he kept hoping for a better income, enough to support a wife. She finally broke the engagement to marry a more successful minister. When Mérike finally had a church of his own, his mother and his sister Klara moved in with him. After the death of their mother, Klara never left his side. That became a problem when he finally married a friend of hhers, Margarethe von Speeth. By then he was forty-eight years old and had retired from the ministry. When his writing failed to cam an adequate income, he tried teaching literature. Margerethe bore him two daughters. But the three-way marriage was doomed to disintegrate. Money was always a major problem. She left him. Reconciliation came only just before his death. Meanwhile, he was slowly being noticed. He received an honorary dociorate from the University of Tubingen. In 1862 the King of Bavaria conferred an order on him. Other writers, such as Turgenev, came to visit. Today Mbrike is considered one of the great poets of the German language. dere gone:zona lan di ‘hofnun Der Genesene an die Hoffnung ‘The Convalescent Speaks to Hope ‘git lig ‘graot'a mize deze ‘morgan: dox Jom lack’ meen haop't', vi:_zy:s! ‘Tédlich graute mir der Morgen: doch schon lag mein Haupt, wie siiss! Deathly dawned formethe “morning: but already lay my head," howsweetly! (Death hovered near me at dawn: but already my head was lying—how sweetly!—) ‘hofnon, digidirhm fos feyborgon, bis de: ge'vonen hiss, Hoffaung,dir im Schoss verborgen, bis der Sieg gewonnen hiess. hope, toyou inthelap sheltered, till the victorywon was called. (in the shelter of your bosom, Hope, until the victory could be said to be won.) FSU MUSIC LIBRARY2 ‘opfe —braxt’ 1g talon ‘goet’en, dox feygesan 'varrost Opfer bracht’ ich allen Gdttern, doch vergessen warest du; Offerings brought! toall gods, but forgotten were you; (brought offerings of gratitude to all the gods; but you were forgotten.) ‘ragt'verts fon den tevgon ‘et'en ‘zazst du: dem'fest'a {su seitwiirts von denew’gen Retternsahest du dem Feste zu. aside fromthe eternal rescuers looked youthe celebration at. ‘(You had to watch the celebration from the sidelines, apart from the eternal saviors.) du: ‘fidgaerago! Unit’ laps ‘daenom ‘demeligt', du Vielgetreue! Trittaus deinem Diimmerlicht, O forgive, youmuch-faithfull Step out of your twilight, (0 forgive me, ever-faithful Hope! Step out of your twilight) das lig disp/disr hms tervignage, 'memdenhelo tangozigt* taenmal ‘faoo, dass ichdir ins ewigneue, _ mondenhelle Angesicht cinmal schaue, sothatI at you into the eternally-new,moon- brightface once —_—loak, (so that I may behold just once your eternally-new, moon-bright face,) rect’ fon ‘hertson, vir lagen k*int’ lon’ zonde harm; recht von Herzen, wie ein Kind und sonder Hari right from heart, ikea child and. without affliction; (with all my heart, like a child, and without any affliction;) Jax, muginuxr lagnmarl toma ‘fmertson “‘flisso—mig_mdaenan larm! ‘ach, nur cinmal ohne Schmerzen schliesse mich in deinen Arm! ah, just once —_withoutpains enclose .me_ in your arm! (ah, just once take me in your arms when—as now—I am free of pain!) [Hope sustained him through a life-threatening illness. Now the danger has passed. He had remembered to thank all the other healing powers, but forgot to give due credit to one of the most indispensable, the unsung physician, Hope. He had often relied on her in times of trouble; now—for once—Iet him call to Hope after pain and affliction have passed, only to express his belated gratitude. As usual, Wolf's setting captures every nuance of the pocm. The quiet starkness of the introduction, with its two sombre chords suggests the approach of death. Then the harmony warms as hope begins its healing work, with a gorgeous build-up to the victory over illness and the fanfare of triumph that follows. How appropriate the modulation on the word “forgotten”! How sensitive the pianissimo at “moon-bright,” the climactic high note, just where another composer might have called for forte at the crest of a rising sequence in the vocal line! (Wolf made some changes in the accompaniment after publication: bar 24, left hand, fourth and fifth chords: G flat, B flat, upper G flat; sixth chord: F, B flat, upper F; bar 28, last three chords ezzo-staccato; bar 34, next-to-last chord: delete G natural in right hand and upper D flat, left.)] der ‘Knaxba lont das tunlaen Der Knabe und das Immlein ‘The Boy and the Bee im Yaenberk' laof dexg hyo “laen hgpslagn _fi'est' zo: vindoban; Im Weinberg auf der Hohe ein Hiuslein steht so windebang; Inthe vineyard on the heighta _ littlehouse stands so. winds-afraid; (At the highest point in the vineyard there is a little house that could be swept away by the wind;)hat‘ ‘vende ty:p nox ‘fenst'e, di ‘vaglo virt! lism Ian, hat weder Tir noch Fenster, die Weile wird ihm lang. has neither door nor window, the while becomes for it long. (it has neither door nor window; time hangs heavy there.) unt’ list dex Paik’ zo: fvyilo, zit’ lal fegft'umt di ‘Tegolaen, Und ist der Tag so schwiile, sind all’ verstummt die Végelein, ‘Andis the day so sultry, are all become silentthe little birds, (And though the day is so sultry and all the little birds have become silent,) zomt’ lan dew ‘zononbluma lagen timlacn gants _lalaen. summtan der Sonnenblumeein Immlein ganz allein. hums at the sunflower a _ little bee eatirely alone. (alittle bee is humming about a sunflower, all alone.) “maen lisp’ hat’ tenon gart’an, da: 'et' lgen hypfos —_umanhgos “Mein Lieb hat einen Garten,da steht ein hibsches Immenhaus: My lovehas a garden, there stands a pretty _beehive: (My love has a garden with a pretty beehive:) Momst du: ‘daherg gafloigan? fik‘t' iz dig nazx_mizg/mis laos?” Kommst du daher geflogen? schickt sie dichnach mir aus?” come —youthence flown? sends she you to. me out?" (have you flown here from there? Did she send you to me?”) —o: nagn, du: fase ‘narbo, es his mig nimant’ ‘bott'an gem: —“Oh nein, du feiner Knabe, es hiess mich niemandBoten —_geh’ns —*Oh no, youfine boy, there bid me noone messenger to go; —"Oh no, my fine boy, no one asked me to be a messengers) dis Kit‘ vas migls fon ‘litben, hat dig nox Khgom go'zea ies Kind weiss nichts von Lieben, hat dich noch kaum — geselt’n this child knows nothing of loving, has you still scarcely seen. (that child knows nothing about love, has still scarcely notived you.) vas ‘vyst'an lax di ‘ment'gan, ven zit Kaom laos dexg ‘furlo zum Was wiissten _auchdie Midchen, wenn sie. kaum aus der Schule sind! What would know also the girls, when they barely out of the school are! (Besides, what would girls know when they are barely out of school!) daen hertslalelispst'as fetscon Ist’ nox. faen ‘mot’ ek'int Dein herzallerlicbstes Schiitzehen ist noch ein Mutterkind. Your heart’s all-dearest little sweetheart is still a mother’s chil. (The little darling of your heart is still her mama's baby.) 1 bry Ich bring’ m vaks lant’ ‘homig: ad hm Wachs und Honig; ad te harp laen gantses pfunt’; ich hab’ cin ganzes Pfu I bring toher* wax and honey; adieu! havea whole pound; (Lam bringing her wax and honey. Goodbye! I have a whole pound:) [* The German word for “child” is neuter, hence the neuter pronoun|4 vis vet das'fetscan ‘Taxon, im —‘veset’ fon dem mont’.” wie wird das Schiitzchen lachen,ihm —_wilssert schon der Mund.” how will the little sweetheart laugh, forher* waters already the mouth.” (how the little sweetheart will laugh for joy! Already her mouth is watering.”) [* The German word for “child” is neuter, hence the neuter pronoun} —“ax, ‘volt'ast du: lig zargen, lig ‘vyst'a, vas fil ‘zyse(r) hist": —“Ach, wolltest du ihr sagen, ich wiisste, was viel siisser ist: —“Ah, would youtohersay, 1 knew, what much sweeter is: (—“Ah, would you tell her that | know something that is much sweeter:) igts lip'liges Igof ergdan, lals ven man hertst funt" k*vstt!!” nichts lieblichers auf Erden, als wenn manherzt und kiisst!” nothing lovelier on earth, than when one hugs and kisses!” (there is nothing lovelier on earth than hugs and kisses!) 4 [The strangely haunting beginning suggests a sultry summer day with not much going on; after a 1 few trills that introduce the little bee, the boy speaks in a lilting, infectious melody, that will twice reappear, slightly varied; the bee has a charming tune as well, also repeated with variations to an accompaniment entirely in the treble, with innumerable high trills and fluttery sixteenths. ‘The bass returns with the boy’s second speech, and a full-bodied forte celebrates irresistibly the rare pleasures of hugging and kissing, in a soaring climax that gently subsides into a quiet bliss. (incidentally, Wolf named the summer house in Perchtoldsdorf where he wrote the Mérike songs “Hauslein Windebang,” after the bechive in the opening lines of this song,)] agen ‘ft'ynt' Leen voi! forg tack" Fin Stiindlein wohl vor Tag Maybe an Hour or Less before Dawn dewgvael ig flasfont’ lack’, agn ‘ft'ynt‘laen vorl_ for atk® Derweil ich schlafend ag, ein Stindlein wohl vor Tag, While I sleeping lay, a littlehour perhaps before day, (While I lay sleeping, maybe an hour or less before dawn,) zan for dem fenst'e(r) Igof dem bgom igen 'fvelp'laen — mizg/micr, sang vor demFenster auf dem Baum ein Schwiilblein mir, sang before the window on the tree a littleswallowtome, (a little swallow was singing to me on the tree in front of my window.) lig hort’ lesktaom, aen ft'ynr'laen vod for tak’ ich hért’ es kaum, ein Stiindlein wohl vor Ta: I heardit scarcely,a little hour perhaps before day: (I scarcely heard it, maybe an hour or less before dawn:) “hor lan, vas lig dizg zak’ daen'fetslaen lug fepk"lak': “Hér’ an, was ich dir sag’, dein Schiitzlein ich verklag’: “Listen .., what to you tell, your sweetheart I inform against: (“Listen to what I am teiling you: I have to inform against your sweetheart:) [anhdren = to listen)dewgvael lig ‘dizzos ‘zon thu, hertst’ leper Iaen lisp’ lin 'gut'e ru, derweil ich dieses Singen tu’, herzt er Lieb in guter Rub’, while I this singingdo, hugs he a love in good tranquility, (while Tam singing this, he is quietly embracing another sweetheart) lag ‘ft'vnt'laen vol fore taxk'.” 0: ver!_migt' vget'e zaik'! ein Stiindiein wohl vor Tag.” O weh! nicht weiter sag’! a littlehour perhaps before day.” O woe! not further tell! (maybe an hour or less before dawn.” Oh dear! Don’t tell me any more!) co: ft'il! migty‘hgsren mark“! lap’, lik’ lap' fon ‘maenom boom! O still! nichts héren mag! Flieg’ab, flieg’ab yon meinem Baw 0 quiet! nothing to hear(1) want! Fly away, fly away frommy tree! (Be still! 1 don’t want to hear anything! Fly away, fly away from my tree!) lax lip’ lont ‘rap list’ vis lagn rgom, laen't'ynt'laen vod — fore hark’. Ach, Lieb und Trew ist wie cin Traum, ein Stindlein wohl yor Tag. ‘Ah, love and faithfulness is likea dream, a littlehour perhaps before day. (Ah, love and faithfulness are like a dream that comes just before dawn.) [note: in MBrike’s poem there is no comma after Traum] [The whole song is built around a plaintive musical phrase that had already been used to set the scene in Der Knabe und das Immlein, where it suggested both the sultry summer day and the boy’s loneliness as he longed for an encouraging sign from his sweetheart. In both songs we hear 2 dialogue between a young person and a talking—or rather singing—non-human, here a bird, there a bee; but the overall mood is totally different, In the earlier piece the song of the bee is playfully charming and the boy's response is an ecstatic affirmation of faith in the power of love Here the swallow brings very unpleasant tidings, and the girl is a prey to the sort of fear and worry that often steal into our dreams an hour or so before dawn. Both songs, as well as Jagerlied, below, were composed on the same day, February 22, 1988.) {espe Sager Huntsman’s Song ielig lustdes forgals tit’ im fne:, ven exe -vandolt’ Igof des bergas ag: : Zierlich ist des Vogels Tritt im Schnee, wenn er wandelt auf des Berges Hoi Dainty is the bird's step inthe snow, when it wanders on the mountain's height: (A bird leaves dainty footprints in the snow when it has been wandering about on a mountaintop:) {sirglig fraep't! ‘lisp'gons ‘Tito ant’, fragp't’ laen’briflaen mizy/mi:r|m fema tant’ rierlich schreibt Licbchens liebe Hand,schreibt ein Brieflein mir in ferne Land’. gracefullywrites sweetheart’s dear hand, writes a littleletertome in distant lands. (my sweetheart’s dear hand writes gracefully when she writes a litte letter to me in distant lands.) m di Inft'ohom lagn ‘rage fi'ack't, dah verde pfacl nox ‘khugel flagk't’. In dieLiftehoch ein Reihersteigt, dahin weder Pfeil noch Kugel fleugt. Intotheairs high a heron climbs, thitherneither arrow nor bullet flies. (The heron flies high up in the air, where neither arrow nor bullet ean reach it.) [Mleugt (poetic) = fliegt = flies]6 ‘aozont'ma:l zo: ho:x lunt' zo: gafvint’ di ge'dank‘an rape cba zint’. ‘Tausendmal 0 hoch und so geschwind die Gedanken treuer Liebe sind. Thousandtimesas high and as fast the thoughts of faithful love are. (But the thoughts of a faithful lover can travel a thousand times as high and as fast.) [The jaunty rhythm and the suggestion of hunting homs in the accompaniment conjure up the hhuntsman; the prescribed dynamic and agogic nuances show him to be a tender, passionate lover.] dere Pambure (or tambury] Der Tambour The Drummer ven ‘magna ‘mut'e ‘hekson kYcent’, da: myst’ zi: mit_dem regiment’, Wenn meine Mutter hexen kénnt’, da miisst? sie mit dem Regiment, If my mother conjurecould, then would have to she with the regiment, (if my mother could cast spells like a witch, then she would have to travel with the regiment) [hexen = to conjure, to cast spells like a witch (Hexe)] nax ‘frajk'racg ty:be(s)lal mit’ hm, font’ veg di_mark'at'endarin, nach Frankreich iberall mit hin, und wir’ die Marketenderin. to France everywhere withhence, and would be the camp-follower. (to France, wherever we went, and would be our canteen woman.) [Marketenderin = a camp-follower who distributes food and drink to the soldiers] im ‘lage, vol lum ‘mit'enaxt’, ven ‘nizmant’ lgof list'lals di vant’, Im Lager,wohl um — Mitternacht, wenn niemand auf ist als die Wacht, Inthe camp, perhaps around midnight, when noone up. is_but the watch, (In camp, around midnight, when no one is awake but the watch,) lunt’ tals farcat', ros lunt’ man, fore ‘'maene tromal_ze:s und alles schnarchet,Ross und Mann, vor meiner Trommel siiss’ and everythingsnores, steedand man, beforemy drum —_wouldsit]_ then: (and all are snoring, horse and man, then I would sit in front of my drum:) di ‘romal_ myst’ geno fysol__zaen, aen varmas ‘zagek*rqot dat dieTrommel miisst’ cine Schiissel sein, ein warmes Sauerkraut darei the drum ought a bowl _—tobe,a_ warm sauerkraut inside, (the drum would be a bowl of warm sauerkraut,) di fleigol ‘mese(e) lunt’'gaibol, ‘geno ‘lanp_vurst’ maen ‘za:bal, die Schlegel Messer und Gabel, eine lange Wurst mein Sabel, the drumsticks knife and fork, a long sausage my sabre, (the drumsticks would become my knife and fork, my sabre would turn into a long sausage,) {Sabel (dialect, archaic) = Sabei = sabre] maem Yfak'o. ver lagen hump’an gut”, dem fvl_1¢ mut’ burgundeblu:t’. mein Tschako wir’ ein Humpengut, den fill’ ich mit Burgunderblut my shako wouldbea tankard good, whichfill 1 with Burgundian blood. (my shako would be a good tankard that I would fill with Burgundy wine.) [shako =a stiff cylindrical dress-uniform hat, with a plume and a short visor]ont! vael_ les mizg/misrlan ligt’ feilt, da: faent dere momt’ tm magn gotsel; Undweil es mir an Lichte fehlt,da scheint der Mond in mein Gezelt; ‘And because it for me of candles lacks, then shines the moon intomy tent; (And, since I lack candles, the moon will shine into my tent;) faent’ lemler lapx Igof franitsa:f he'raen, mize felt dox seheinter auch auf Franzi’sch herein, mir fillt doch meine Liebste ein: shines it even in French in, tomecccurs neverthelessmy dearest (even though it will be shining in French, it will make me think about my sweetheart:) [einfallen = to occur (to one’s mind)] ‘ax ver! ax veil ax ver! vei! jetst’ hat des fp'ais laen lent’! ach weh! ach web! ach weh! web! jetzt hat der Spassein End’! ‘ah woe! ah woe! ah woe! woe! now has the fun an end! (oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Now the fun is over!) ven ‘mgena ‘mot'e ‘hekson kent”! Wenn meine Mutter hexen kénnt’ If my _ mother conjure could! (If my mother could cast spells!) [The hungry German drummer boy, on foreign soil, far from home, fantasizes about sauerkraut ‘and a big sausage; but when he thinks about his girl friend, worry puts an end to his reverie. As usual, Wolf is alert to every opportunity: the snores of man and beast, the chuckles in the accompaniment at the thought of a warm dinner, the military swagger. the pale “French” moonlight, the troubled sighs of the young soldier who wonders what his sweetheart is doing ile he is away. Often very young boys were pressed into service as drummers.] It’s He (It’s Spring) ‘fryilm est’ zaen blaoos bant’ ‘vide flat’en dorg di tvft'o; Frithling lisst sein blaues Band wieder flatterndureh, die Liiftes Spring lets its blue ribbon again flutter through the airs; (Spring again unfurls its blue ribbon and lets it flutter in the breeze;) 289, 'voilbak'ant's ‘dvft's 'ft'raefen la:nunsfol das lant’ siisse, wohlbekannte Diifte streifen ahnungsvoll das Land. sweet, well-known scents streak fullof presentiment the land. (sweet, well-known scents spread through the land a hint of what is on its way.) ‘aelgan trggmen fom, ‘votan ‘balds‘KYomen, horg, fon fern Veilchen triumen schon, wollen balde kommen, Horch, von fern jolets dream already, want soon tocome. Hark, fromafar (Violets are already dreaming; they want to come soon. Listen, from afar) Jaen laeze ‘harfontto:n! fry:lin, ja: du: bisis! dig _ha:b 1g fegnomen! in leiser Harfenton! Frihling,ja du bist's! Dich hab’ ich vernomment a soft. harp- tone!Spring, yesyouare it! You havel _ perceived! ({he soft tone of a harp! Spring, yes, it is you! I feel your approach!)8 [The softly rustling accompaniment of “Er ist’s” suggests the palpitating energy in the air at the first signs of spring, the leaping arpeggios of the vocal line convey the excitement of the exultant poet. Wolf gave the singer an effective high note at the end, and the pianist a brilliant postlude. He later orchestrated the song. Robert Schumann also set the poem (and the next as well).] as feylasana ‘meck't'laen Das verlassene Migdlein ‘The Forsaken Maid fry; van di ‘hemo Kren, di ‘ft.emlgen ‘Jvindan, Frih, wann dieHihne krihn, eh’ die Sternlein schwinden, Early, when the cocks crow, before the little stars disappear, mus ig lam hergda ‘em, mus ‘fage tsyndon muss icham Herde stchn, muss Feuer ziinden, must atthehearth stand, must fire kindle. (Lhave to be by the hearth, have to kindle a fire.) Jom list dey flamon faen, es 'p'rman di ‘funk’ Schin ist der Flammen Schein, es springen die Funken; Beautifulis the flames’ shine, there leap the sparks; (The glow of the flames is beautiful, the sparks are leaping;) 1g ‘foo zo: dargen, m act’ few’zugk'an, ich schaue so darein, inLeid versunken. I look so intoit, in sorrow sunk. (Lust stare into the fire, sunk in sorrow.) ‘piloeslic, da: komt’ les mize, ‘rogloze ‘k*naibo, Plitzlich, da kommt es mir, treuloser Knabe, Suddenly, there comes it tome, faithless boy, (Suddenly it occurs to me, unfaithful boy,) das lig di naxt’ fon dice gat'rapmat' ‘haibo. dass ich die Nacht von dir getriiumet habe. that I the night of youdreamed have. (that I dreamed of you the whole night long.) ‘trea lgof ‘thre:no dan ‘t'yrtsot' heynisdv/hernisde; ‘Trine auf Trine dann stirzet hernieder; ‘ Tear on tear then plunges down; (Then tears gush from my eyes and rush down my cheeks;) zor komt deig Pack’ he'ran—o: gm exe ‘visde! so kommtder Tag heran—o ging’er _wied thuscomes the day on— © went it(away) again! (and so day is about to break — oh, if only the dawn would never come!) [ln those few lines a deeply touching story is told. And in four bars Wolf has painted a bleak picture: the grey hour before dawn, the weary girl who must drag herself out of bed to light the fire; the aching void in her heart. The harmony warms as she feels the warmth of the fire, but a kind of empty lethargy steals over her as she stares numbly into the flames. Then, suddenly, the searing memory of her dream blazes up into her consciousness, followed by tears of° hopelessness and despair. Hier lover has abandoned her. When her pregnancy becomes obvious, her employers will dismiss her. For her there is no future except endless disgrace. The singer should emphasize the consonants in “‘stirzee”: the tears do not simply fall; they “plunge down,” they gush from her eyes. (A singing translation can be found in the appendix.)] boigeignog Begegnung Encounter vas dox hogt' naxt’ lgen ft'urm —_go've:zan, bis lerpst derg ‘morgan zig Was doch heut Nachtein Sturm — gewesea, biserst der Morgen sich Whatsurely today night a storm(has)been, till first. the morning itself (has) stirred! (What a storm there was last night! It lasted till morning first stirred!) [iewfe Nacht = last night] [*six of the verbs in this poem are past participles without an auxiliary—poetic license] vi: hat derg/de:r Yongabe:t'na'be:zan k*a'min junt’‘gason aosgofe:k't™! da: komt" laen Wie hatder —ungebet'ne Besen Kamin und Gassen ausgefegt! Da kommt cin Howhas the uninvited broom chimneyand streets swept out! Therecomes a (How that uninvited broom swept clean the chimneys and streets! There comes a) ‘mest'gan Jorn di ‘ft'rason, das halp'feyfvct'et’ lum mg Miidchen schon die Strassen, das halb verschiichtert um sich sieht; girl —_already(down)the streets, whohalf intimidated around herself looks; (girl down the street already; she is looking eround with a half-intimidated air;) vir ‘rowzon, dit dere vint ——_tgeybla:zon, zor tunft'ent" lig go'zigt'gan glys. wieRosen, die der Wind —_zerblasen, so unstet thr Gesichtchen gliiht. likeroses, thatthe wind(has) blown about, so changeably her littleface glows. (her little face glows with constantly changing expressions, like roses blown about by the wind.) agn'fome —borf tint’ lixgfisrlent"ge:gon, lexe vil ling fol lentisyk’an nan Ein schdner Bursch tritt ihr entgegen, er will ihr voll Entziicken nahn: A. handsome lad steps toher toward, he wants toherfullof delight toapproach: (A handsome young man goes to meet her; full of delight, he wants to approach her:) [ihr entgegenireten =to go to meet her] vir zen zg frggdig Iunt‘ fezlegon di tungovont'sn ‘felm> lan! wie sebn sich —_freudig und verlegen die ungewohnten Schelme an! how look each otherjoyfully and embarrassed the unaccustomed rogues at! (bow joyful and embarrassed the unaccustomed rascals are, as they look at each other!) em fagnt tu: fraigan, lop das ‘lisp'gon di ‘tycepfo fom tyutegt’ ——_gamaxt", Er scheint zu fragen,ob das Liebehen die Zépfe schon zurecht gemacht, He seems to ack, whetherthe sweetheart the braids already inorder (has) made, (He seems to be asking whether his sweetheart has already managed to tidy up her braids) di: “‘hagt' naxt’ iim tofnan ‘ft'y:p'con laen ft'urm tin tunlordnun gabraxt®, die heute Nacht im offnen Stiibchen ein Sturm in Unordnung gebracht. which today night intheopen littlerooma storm in disorder(had) brought. (after a storm had disheveled them last night in the little room with the open window.)10 deze burfarogmt’nox fon den k*yson, di: lim — das’zysa kint’ gaat’, Der Bursche triiumt noch von den Kiissen, die ihm das siisse Kind getauscht, ‘The lad dreams still of the kisses, that withhim the sweet child(had)exchanged, (The young man is still dreaming of the kisses that the sweet child had exchanged with him;) lew ft'ex’, fon tanmut’ ‘hingartson, ‘dergveel zi: lum di tek’a_raoft’. } er steht, von Anmut hingerissen, derweil sie um dieEeke rauseht. hhe stands,by gracefulness ravished, while she aroundthe corner rustles. he stands there, ravished by her gracefulness, as she scurries around the comer.) [The poet sees a young girl in pigtails and a young man meet on the street one morning. From their happy, guilty expressions he creates a convincing scenario, There obviously were vo storms last night, one outside, one indoors. Gusts of fresh morning wind blow through the piano part. The inexperienced, surreptitious young lovers are characterized with charm and sly humor] ‘mumezat'a ibe ‘Nimmersatte Liebe Insatiable Love zoslist di lisp‘! zozlistdi lip'! mut’ byson nigt su: ft'tlan: vergiver listdere tore/tor So ist die Lieb’!So ist die Lieb"! Mit Kiissen nichtzu stillen:wer ist der Tor So is the love! So is the love! Withkisses not to satisfy:who is the fool ‘Love is like that! Love is like that! It cannot be satisfied with kisses: who is the fool) unt‘ vil len zisp' mit‘ faet'ol vase ‘fylon? unt foepfst du: lan di taozont’ jaxwjarr, und will cin Sieb mit eitel Wasser fillen? und schdpfst du an die tausend Jahr’, and wants.a sievewith idle water fill? and scoop _youuptothe thousand years, (who would try to fill a sieve with only water? And even if you scoop for a thousand years,) lunt'‘ktvsost'fevig, tervig gary, dur tbusst’ lig nis tgus‘vilon. di lip’, div lisp’ und kissest ewig, ewig gar, du tust ihr nie zu Willen, Die Lieb’, die Lieb” and kiss eternally,eternallyeven, youdo for itneverto will. ‘The love, the love (and keep kissing forever and ever, it will never be enough to satisfy love. Love, love) [einem zu Willen sein = to do as someone wishes, to humor someone] hat’ fala ft'unt’ ng ‘vundelig — gallyst’an; vite ‘bison lons di tip'on__ vont’, da: hat alle Stund? nen wanderlich Geliisten; wir bissen uns die Lippen wand, da has all hour newstrange desires; we bit — foreachotherthe lips sore, when (has strange new desires every hour, we bit one another's lips sore when) vir/vitrlons ——‘hagt'a ‘kyst‘an. das ‘mect'gan_hiclt’ lin‘gut'e ru, 3 ‘Temlaen wir uns heute kiissten. Das Miidchen hieltin guter Ruh’, wie’s Limmlei we eachother today kissed. The girl held in good stillness, like the little lamb (ve were kissing today. The girl held still like a little lamb) Yont'em ‘mese: ip/itrlgoge bat’: nurg/nusr time tsi ‘dest'o bese! unterm Messer;ihr Auge bat: nur —immerzu, je weher —_desto besser! lundertheknife; her eye begged: just alwaysto, themorepainfulthe better! (under the knife; her eyes pleaded: keep going, the more it hurts the better!) [émmer zu = keep on; je mehr desto besser = the more the better]u zo: list di lisp’, lont! vamgivarr laox z0:, vit lag les Ttho git, So ist die Lieb’, und war auchso, wie lang —_¢s Liche gibt, So is the love, and was also so, as _long(as)it love gives, (Love is like that, and was always like that, and will be like that as long as love exists;) [es gibt= there is) ont‘landes vary her ‘za:lomo, dere 'vaezs, muct’ feplicp't undanders war Herr Salomo, der Weise, nicht verliebt. and differently was Mr.* Solomon, the wise one,not in love. (and when King Solomon the Wise was in love it was exactly the same.) [Herr (“lord” or “Mr.”) is used facetiously here; verlieb sein = to be in love] [Wolf was surprised and delighted with the way this song flowed from his pen. He called the ‘ending, with its irresistible verve, “a regular students’ song,” Many a young man would certainly endorse the sentiments of the poem, which must have seemed rather shocking in their frank sensuality to Victorian ears. How a modern young woman might react to the image of a “little lamb under the knife” is another matter. The mating of music and words reaches perfection. (Note: the first three rests in the voice part should be used for the s and cf sounds, not for the «)] “fussraezo Fussreise Excursion on Foot am fmf gafnit'nan ‘vande/t'ap', ven lig Iindey frya zo: dure ‘velde ‘wis, ‘Am frisch geschnittnen Wanderstab, wenn ich in der Fritheso durch Wilder ziehe, By thefreshly cut walking stick, when I in the early so through woods move, (When in the early morning, with a freshly cut walking stick, I hike like this through the woods,) ‘hy:gol Igof unt‘ lap": dan, vits —faiglaen im ‘loobo ‘zimat tunt’ zig ryret’, Hiigel auf und ab: dann,wie’s Véglein im Laubesinget und sich rihrt, hills up and down:then, as the little bird inthe foliagesings and itself-stirs, (up and down the hills, then, just as the little bird in the foliage will sing and hop about,) ‘onde vir di ‘goldna ‘hraobo ‘vanagaest'e fp" yzet' lin dexp/desr tergst'an ‘morganzona: oder wie die gold’neTraube Wonnegeister spiirt inder ersten Morgensonne: or as thegolden grape joy- spirits senses inthe first. = morningsun: (or as the golden grape will sense joyfal spirits stirring within in the first morning sunshine,) {a full-bodied wine is said to have “Geist” (“spirit”)] zo: fyi Igox magn lalt’e, i:be(s) tardam herpst’ Wont" ‘fryclisficbe, so fihltauch mein alter, lieber Adam Herbst-und Friblingsfieber, thusfeels also my old, dear Adam autumn and spring fever, (Gin that same way my dear old Adam, too, feels fall-and-spring fever;) ‘got babertst'a, nis fey fertst’a ‘ergst' ys phara'dizzasvono. gottbeherzte, nie verscherzte Erstlings- Paradieseswonne. God-inspirited, never frivolously thrown-away first-created Paradise’s bliss. (and the God-inspirited bliss of a freshly created Paradise never frivolously forfeited.) ‘alzo bist du: mict* zo: fim, ot falt'e(r) taxdam, vir di ‘fUrenen ‘lexe — ‘zaigan; Also bist du nichtso schlimm,o alter Adam, wiedie strengen Lehrer sagen; So are younot as bad, Ookl Adam, as the severe teachers say; (Go, old Adam, you are really not as bad as those severe teachers say;)2 lipst’ font loxpst du: time dox, —_zmst* lont* p'raezast' ime nox, liebst und lobst du immer doch, singst und preisest_ immernoch, love and laud you[sudjJalways afterall,sing and praise always still, (after all, you always love and laud Him, still sing and praise,) vit lanlervig ‘nagan ‘foepfunsttagan, ‘darrian ‘lbon ‘foepfe(r) lunt" ierhalt’e. wie an ewig neuen Schépfungstagen, deinen licen Schdpfer und Erhalter. as in etemallynew daysof Creation, your dear Creator and Preserver. meet es ‘dize ‘getbon, lunt’ maen gantsas ‘Te:bon Macht'es dieser geben, und mein ganzes Leben Might itfobj] the latter[subj] give, and my whole life (Oh, if He might care to grant it, then my whole life) ver im laegt'an vandejvaesa__laeno"zolea‘morgonraeza! wir’? im _leichten Wanderschweisse eine solche Morgenreise! would be in the light ing- sweat a_—_such_ morning excursion! (would be such a moming excursion, a hike in a pleasant light sweat!) [This popular song captures the fresh, joyous vigor of a moming walk out in nature. One"s whole being feels at one with Creation and at peace with the world. Wolf was well pleased with the piece; he wrote to a friend: “When you have heard it, you will have only one wish—to die.” an ‘geno letalsharta ‘An eine Aolsharfe Toan Aeolian Harp ‘angolemt’ lan di le:fapvant’ ‘itze(r) ‘alr'on tetas, Angelehnt an die Epheuwand dieser alten Terrase, Leaned —againstthe ivy- wall ofthis old terrace, (Leaning against the ivy-covered wall of this old terrace,) du;, ‘gene ‘loft gabornon ‘mu:za_gehgemnisfoles ‘zaet’anfp'il, fa lan, du, einer lufigebornen Muse geheimnisvolles Saitenspiel, fang’ an, you,an —air-born muse’s mysterious lyre, begin (Vou, mysterious lyre of an air-born muse, begin,) lanfangen = begin, start] ‘Yayo Vinde(r) an daena melodif ‘KMla:ge! ity k'omat’, ‘vinda, fen hery:be(r), fange wieder an deine melodische Klage! Ihr kommet, Winde, fern heriiber, begin again... your melodious lament! Youcome, winds, far over to here, (begin again your melodious lament! You, winds, come here from afar,) lax, fon des ‘k*na:bon, dere mixg zo: lisp’ vag, fmf ‘grymandam ‘hy:gel. ach,von des Knaben, der mir so lieb war, frisch griinendem Hiigel. ah, fromthe boy's, who tome so dear was, fresh greening mound. (from the freshly green grave of the boy who was so dear to me.) {Higel = hill, mound (often refers to a grave in German)} ont’ ‘frydmsbly:t'on font" eve:gas ft'ragfont’, __Iyibo'zet'igt! mut’ ‘vorlgarygon, Und Krihlingsbliten unterweges streifend, __ibersiiitigt mit Wohlgeriichen, ‘And spring blossoms on the way lightly brushing, saturated with fragrances, (And, having lightly brushed spring blossoms, saturated with fragrance, on your way.)3 vir ays bo'drent’ tisg dts herts! unt ‘zg9zalt’ hexg/hesr iin. di ‘zaet‘an, wie siiss, wie sis bedriingtihr dies Herz! Und siuselt her im _ die Saiten, how sweetly, how sweetly oppress you this heart! And murmur hither intothe strings, (ow sweetly you oppress my heart! And you murmur in the strings,) ‘angotsorgon fon ‘vorllgot‘onde ‘vermut', —vaksont’ him suk’ ‘magne ‘ze:nzuxt®, unt’ ‘angezogen von wohllautender Wehmut, wachsend im Zug meiner Schnsucht, und attracted by euphonious melancholy, growing inthe course of my yearning, and (attracted by euphonious melancholy, growing along with my yearning, and) hhinft'erbont' visde, ‘a:be(r) Igof ‘aenmail, vi: dere vint' ‘heft'ige ‘pereft' ost", hinsterbend wieder. Aber auf einmal, wie der Wind heftiger herstisst, dying away again, But(all)at once, as the wind more vehemently hither thrusts, (dying away again, But all of a sudden, with amore vehement gust of wind,) acnholde frag de:p ‘harfo vidwhorlt’, misy tsu: zysom ley{frek‘on, ein holder Schrei der Harfe wiederholt, mir zu siissem Erschrecken, a lovely cry of the harp repeats, forme to sweet alarm, (a lovely ory of the harp repeats, to my sweet alarm,) magne ‘zeilo ‘pPloeishiga ‘resguy; vnt' hig —di ‘folo toe meiner Seele plitzliche Regung; und hier —dievolle Rose my soul’s sudden stirring; and here — the full-blown rose (he sudden stirring in my soul, and here — the full-blown rose,) JU'rQ9U, gafyt'alt', al tira‘blet"e foxy ‘macne tye! streut, geschiittelt, all’ ihre Blitter vor meine Fiisse! scatters, shaken, all its petals before my feet! (shaken by the wind, scatters all its petals at my feet!) [Acolus was god of the winds. The aeolian harp is a stringed instrument that can produce delicate and mysterious sounds when the wind passes over it. The poem tells of communication from ‘beyond the boundary that separates life and death. Mérike’s younger brother had died at the age of seventeen. The poet, as he thinks about the boy, is startled by a sudden cry from the aeolian harp, and rose petals are consolingly scattered about his feet. Brahms also set this poem. Wolf had never heard an aeolian harp until after he composed the song. When he heard one in the open window of a castle, he was amazed how closely his imagined tones approached the actual sound. Both Morike and Wolf prefaced the pieze with four lines from Horace’s Ode ii.9: Tu semper urges flebilibus modis / Mysien ademptum: nee tibi vespero / Surgente decedunt amores / Nec rapidum fugiente solem. (Always in tearful strains you cling to the memory of Mythes, who has been carried away by death; your feelings of love subside neither when the evening star is rising nor when, as the morning star, it is fleeing the rapid sun); Horace was reproaching the poet Valgius for mouming @ loved one too long. When Morike first heard an aeolian harp his brother had already been dead for seven years. The poem, which describes the feelings that overwhelmed ‘him at that time, was not written till another six years had gone by.] feyborgonhact Verborgenheit Seclusion las, lo:velt’, loslas mig zaent ‘Lokal’ mgt’ mut libosgatbo Lass,o Welt, 0° lass mich sein! locket nicht mit Liebesgaben, Let, O world,O let_me Lure not with love- offerings, (World, let me be alone! Do not lure me back with offerings prompted by love.)“4 las diss herts la'laena ‘habon 'zaena ‘von(:n)a, ‘zaena praen! lass dies Herz alleine haben seine Wonne, seine Pein! let this heart alone have its rapure, its pai (Let my heart experience its rapture and its pain in solitude!) vas ig ‘trqors, vaes lig migt, es list’ lunbakant’as vero; Was ichtraure, weiss ich nicht,es ist unbekanntes Wehe; What | grievefor, know! not, it is unknown —_pain; (Ido not know why I should be grieving: this is an unfamiliar pain.) ‘medary dung ‘thremon ‘ze:9 ig deg zona ‘Ttbos lict immerdardurch Trinen sehe ich der Sonne licbes Licht. always through tears. see I the sun's dear light. (iis always through a mist of tears that I see the precious light of the sun.) oft! bm ig mig ktgom bevust’ lunt di ‘helo ‘frgpdo ‘isyk'at" dure di ‘fuera, Oft binich mir kaum bewusst unddic helle Freude zlicket durch die Schwere, Often amI inmescarcelyaware and the bright joy _flashes through the heaviness, (Often, when | am scarcely aware of it,a bright joy will suddenly flash through the heavy mood) [ziicket (here, poetic) = zucket] zo: mig “drvk'at’, ‘vonik'lig lm magne brost”. so mich driicket, wonniglich in meiner Brust. (that)some oppresses, blissfully in my breast. (that oppresses me so, blissfully in my breast.) las, lovelt’, lo:las mig zaen! ‘ok‘at’ migt* mut Ti:basga:bon, Lass,o Welt, o lass mich sein! locket nicht mit Liebesgaben, Let, O world,O let me be! Lure not with love- offerings, (World, let me be alone! Do not lure me back with offerings prompted by love.) las diss herts lalaeno ‘ha:ban ‘zaena ‘von(mn)a, Zeno praen! lass dies Herz alleine haben seine Wonne, seine Pein! let this heart alone have its rapture, its pain! (Let my heart experience its rapture and its pain in solitude!) [Some critics have unjustly disparaged this beautiful, moving song, possibly because it was immediately popular and has remained 30, even among those musicians who do not care for Wolf's style in general. Wolf himself was annoyed that singers favored Verborgenheit in their recital programs and neglected his subtle masterpieces of less obvious appeal. Nevertheless, it is a great song and deserves its popularity. The translation of the title as “Secrecy” is misleading and false. The context of the poem is not concerned with secrecy; the emotions expressed are those of someone who has retired from the clamor of the world, perhaps in answer to some inner need, perhaps because the passage of time has determined the end of a career. Feelings of blessed relief —even of euphoria—mingle inexplicably with those of melancholy and loss. Note the mastery with which Wolf captures in the voicing of the chords the poetic image of sunlight seen through tears. The drop of a minor sixth on the word “Wonne” is a textbook example of where portamento should be made on the sound of a consonant, in this case the double 7, rather than on. ‘2 vowel in the Italian manner. (A singing translation can be found in the appendix.)]1s im Im Frihling In the Spring hig lig 1¢ lapf dem ‘ry:imshy:gal: di volk'a virt’ magn ‘ly:gal, Hier lieg’ ich auf dem Friihlingshiigel: dieWolke wird mein Fliigel, Here lie I on the spring- hill: the cloud becomes my wing, (Here I lie on a hill touched by spring: a cloud becomes my wing,) aen'forgal flik't' mire forgos. ax, zack’ mizp/mir, lallaentstga ‘lisboa, ein Vogel fliegt mir voraus. Ach,sag’ mir, —_all-einzige Liebe, a bird flies(of)me inadvance.Ah, tell me, _all-unique love, (abird flies on ahead of me. Ah, tell me, Love, supreme, incomparable spirit.) vor du: blaepst',das lig bag dizg litho! dx. du: lunt di ‘vit’, wo du bleibst, dass ich Doch du und die Liifte, where youstay, that I with you might remain! But youand the airs, (where I can find you, so that might stay with you! But you and the breezes.) hhaip't' kag hags. dere ‘zononbluums glaeg fi'e:t! maen gomyst'a ofan rhabt kein Haus.Der Sonnenblume gleich stcht mein Gemiite offen, sehnend, youhave no house.Tothe sunflower like stands my spirit. open, yearning, (you have no home. Like the sunflower my heart is open, yearning.) mg demont’ lin 'Tiben junt’‘hofan. ‘fryilm, yas bist du: govilt'? sich dehnend in Lieben und Hoffen. Frihling,was bist du gewillt? itselfexpanding in loving and hoping. Spring, what are you determined (to do)? (expanding in love and hope. Spring, what is your will?) van vewd 1¢ goftil? di ‘volk'a ze: lig Vandoln Wont den flus, wann werd? ich gestillt? Die Wolke seh’ ich wandeln und den Fluss, when shall 1 beappeased? The cloud see 1 wander and the river, (When will my yearning be stilled? I see the clouds and the river wandering onwards,) es drt deg zona ‘goldne kus mig tif bis ins gablyt’ —_—hyngen; es dringt der Sonne goldnerKuss mir tief bisins Gebliit _hinein; there penetrates the sun’s golden kiss tome decp till into theblood system inside; (the golden kiss of the sun penetrates deeply into my blood;) di ‘Igogan, vundebae bargofat, tum, als ‘flisfan zi lagen, dic Augen, wunderbar berauschet, tun, als _sebliefen sie ei the eyes, wonderfully intoxicated, do, as if) would fall asleep they . (my eyes, wondrously intoxicated, close as if in sleep,) [einschlafen = to fall asleep] aug nox das log dem thom deg ‘bimo ‘Igofat'. 1¢. ‘denk'a diss lunt ‘denk’o das, nur noch dasOhr dem Ton der Biene lauschet.Ich denke dies und denke das, only still the ear tothe tone ofthe bee listens. I think this and think that, (iy ears now hear only the hum of a bee. I think of this and that;) tg ‘zema mig, unt’ vags migi' regt', naix vas: halp' lst’ les lust, ich schne mich, und weiss nicht recht, nach was: halb ist es Lust, T long myself, and know not rightly,for what:half is it pleasure, (Cong for something, and do not exactly know for what; this yearning is half pleasant,)16 halp’ ist‘ les‘k'la:go; maen herts, lot'zaigo, vas verpst dur fy:y/fy:r leg-/erlimarun halb ist es Klage; mein Herz, 0 sage, was webst du fir Erinnerung half is it lament; my heart, O say, what weave youfor memory (half painful. My heart, tell me, what memory are you weaving) hn‘goldan'‘gry:ne ‘tsvaege ‘demaruy? _‘alt'o tunnenbazro ‘thaigo! in golden grimer Zweige Dimmerung? Alte unnennbare Tage! in golden green branches’ twilight? Old _unnameable days! (in the twilight of golden-green boughs? Days of the past that cannot be named!) [Sensuous yearning permeates this lovely song. The love that is first addressed is not a person; it is an intangible ideal. The last question is to the poet’s heart. Its wistful answer suggests that what he longs for belongs now to the past. The transparancy of the accompaniment portrays an outer world of springtime freshness, the chromaticism an inner world of restless longing.) “agnes Agnes ‘Agnes Op. 59, No. 5 [1873] (Eduard Morike) rowontsaet'! vi: fuel foybae, fnel_ fogbae, bist du: dx _gaigayen! Rosenzeit! wie schnell vorbei, schnell vorbei, bist du doch —gegangen! Rose- time! how quickly past, quickly past, have you after all gone! (Time of roses, how very quickly you have passed!) ver magn lip’ nung ‘bliban rag, ‘blitbon rag, zolt’s mig nict’ ‘bayan. Wiir’ mein Lieb’ nur blicben treu, blieben treu, sollte mir nicht bangen. Had my — dear one only remained true, ‘remained true,(it)should to me not _be frightening. (lf my love had only remained faithful, should not be afraid.) [blieben = geblieben| [es (understood) bangt mir = (literally:) it is frightening to me =I am afraid (or anxious)] om di temt’a ‘vougemut’, ‘vodgamust ‘fnit‘arinen —“zimon, Um die Ernte wohlgemut, wohigemut Schnitterinnen singen, Around the harvest cheerfully, cheerfully female reapers. sing, (The women are singing cheerfully as they reap the harvest,) ‘abe, ax! mig ‘erank‘om blut’, mig ‘kerank’om blux’, vil migis— mee galaen. aber, ach! mir krankem Blut, mir krankem Blut, will nichts mehr gelingen. but, ah! formesick _blood,formesick blood, wants nothing more to succeed (but, alas, for me and my sick heart, nothing wants to turn out right any more.) ‘flagcs zor dures ‘vitzanta: dors ail, lals him t'raom feglorran, Schleiche so durchs — Wiesent so durchs Tal, als im ‘Traum verloren, (I) steal so through the meadow-valley, so. through the valley, as if in the dream lost, (I sneak away through the meadowed valley as if lost ina dream,) naxx dem berk', da _‘haozant'mail, ‘tPgozant' mail nach dem Berg, da tausendmal, tausendmal er trap ——_galfvorran. Treu —_geschworen. toward the mountain, there thousand times, thousand times he to me faithfulness (had) sworn. (toward the mountain where he swore a thousand times to be fai iful to me.)‘otbon Igof des ‘hy:gals rant’, lap'gavant’, vaen 1¢ bae deve indo; Oben auf des Hiigels Rand, abgewandt, wein’ ich bei der Linde; Aboveon the hill’s rim, tuned away, weep I by the linden tree; (Up there on the rim of the hill, tumed away from the world, I weep by the linden tree;) an dem hu:t’ mgen ‘ro:zanbant’, fon ‘zane hant’, ‘fp'itlat' lin dem ‘vinda. an dem Hut mein Rosenband, von seiner Hand, spiclet in dem Winde. onthe hat my pink ribbon, from his hand, plays in the wind. (on my hat the pink ribbon that he gave me is playing in the wind.) [Brahms also set this poem, as did many other composers before Wolf. In Morike’s novel Maler Nolten, it is a song sung by the heroine, a secret plea to her lover to be faithful.) of taene ‘vandorun Auf einer Wanderung (On a Long Walk im laen frogat'ligas.“t‘ex’gan ret’ 1g laen, in den’ft'ra:son lisk't' roxt'e(®) lacbont’ Jaen. In ein freundliches Stidtchen tret? ich cin, in den Strassen liegt roter Abendschein. Intoa friendly _littletown step I in, inthe streets lies red evening-glow. (Lenter a friendly little town; the streets are bathed in the red glow of sunset.) ‘qs laenom ‘lofnan fenst'e(r)lesbon, —ty:be den raegst'an ‘blumanflow —_hin'vek’, ‘Aus cinem offaenFenster eben, iiberden reichsten Blumenflor —_hinweg, Outofan open window just(now),over the richest flower-florescence away, (Through an open window, just now, and over the richest display of flowers.) ho:et’ man golt’glok‘antona ‘jverbon, unt’ taeno ‘ft'imo _faent’ laen ‘naxt rgalon.k*ory hidrt man Goldglockentine schweben,und cine Stimmescheint ein Nachtigallenchor, hearsone gold-bells- tones hovering, anda voice seems a nightingale- choir, (one can hear the soundof golden bells floating onthe air, and a voice like a choir of nightingales.) das di ‘bly:t'on ‘berbon, das di ‘Ivfi'a le:bon, das imhé:aram rast di ‘toxzon ‘Iaget'an fore. dass die Bliiten beben, dass die Liifte leben, dass in hdherem Rot die Rosen leuchten vor. that the blossomsquiver,that the airs live, that in higher red the roses gleam — forth. (making the blossoms quiver, the air come alive, and the roses gleam with a brighter red.) lan hilt’ lig ft‘gonont, ust'baktlomon, vi: lig hrngos fogs tore gakYomon, Lang hielt ich staunend, lustbeklommen, Wie ich hinausvors Tor gekommen, long stopped wondering, pleasure-gripped.How1 out before the gate (have) come, (Fora long time | stopped in wonder, held there by pleasure. How I passed through the town gate) ig vaes les'varehig ‘zelbe mgt". ax hisg, vir litk't div velt* zo: Ingtht ich weiss es _wahrlich selber nicht. Ach hier, wie liegt die Welt so licht! 1 know it truly myselfnot. Ah here, how lies the worldso bright! (really do not know. Ah, how full of light the world is here!) dex ‘imal vork't’ in porp'umom gavy:la, tvk'verts di fe'at’ lin'goldnam roo: Der Himmel wogt in purpurnem Gewiible, riickwarts die Stadt in goldnem Rauch; The sky undulates in purple tumult, backwards the town in golden smoke; (The sky surges with purple clouds; looking backwards, I see the town in a golden haze;)18 vir root dem/der terlonbax, vir raoft' lim grunt di myo, 1g bin wie rauschtder Erlenbach, wie rauscht im Grund die Miihle, ich bin howrustles the _aldertree-brook, how murmurs in the (back)ground the mill, I am (how the brook babbles among the alder trees, how the mill murmurs in the background! | feel) ‘Mronk'on, irgofyzgt, 0: ‘murzo, du: hast’ maen herts barry:gt' mut’ taenam li:beshaox! wie trunken, irr’gefihrt,o Muse, du hast mein Herz beriihrt mit einem Liebeshauch! as drink, — confused, © Muse, youhave my heart touched witha —_breath of love! (as if | were drunk, confused: O Muse, you have touched my heart with a breath of love!) [The tonality is constantly shifting its kaleidoscopic colors with each new impression in this ‘exquisite song. the accompaniment has a magical delicacy at first, then surges toward an outpouring of ecstatic emotion, too overwhelming for words, at the crest of the long interlude. For some time the poet cannot tear himself away from that enchanted spot. He leaves the town in a daze, scarcely conscious. Outside, he pauses to drink in the beauty of the scene and—to the sound of a thousand harps inside him—gives thanks to his muse who has touched his heart with the loving gift of inspiration. As he walks away, in the postlude, the delicate impressions form themselves into a poem. (Peters “Kritische Gesamiausgabe” incorporates several emendations by the composer in the accompaniment, such as the chords in bar 47 and some dynamic markings.)} elfon Elfenlied Elf-Song bacnaxt’ iim dorf dew vege “lelfo!” en gants ‘Kélaenas telfcon Bei Nacht im Dorf der Wachter rief: “Elfe!” Ein ganz Kleines Elfchen ‘At night inthe village the watchman called out:“Eleven!”A very tiny little elf [Elf= elf; elf = cleven] tm valdo. flif- vol lumi ‘elf! unt! maent’, im Waldeschlief— wohl_um dieElfe! Und meint, in the woods was sleeping — indeed at the eleven! And thinks, ‘(was sleeping in the woods, just at eleven o'clock! And he thinks) les rif liam lags dem ta:l bge 'zagnem ‘naimon di ‘naxt'rgal, es rief ihm aus demTal bei seinem Namen die Nachtigall, therecalledtohim fromthe valleyby his name the nightingale, (that the nightingale was calling him by name from the valley,) toe lp'ola’ het’ lim goruifon. raep't' zig dere/derr lelf di taogon laos, oder Silpelit hit” ihm gerufen. Reibt sich der —_Elf' die Augen aus, ‘or Silpelit_mighthavetohimealled, Rubs himselfthe elf the eyes out, (or that Silpelit might have called to him. The elf rubs his eyes,) [Mérike made up a name for one of the female elves} bogip't' zig fry zagn fnek‘anhgos —_ont'list*lals vi lapn ‘t'ronk‘on man, begibt sich vor sein Schneckenhaus und ist als wiecin trunken Mann, betakes himselfinfrontofhis snail houseand is as if a drunken man, (goes oulside his snailshell-house, and acts as if he were drunk,) zagn'fleflaen vaig nigt' fol_gat"am, ldnt' hump’ alt’ ‘alzo, thip's, tap, sein Schliflein war nicht voll getan, und humpelt also, tippe, tapp, his little sleep was not fullydone, and hobbles thus, tap, grope, (not having fully slept out his little nap, and hobbles about like this: tapping, groping)dures harzolholts ins al nap’, flupft’ lan dexz maoe hin zor dict. @urehs Haselholz ins Tal_hinab, schlupftan der Mauer hin so dicht, through the hazelwood intothe valleydown, slips at the wall thitherso close, {through the hazelwood down into the valley, he slips away, very close to the wall) [hinschlupjen (dialect) = hinschltipfen ~ to slip or glide away toward something] da: ziist dey glyvorm ligt’ lan ligt®, “vas zint das helo ‘fenst'elaen?” da. sitztder Gliihwurm Lichtan Licht. “Was sind das helle Fenstertein? theresits the glowworm light on light. “Whatare that bright little windows? (where glowworms are sitting, one little Light ater another. “What bright little windows are those?) da: drm vurt' taeno ‘hoxtsaet’ zaen: di ‘k*laenan ‘zutgen baem ‘macto Da drin wirdeine Hochzeit sein: die Kleinen sitzen beim Mahle There inside will a wedding be: the little ones sit at the meal (inside there must be a wedding: the little creatures are sitting at the dining table) lunt *Praebans Im dem atl. da: guk’ 1g vol laen'vemig magn!” dem Saale, Da guck’ich wohl ein wenig ’nein!” and drive iin the assembly room. There peck 1 perhapsa bit inside!” (and having fun in the salon. I’m going to take alittle peek inside!”) [treiben es = to carry on some activity (not spe ied here); ‘nein = hinein pfui, f'eist den Kopf lan ‘hart'an [t'gen!'elfo, gel’, du: hast’ gornuik’? ‘guk'uk! Pfui, stésst den Kopf an harten Stein! Elfe,gelt, du hast genug? Gukuk! Fie! bumpsthe head againsthard stone! Elf, right, youhave enough? Cuckoo! (Fie! He bumps his head against the hard stone wall! Elf, you've had enough, right? Cuckoo!) [Gukuk (dialect) = cuekuck = cuckoo (here as used by children playing peek-a-boo)] [An enchanting recording by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf has helped to make this delightful song famous. The watchman’s burly voice contrasts with the elfin lightness of the rest of the piece. (Silpelit, a lady elf, and the poem itself can both be found in Morike’s novel, Maler Nolien.)] dew ‘gerne Der Girtner ‘The Gardener roeslagn, zor vags vir dew fe, dit 'fornst'a phnintsesin rem Leibrisslein, so weiss wie der Schnee,dieschénste ——_Prinzessin On her favorite littlesteed,as white as the snow, the most beautiful princess ragtt dure di lalet, derg veik',dein das ‘oeslaen ‘hinthantsat’ 20: holt’, reit’t durch dieAllee. Der Weg, den das Risslein hintanzet so hold, rides through the avenue. The path, which the littlesteed dances along so charmingly, (rides down the avenue. On the lane, down which the little steed prances so charmingly,) dere zant, dem lig ‘f'ragt'a, lexg blwyk‘at' vir golt'! du: ‘rozanfarps ‘hy:'laen der Sand,den ich streute, er blinket wie Gold! Du rosenfarb's Hiitlein the sand, whichI scattered, it glitters like gold! You rose-colored little hat (the sand that I scattered glitters like gold! You rose-colored little hat,) voi! laof lunt’ vol lap', ot virf laena ferde feg'ft'orlon herap'! ont’ vilst du: wohlauf und woblab, 0 wirfeine Feder verstohlen herab! Und willst du well up and well down,O toss feather furtively down! And want you (bobbing up and down, ob, toss me down a feather, secretly! And if you want)2 da'geigon aena ‘blu:ma fon mig, nim ‘tapzant’ fy:e/fysr lena, mm tala datfy:e! dagegen cine Blumevon mir, nimmtausend fir cine, nimmalle daftir! inexchangea flower fromme, take thousandfor one, take all fort! (a flower from me in exchange, take a thousand for one, take all my flowers for just one feather!) [The gardener is in love with the beautiful princess and hopes that a feather will fall from her cap as she rides down the bridle path he has so carefully strewn with clean, fresh sand. He knows how little he can expect that she will ever notice him, but he wants to keep something that has ‘been close to her, secretly. In this justly popular song, the piano part prances along with the light little horse. The voice of the smitten gardener soars as he offers a flower to the hat in exchange for a feather. Then he looks after the princess as she trots away into the distance. The poem was also set by Robert Schumann, and seems to have been inspired by a very similar situation in Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts (From the Life ofa Good-for-Nothing) by Joseph von Fichendorfi, another of Wolf's poets. (A singing translation can be found in the appendix.)] {sitromanfalt'e lim lap'rtl Zitronenfalter im April Brimstone Butterfly in April igraoza:ma ‘fryiimszona, du: vekst’ mig foxy dew tact", deim ‘rausame Frihlingssonne,du weckst mich vor der Zeit, dem Cruel spring sun, -youwake me beforethe time, for whom (Cruel spring sun, before the proper time you wake me, whose) ‘nug/nusr hn'magonvona di Ysa:gt's ktost’ gotdaet™ list“ mict’ laem Tibes ‘meit'gan hizg, aur Maienwonnedie zarte Kost gedeiht! Ist nichtein liebes Madchen only in May- bliss the delicatefood thrives! Is not a dear girl here, (delicate food thrives only in the bliss of May! If there is not some kind girl here) das laof dere Yozanlip'a mize/mix igen reepfcon ‘homig bet’, zo: mus lig jemelig das auf der Rosenlippe mir ein Trépfchen Honig beut, so muss ich jammerli thaton the rose- lip tome a _littledropofhoney offers,then must | wretchedly (who will offer me a little drop of honey on her rose-like lips, then | must wretchedly) feg'gem, unt’ virt dex mag mig ‘mime zen lm mmaensm ‘gelbon ket’. vergehn, und wird der Mai mich nimmersehn in meinem gelben Kleid. perish, and will the Mayme never see in my —_ yellow dress. (perish, and May will never see me in my yellow dress.) [The major chord at the end suggests that some sweet girl has taken pity on the starving butterfly and granted his request. A delightful, delicate gem of a song.] um imit'enaxt* Um Mitternacht ‘At Midnight gelasan fick’ di naxt' lans ant’, lemt ‘t'ragmont'lan deg ‘berga vant", Gelassen stieg dieNachtans’ Land, lehnt triumendan der Berge — Wand, Calmly climbedthe night ontothe land, leans dreaming againstthe mountains’ wall, (Night calmly rose over the land; she leans against the slope of the mountains;)al ing/ir igoge zit di ‘goldno vaige num dew act’ hn glaegan ‘Jaen fe'rle run; ont’ ihr Auge sieht die goldae Waage nun der Zeit in gleichen Schalen stille ruhn; und her cye sees the golden scales now ofthe time in equal pans —_quietlyrest; and (her eyes see the golden scales of time now resting quietly in equal balance; and) kek’ rapfon di ‘Wvelon hegfoy, zit ‘zmpn ery mut'e, dere nant’, ims log Kecker rauschen die Quellen hervor, sie singender Mutter,der Nacht,ins — Ohr bolder murmur the springs forth, theysing tothemother, tothe night, intothe ear (the springs gush forth more boldly: they sing into the ears of their mother, the night,) fom ‘aga, fom —_‘hopt’s gavezanan targa. das ‘uxg(ralt’falt’a ‘flometi:’, is vom Tage, vom heute gewesenen Tage. Dasuralt alte Schlummerlied, sie aboutthe day, aboutthe today been day. The primeval old slumber song, she (about the day, about the day that was today. To that primeval, ancient slumber song she) faxt'ats —migt’, zit list’ les myst’; ie K'lnt des‘himals'blggo ‘zyse nox, achtet’s _nicht,sie ist es mild; ihr Klingt des Himmels Bliiue slisser noch, paysheed toitnot, she is(ofpit tired; tohersoundsthe sky's blue sweeter still, (pays no heed, she is tired of it; to her the sound of heaven's blue is even sweeter,) dey 'flygt'gan ‘fitundan‘glaeegafvunnas jx. dox. ‘ime der fliicht’gen Stunden gleichgeschwungnes Joch. Doch immer the fleeting hours’ equally-swung yoke, But always (the equally balanced yoke of the fleeting hours. But always) bohalt‘on di ‘k'velon das vort', es ‘mn di ‘vase(r) lim ‘flarfa nox fort’ behalten dieQuellen das Wort,es _singen die Wasser Schlafe noch fort keep _thesprings the word, there sing the waters inthe sleep forth (the springs continue to murmur, and in their sleep the waters continue to sing) fom — hago, fom hago gaverzonan ‘Paige. vom Tage, vom heute gewesenen Tage. abouttheday, aboutthetoday been day. (about the day, about the day that was today.) [Only in the original, low key (C sharp minor) can the mysterious darkness be maintained, in the low ‘essitura of the voice and the undulating murmur that never ceases in the accompaniment.] of ‘laena ‘k'nist' bluzma (Iaens) / "toxt'e des valts ‘Auf eine Christblume I/ Tochter des Wald’s To a Christmas Rose, No. | / Daughter of the Forest, Woxt'e des valls, du: ‘tlionfegvant's, zo: lay fon mig gozuxt'a, tonbak*ant’2, m Tochter des Wald’s,du Lilienverwandte,so lang von mir gesuchte, unbekannte, im Daughterof the forest, youlily- related, so long by me sought, unknown, — inthe (Daughter of the forest, kindred of the lily, sought by me so long, unknown, — in this) ‘fremdan ‘Kurchorf, gt’ lunt’'vint'eig, tum tergst'anmail,o:'fema, find 17. dig! fremden Kirebhof, &d? und winterlich,zum ersten Mal, o schéne, find"ich dich! unfamiliarchurchyard,bareand wintry, _forthefirst time, lovelyone,find 1 you! (unfamiliar churchyard, bare and wintry, I find you for the first time, beautiful flower!)