SPRING RECITAL, 31/03/2021 TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
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SPRING RECITAL, 31/03/2021 TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) SECHS LIEDER, OP 48 GRUẞ (Heinrich Heine) Greeting Leise zieht durch mein Gemüt A sweet sound of bells Liebliches Geläute. Peals gently through my soul. Klinge, kleines Frühlingslied, Ring out, little song of spring, Kling hinaus ins Weite. Ring out far and wide. Kling hinaus, bis an das Haus, Ring out till you reach the house Wo die Veilchen sprießen. Where violets are blooming. Wenn du eine Rose schaust, And if you should see a rose, Sag, ich lass’ sie grüßen. Send to her my greeting. DEREINST, GEDANKE MEIN (Cristobal de ONE DAY, MY THOUGHTS Castillejo, trs Emanuel Geibel) Dereinst, One day, Gedanke mein My thoughts, Wirst ruhig sein. You shall be at rest. Läßt Liebesglut Though love’s ardour Dich still nicht werden: Gives you no peace, In kühler Erden You shall sleep well Da schläfst du gut; In cool earth; Dort ohne Liebe There without love Und ohne Pein And without pain Wirst ruhig sein. You shall be at rest. Was du im Leben What you did not Nicht hast gefunden, Find in life Wenn es entschwunden Will be granted you Wird dir’s gegeben. When life is ended. Dann ohne Wunden Then, free from torment Und ohne Pein And free from pain, Wirst ruhig sein. You shall be at rest. LAUF DER WELT (Ludwig Uhland) THE WAY OF THE WORLD An jedem Abend geh’ ich aus, Every evening I go out, Hinauf den Wiesensteg. Up the meadow path. Sie schaut aus ihrem Gartenhaus, She looks out from her summer house, Es stehet hart am Weg. Which stands close by the road. Wir haben uns noch nie bestellt, We’ve never planned a rendezvous, Es ist nur so der Lauf der Welt. It’s just the way of the world. 1
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Ich weiß nicht, wie es so geschah, I don’t know how it happened, Und ein kleines Vögelein, And a little bird,
Seit lange küss’ ich sie, For a long time I’ve been kissing her, Tandaradei! Tandaradei!
Ich bitte nicht, sie sagt nicht: ja! I don’t ask, she doesn’t say yes, Das wird wohl verschwiegen sein. Who certainly won’t say a word.
Doch sagt sie: nein! auch nie. But neither does she ever say no.
Wenn Lippe gern auf Lippe ruht, When lips are pleased to rest on lips, ZUR ROSENZEIT (Johann Wolfgang von TIME OF ROSES
Wir hindern’s nicht, uns dünkt es gut. We don’t prevent it, it just seems good. Goethe)
Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen, You fade, sweet roses,
Das Lüftchen mit der Rose spielt, The little breeze plays with the rose, Meine Liebe trug euch nicht; My love did not wear you;
Es fragt nicht: hast mich lieb? It doesn’t ask: do you love me? Blühtet, ach! dem Hoffnungslosen, Ah! you bloomed for one bereft of hope,
Das Röschen sich am Taue kühlt, The rose cools itself with dew, Dem der Gram die Seele bricht! Whose soul now breaks with grief.
Es sagt nicht lange: gib! It doesn’t dream of saying: give!
Ich liebe sie, sie liebet mich, I love her, she loves me, Jener Tage denk’ ich trauernd, Sorrowfully I think of those days,
Doch keines sagt: ich liebe dich! But neither says: I love you! Als ich, Engel, an dir hing, When I, my angel, set my heart on you,
Auf das erste Knöspchen lauernd And waiting for the first little bud,
DIE VERSCHWIEGENE NACHTIGALL (Walter THE SECRETIVE NIGHTINGALE Früh zu meinem Garten ging; Went early to my garden;
von der Vogelweide)
Unter den Linden, Under the lime trees Alle Blüten, alle Früchte Laid all the blossoms, all the fruits
An der Haide, By the heath Noch zu deinen Füßen trug At your very feet,
Wo ich mit meinem Trauten saß, Where I sat with my beloved, Und vor deinem Angesichte With hope beating in my heart,
Da mögt ihr finden, There you may find Hoffnung in dem Herzen schlug. When you looked on me.
Wie wir beide How both of us
Die Blumen brachen und das Gras. Picked flowers and grass. Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen, You fade, sweet roses,
Vor dem Wald mit süßem Schall, Outside the wood, with a sweet sound, Meine Liebe trug euch nicht; My love did not wear you;
Tandaradei! Tandaradei! Blühtet, ach! dem Hoffnungslosen, Ah! you bloomed for one bereft of hope,
Sang im Tal die Nachtigall. The nightingale sang in the valley. Dem der Gram die Seele bricht! Whose soul now breaks with grief.
.
Ich kam gegangen I came walking EIN TRAUM (Friedrich von Bodenstedt) A DREAM
Zu der Aue, To the meadow, Mir träumte einst ein schöner Traum: I once dreamed a beautiful dream:
Mein Liebster kam vor mir dahin. My beloved arrived before me. Mich liebte eine blonde Maid; A blond maiden loved me,
Ich ward empfangen I was received Es war am grünen Waldesraum, It was in the green woodland glade,
Als hehre Fraue, As a noble lady, Es war zur warmen Frühlingszeit: It was in the warm springtime:
Daß ich noch immer selig bin. So I shall always be happy.
Ob er mir auch Küsse bot? Did he offer me kisses? Die Knospe sprang, der Waldbach The buds bloomed, the forest stream
Tandaradei! Tandaradei! schwoll, swelled,
Seht, wie ist mein Mund so rot! See how red my mouth is! Fern aus dem Dorfe scholl From the distant village came the sound of
Geläut – bells –
Wie ich da ruhte, If anyone knew Wir waren ganzer Wonne voll, We were so full of bliss,
Wüßt’ es einer, How I lay there, Versunken ganz in Seligkeit. So lost in happiness.
Behüte Gott, ich schämte mich. God forbid, I’d be ashamed.
Wie mich der Gute How my darling hugged me, Und schöner noch als einst And more beautiful yet than
Herzte, keiner No one shall know der Traum the dream,
Erfahre das als er und ich – But he and I – Begab es sich in Wirklichkeit – It happened in reality,
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Es war am grünen Waldesraum, It was in the green woodland glade, But keep your fancy free.’
Es war zur warmen Frühlingszeit: It was in the warm springtime: But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.
Der Waldbach schwoll, die Knospe The forest stream swelled, the buds
sprang, bloomed, When I was one-and-twenty
Geläut erscholl vom Dorfe her – From the village came the sound of bells; I heard him say again,
Ich hielt dich fest, ich hielt dich lang I held you fast, I held you long, ‘The heart out of the bosom
Und lasse dich nun nimmermehr! And now shall never let you go! Was never given in vain;
’Tis paid with sighs a plenty
O frühlingsgrüner Waldesraum! O woodland glade so green with spring, And sold for endless rue.’
Du lebst in mir durch alle Zeit – You shall live in me for evermore! And I am two-and-twenty,
Dort ward die Wirklichkeit zum Traum, There reality became a dream, And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true..
Dort ward der Traum zur Wirklichkeit! There dream became reality!
LOOK NOT IN MY EYES, FOR FEAR
Look not in my eyes, for fear
George Butterworth They mirror true the sight I see,
And there you find your face too clear
(1885-1916) And love it and be lost like me.
SIX SONGS FROM A SHROPSHIRE LAD
One the long nights through must lie
(A E Housman)
Spent in star-defeated sighs,
LOVELIEST OF TREES
But why should you as well as I
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Perish? gaze not in my eyes.
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
A Grecian lad, as I hear tell,
Wearing white for Eastertide.
One that many loved in vain,
Looked into a forest well
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
And never looked away again.
Twenty will not come again,
There, when the turf in springtime flowers,
And take from seventy springs a score,
With downward eye and gazes sad,
It only leaves me fifty more.
Stands amid the glancing showers
A jonquil, not a Grecian lad.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
THINK NO MORE, LAD
About the woodlands I will go
Think no more, lad; laugh, be jolly:
To see the cherry hung with snow.
Why should men make haste to die?
Empty heads and tongues a-talking
WHEN I WAS ONE-AND-TWENTY
Make the rough road easy walking,
When I was one-and-twenty
And the feather pate of folly
I heard a wise man say,
Bears the falling sky.
‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Oh, ’tis jesting, dancing, drinking
Give pearls away and rubies
Spins the heavy world around.
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If young hearts were not so clever, IS MY TEAM PLOUGHING?
Oh, they would be young for ever: ‘Is my team ploughing,
Think no more; ’tis only thinking That I was used to drive
Lays lads underground. And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?’
THE LADS IN THEIR HUNDREDS
The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come Ay, the horses trample,
in for the fair, The harness jingles now;
There’s men from the barn and the forge No change though you lie under
and the mill and the fold, The land you used to plough.
The lads for the girls and the lads for the
liquor are there, ‘Is football playing
And there with the rest are the lads that will Along the river shore,
never be old. With lads to chase the leather,
Now I stand up no more?’
There’s chaps from the town and the field
and the till and the cart, Ay, the ball is flying,
And many to count are the stalwart, and The lads play heart and soul;
many the brave, The goal stands up, the keeper
And many the handsome of face and the Stands up to keep the goal.
handsome of heart,
And few that will carry their looks or their ‘Is my girl happy,
truth to the grave. That I thought hard to leave,
And has she tired of weeping
I wish one could know them, I wish there As she lies down at eve?’
were tokens to tell
The fortunate fellows that now you can Ay, she lies down lightly,
never discern; She lies not down to weep:
And then one could talk with them friendly Your girl is well contented.
and wish them farewell Be still, my lad, and sleep.
And watch them depart on the way that
they will not return. ‘Is my friend hearty,
Now I am thin and pine,
But now you may stare as you like and And has he found to sleep in
there’s nothing to scan; A better bed than mine?’
And brushing your elbow unguessed-at and
not to be told Yes, lad, I lie easy,
They carry back bright to the coiner the I lie as lads would choose;
mintage of man, I cheer a dead man’s sweetheart,
The lads that will die in their glory and never Never ask me whose.
be old.
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Rhian Samuel (b 1944) LA CHEVELURE THE TRESSES OF HAIR
200 PIECES MOON OVER MAENEFA Il m’a dit: ‘Cette nuit, j’ai rêvé. J’avais ta He said to me: ‘Last night I dreamed. I had
(Gerard Manley Hopkins) chevelure autour de mon cou. J’avais tes your tresses around my neck. I had your
I awoke in the Midsummer not-to-call night, cheveux comme un collier autour de ma hair like a black necklace all round my nape
in the white and the walk of the morning: nuque et sur ma poitrine. and over my breast.
The moon, dwindled and thinned to the
fringe of a fingernail held to the candle, ‘Je les caressais, et c’étaient les miens; et ‘I caressed it and it was mine; and we
Or paring of paradisaïcal fruit, lovely in nous étions liés pour toujours ainsi, par la were united thus forever by the same
waning but lustreless, même chevelure la bouche sur la bouche, tresses, mouth on mouth, just as two laurels
Stepped from the stool, drew back from the ainsi que deux lauriers n’ont souvent often share one root.
barrow, of dark Maenefa the mountain; qu’une racine.
A cusp still clasped him, a fluke yet fanged
him, entangled him, not quit utterly. ‘Et peu à peu, il m’a semblé, tant nos And gradually it seemed to me, so
This was the prized, the desirable sight, membres étaient confondus, que je intertwined were our limbs, that I was
unsought, presented so easily, devenais toi-même ou que tu entrais en becoming you, or you were entering into
Parted me leaf and leaf, divided me, eyelid moi comme mon songe.’ me like a dream.’
and eyelid of slumber.
Quand il eut achevé, il mit doucement ses When he had finished, he gently set his
mains sur mes épaules, et il me regarda d’un hands on my shoulders and gazed at me
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) regard si tendre, que je baissai les yeux so tenderly, that I lowered my eyes with
CHANSONS DE BILITIS (Pierre Louÿs) avec un frisson. a shiver.
LA FLÛTE DE PAN THE FLUTE OF PAN
Pour le jour des Hyacinthies, il m’a donné For Hyacinthus day he gave me a syrinx LE TOMBEAU DES NAÏADES THE TOMB OF THE NAIADS
une syrinx faite de roseaux bien taillés, unis made of carefully cut reeds, bonded with Le long du bois couvert de givre, je Along the frost-bound wood I walked; my
avec la blanche cire qui est douce à mes white wax which tastes sweet to my lips marchais; mes cheveux devant ma bouche hair, across my mouth, blossomed with tiny
lèvres comme le miel. like honey. se fleurissaient de petits glaçons, et mes icicles, and my sandals were heavy with
sandales étaient lourdes de neige fangeuse muddy, packed snow.
Il m’apprend à jouer, assise sur ses genoux; He teaches me to play, as I sit on his lap; et tassée.
mais je suis un peu tremblante. Il en joue but I am a little fearful. He plays it after me,
après moi, si doucement que je l’entends so softly that I scarcely hear him. Il me dit: ‘Que cherches-tu?’ – ‘Je suis la He said to me: ‘What do you seek?’ ‘I follow
à peine. trace du satyre. Ses petits pas fourchus the Satyr’s track. His little cloven hoof
alternent comme des trous dans un marks alternate like holes in a white cloak.’
Nous n’avons rien à nous dire, tant nous We have nothing to say, so close are we one manteau blanc.’ Il me dit: ‘Les satyres He said to me: ‘The satyrs are dead.
sommes près l’un de l’autre; mais nos to another, but our songs try to answer each sont morts.
chansons veulent se répondre, et tour à other, and our mouths join in turn on the
tour nos bouches s’unissent sur la flûte. flute. ‘Les satyres et les nymphes aussi. Depuis The satyrs and the nymphs too. For thirty
trente ans il n’a pas fait un hiver aussi years there has not been so harsh a winter.
Il est tard; voici le chant des grenouilles It is late; here is the song of the green frogs terrible. La trace que tu vois est celle d’un The tracks you see are those of a goat. But
vertes qui commence avec la nuit. Ma that begins with the night. My mother will bouc. Mais restons ici, où est leur tombeau.’ let us stay here, where their tomb is.’
mère ne croira jamais que je suis restée si never believe I stayed out so long to look
longtemps à chercher ma ceinture perdue. for my lost sash. Et avec le fer de sa houe il cassa la glace And with the iron head of his hoe he broke
de la source où jadis riaient les naïades. Il the ice of the spring, where the naiads used
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prenait de grands morceaux froids, et les to laugh. He picked up some huge cold ZITRONENFALTER IM APRIL BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY IN APRIL
soulevant vers le ciel pâle, il regardait fragments, and, raising them to the pale sky, (Eduard Mörike)
au travers. gazed through them. Grausame Frühlingssonne, Merciless spring sun,
Du weckst mich vor der Zeit, You wake me before my time,
Dem nur im Maienwonne For only in blissful May
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) Die zarte Kost gedeiht! Can my dainty food grow!
FRÜHLING ÜBERS JAHR PERENNIAL SPRING Ist nicht ein liebes Mädchen hier, If there’s no dear girl here
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) Das auf der Rosenlippe mir To offer me a drop of honey
Das Beet, schon lockert Flowers break free from the earth Ein Tröpfchen Honig beut, From her rosy lips,
Sich’s in die Höh, And shoot up from their beds, So muß ich jämmerlich vergehn Then I must perish miserably
Da wanken Glöckchen Little bells sway Und wird der Mai mich nimmer sehn And May shall never see me
So weiß wie Schnee; White as snow; In meinem gelben Kleid. In my yellow dress.
Safran entfaltet Crocuses blaze
Gewalt’ge Glut, With intense colour, IM FRÜHLING (Eduard Mörike) IN SPRING
Smaragden keimt es Budding emerald Hier lieg ich auf dem Frühlingshügel: Here I lie on the springtime hill:
Und keimt wie Blut. And budding like blood. Die Wolke wird mein Flügel, The clouds become my wings,
Primeln stolzieren Primroses strut Ein Vogel fliegt mir voraus. A bird flies on ahead of me.
So naseweis, So saucily, Ach, sag mir, alleinzige Liebe, Ah tell me, one-and-only love,
Schalkhafte Veilchen, Roguish violets Wo du bleibst, daß ich bei dir bliebe! Where you are, that I might be with you!
Versteckt mit Fleiß; Are carefully hidden; Doch du und die Lüfte, ihr habt But you and the breezes, you have
Was auch noch alles And a great deal else kein Haus. no home.
Da regt und webt – Stirs and moves,
Genug, der Frühling, Enough – it’s spring, Der Sonnenblume gleich steht mein Like a sunflower my soul has
Er wirkt und lebt. Active and alive! Gemüte offen, opened,
Sehnend, Yearning,
Doch was im Garten But in all the garden Sich dehnend Expanding
Am reichsten blüht, The most gorgeous flower In Liebe und Hoffen. In love and hope.
Das ist des Liebchens Is my sweetheart’s Frühling, was bist du gewillt? Spring, what is it you want?
Lieblich Gemüt. Lovely soul. Wann werd ich gestillt? When shall I be stilled?
Da glühen Blicke She looks at me ardently
Mir immerfort, All the time, Die Wolke seh ich wandeln und den Fluß, I see the clouds drift by, the river too,
Erregend Liedchen, Inspiring songs, Es dringt der Sonne goldner Kuß The sun kisses its golden glow
Erheiternd Wort; Provoking words; Mir tief bis ins Geblüt hinein: Deep into my veins;
Ein immer offen, An ever-open Die Augen, wunderbar berauschet, My eyes, wondrously enchanted,
Ein Blütenherz, Blossoming heart, Tun, als schliefen sie ein, Close, as if in sleep,
Im Ernste freundlich Friendly in grave matters, Nur noch das Ohr dem Ton der Biene Only my ears still catch the hum of
Und rein im Scherz. And pure in jesting. lauschet. the bee.
Wenn Ros’ und Lilie Summer may bring Ich denke dies und denke das, I muse on this, I muse on that,
Der Sommer bringt, The rose and lily, Ich sehne mich und weiß nicht recht nach I yearn, and yet for what I cannot
Er doch vergebens But it vies in vain was: say:
Mit Liebchen ringtI With my darling. Halb ist es Lust, halb ist es Klage; It is half joy, half lament;
Mein Herz, o sage, Tell me, O heart,
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Was webst du für Erinnerung What memories you weave
In golden grüner Zweige Dämmerung? Into the twilit green and golden leaves?
– Alte unnennbare Tage! – Past, unmentionable days!
,
ACH IM MAIEN WAR’S, IM MAIEN AH, IN MAY IT WAS, IN MAYTIME
(Anon, trs Paul Heyse)
Ach im Maien war’s, im Maien, Ah, in May it was, in Maytime,
Wo die warmen Lüfte wehen, When the warm breezes blow,
Wo verliebte Leute pflegen When those in love are wont
Ihren Liebchen nachzugehen. To seek their loves.
Ich allein, ich armer Trauriger, I alone, sad wretch,
Lieg’ im Kerker so verschmachtet, Lie languishing in jail,
Und ich seh nicht, wann es taget, And cannot tell when day dawns,
Und ich weiß nicht, wann es nachtet. And cannot tell when night falls.
Nur an einem Vöglein merkt’ ich’s, But I used to know by a little bird
Das dadrauß im Baume sang; That sang out there in May;
Das hat mir ein Schütz getötet – A hunter killed it for me –
Geb’ ihm Gott den schlimmsten Dank! May God give him the worst of rewards!
ER IST’S (Eduard Mörike) SPRING IS HERE
Frühling läßt sein blaues Band Spring is floating its blue banner
Wieder flattern durch die Lüfte; On the breezes again;
Süße, wohlbekannte Düfte Sweet, well-remembered scents
Streifen ahnungsvoll das Land. Drift portentously across the land.
Veilchen träumen schon, Violets, already dreaming,
Wollen balde kommen. Will soon begin to bloom.
– Horch, von fern ein leiser Harfenton! – Listen, the soft sound of a distant harp!
Frühling, ja du bist’s! Spring, that must be you!
Frühling, ja du bist’s! Spring, that must be you!
Dich hab’ ich vernommen! It’s you I’ve heard!
All translations by Richard Stokes
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