Songs

Abendlied

by Robert Schumann, arranged Aribert Reimann From Sechs Gesänge (1853) Op. 3 1851, 1852

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Text & Translation

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Abendlied
German source: Gottfried Kinkel

Es ist so still geworden,
Verrauscht des Abends Weh’n;
Nun hört man aller Orten
Der Engel Füsse geh’n.
Rings in die Tiefe senket
Sich Finsterniss mit Macht;
Wirf ab, Herz, was dich kränket
Und was dir bange macht!

Nun steh’n im Himmelskreise
Die Stern’ in Majestät;
In gleichem, festem Gleise
Der goldne Wagen geht.
Und gleich den Sternen lenket
Er deinen Weg durch Nacht;
Wirf ab, Herz, was dich kränket
Und was dir bange macht!

Evening Song
English translation © Eric Sams

All is still;
So hushed is the evening
That you can hear
The footfalls of passing angels.
All around, night
Darkens and deepens;
Now cast away your sickness, my heart,
And your despair.

Now the stars arise in majesty
In the encircling sky;
The golden chariot of time
Passes on its assured way.
And your way through the night
Shall be safely guided too,
So now cast away your sickness, my heart,
And your despair.

Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

Abendlied
German source: Gottfried Kinkel

Evening Song
English source: Eric Sams

Es ist so still geworden,
All is still;
Verrauscht des Abends Weh’n;
So hushed is the evening
Nun hört man aller Orten
That you can hear
Der Engel Füsse geh’n.
The footfalls of passing angels.
Rings in die Tiefe senket
All around, night
Sich Finsterniss mit Macht;
Darkens and deepens;
Wirf ab, Herz, was dich kränket
Now cast away your sickness, my heart,
Und was dir bange macht!
And your despair.

Nun steh’n im Himmelskreise
Now the stars arise in majesty
Die Stern’ in Majestät;
In the encircling sky;
In gleichem, festem Gleise
The golden chariot of time
Der goldne Wagen geht.
Passes on its assured way.
Und gleich den Sternen lenket
And your way through the night
Er deinen Weg durch Nacht;
Shall be safely guided too,
Wirf ab, Herz, was dich kränket
So now cast away your sickness, my heart,
Und was dir bange macht!
And your despair.

Poet

Gottfried Kinkel

Johann Gottfried Kinkel was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. He was born at Oberkassel (now part of Bonn). Having studied theology at…

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