This song was recorded live at the Oxford Lieder Festival as part of Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs on Stone Records.
Click here to listen to this song with James Gilchrist and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
An die Geliebte
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Mich stumm an deinem heilgen Wert vergnüge,
Dann hör ich recht die leisen Atemzüge
Des Engels, welcher sich in dir verhüllt.
Und ein erstaunt, ein fragend Lächeln quillt
Auf meinem Mund, ob mich kein Traum betrüge,
Dass nun in dir, zu ewiger Genüge,
Mein kühnster Wunsch, mein einz'ger, sich erfüllt?
Von Tiefe dann zu Tiefen stürzt mein Sinn,
Ich höre aus der Gottheit nächtger Ferne
Die Quellen des Geschicks melodisch rauschen.
Betäubt kehr ich den Blick nach oben hin,
Zum Himmel auf – da lächeln alle Sterne;
Ich kniee, ihrem Lichtgesang zu lauschen.
To the beloved
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Take silent delight in your sacred worth,
Then I truly hear the gentle breathing
Of that angel concealed within you.
And an amazed, a questioning smile
Rises to my lips: does not a dream deceive me,
Now that in you, to my eternal joy,
My boldest, my only wish is being fulfilled?
My soul then plunges from depth to depth,
From the dark distances of Godhead I hear
The springs of fate ripple in melody.
Dazed I raise my eyes
To heaven – where all the stars are smiling;
I kneel to listen to their song of light.
An die Geliebte
German source:
Eduard Mörike
To the beloved
English source:
Richard Stokes
Wenn ich, von deinem Anschaun tief gestillt,
When I, deeply calmed at beholding you,
Mich stumm an deinem heilgen Wert vergnüge,
Take silent delight in your sacred worth,
Dann hör ich recht die leisen Atemzüge
Then I truly hear the gentle breathing
Des Engels, welcher sich in dir verhüllt.
Of that angel concealed within you.
Und ein erstaunt, ein fragend Lächeln quillt
And an amazed, a questioning smile
Auf meinem Mund, ob mich kein Traum betrüge,
Rises to my lips: does not a dream deceive me,
Dass nun in dir, zu ewiger Genüge,
Now that in you, to my eternal joy,
Mein kühnster Wunsch, mein einz'ger, sich erfüllt?
My boldest, my only wish is being fulfilled?
Von Tiefe dann zu Tiefen stürzt mein Sinn,
My soul then plunges from depth to depth,
Ich höre aus der Gottheit nächtger Ferne
From the dark distances of Godhead I hear
Die Quellen des Geschicks melodisch rauschen.
The springs of fate ripple in melody.
Betäubt kehr ich den Blick nach oben hin,
Dazed I raise my eyes
Zum Himmel auf – da lächeln alle Sterne;
To heaven – where all the stars are smiling;
Ich kniee, ihrem Lichtgesang zu lauschen.
I kneel to listen to their song of light.
Composer
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Filipp Jakob Wolf was born on 13 March 1860, the fourth of six surviving children, in Windischgraz, Styria, then part of the Austrian Empire. He was taught the piano and violin by his father at an early age and continued to study piano at the…
Poet
Eduard Mörike
Eduard Friedrich Mörike was a German Romantic poet. Mörike was born in Ludwigsburg. His father was Karl Friedrich Mörike (d. 1817), a district medical councilor; his mother was Charlotte Bayer. He attended the Latin school at Ludwigsburg, and the…
Performances
Previously performed at:
- Devilishly Good Songs 24 Oct 2023
- Forbidden Fruit 14 Oct 2023
- Benjamin Appl & Sholto Kynoch 04 Mar 2017