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 Anna Grevelius and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
An eine Äolsharfe
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Dieser alten Terrasse,
Du, einer luftgebornen Muse
Geheimnisvolles Saitenspiel,
Fang an,
Fange wieder an
Deine melodische Klage!
Ihr kommet, Winde, fern herüber,
Ach! von des Knaben,
Der mir so lieb war,
Frisch grünendem Hügel.
Und Frühlingsblüten unterweges streifend,
Übersättigt mit Wohlgerüchen,
Wie süss bedrängt ihr dies Herz!
Und säuselt her in die Saiten,
Angezogen von wohllautender Wehmut,
Wachsend im Zug meiner Sehnsucht,
Und hinsterbend wieder.
Aber auf einmal,
Wie der Wind heftiger herstösst,
Ein holder Schrei der Harfe
Wiederholt, mir zu süssem Erschrecken
Meiner Seele plötzliche Regung,
Und hier – die volle Rose streut, geschüttelt,
All ihre Blätter vor meine Füsse!
To an Aeolean harp
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Of this old terrace,
O mysterious lyre
Of a zephyr-born Muse,
Begin,
Begin again
Your melodious lament!
Winds, you come from far away,
Ah! From the fresh green mound
Of the boy
Who was so dear to me,
And brushing spring flowers along the way,
Saturated with fragrance,
How sweetly you afflict this heart!
And you murmur into these strings,
Drawn by their sweet-sounding sorrow,
Waxing with my heart’s desire,
Then dying away once more.
But all at once,
As the wind gusts more strongly,
The harp’s gentle cry
Echoes, to my sweet alarm,
The sudden commotion of my soul;
And here – the full-blown rose, shaken,
Strews all its petals at my feet!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
An eine Äolsharfe
German source:
Eduard Mörike
To an Aeolean harp
English source:
Richard Stokes
Angelehnt an die Efeuwand
Leaning against the ivy-clad wall
Dieser alten Terrasse,
Of this old terrace,
Du, einer luftgebornen Muse
O mysterious lyre
Geheimnisvolles Saitenspiel,
Of a zephyr-born Muse,
Fang an,
Begin,
Fange wieder an
Begin again
Deine melodische Klage!
Your melodious lament!
Ihr kommet, Winde, fern herüber,
Winds, you come from far away,
Ach! von des Knaben,
Ah! From the fresh green mound
Der mir so lieb war,
Of the boy
Frisch grünendem Hügel.
Who was so dear to me,
Und Frühlingsblüten unterweges streifend,
And brushing spring flowers along the way,
Übersättigt mit Wohlgerüchen,
Saturated with fragrance,
Wie süss bedrängt ihr dies Herz!
How sweetly you afflict this heart!
Und säuselt her in die Saiten,
And you murmur into these strings,
Angezogen von wohllautender Wehmut,
Drawn by their sweet-sounding sorrow,
Wachsend im Zug meiner Sehnsucht,
Waxing with my heart’s desire,
Und hinsterbend wieder.
Then dying away once more.
Aber auf einmal,
But all at once,
Wie der Wind heftiger herstösst,
As the wind gusts more strongly,
Ein holder Schrei der Harfe
The harp’s gentle cry
Wiederholt, mir zu süssem Erschrecken
Echoes, to my sweet alarm,
Meiner Seele plötzliche Regung,
The sudden commotion of my soul;
Und hier – die volle Rose streut, geschüttelt,
And here – the full-blown rose, shaken,
All ihre Blätter vor meine Füsse!
Strews all its petals at my feet!
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…