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 Quirijn de Lang and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Auf der Wanderschaft I
German source:
Adelbert von Chamisso
Es weinte die Liebe so sehr,
Der Fuss ist mir lahm, die Schulter mir wund,
Das Herz, das ist mir so schwer.
Was singt ihr, ihr Vögel, im Morgenlicht?
Ihr wisst nicht, wie scheiden tut!
Es drücken euch Sorgen und Schuhe nicht;
Ihr Vögel, ihr habt es gut!
On the road I
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Love was weeping so much,
My foot was sore, my shoulder hurt,
My heart was weighing me down.
Birds, why are you singing in the dawn?
You don’t know the pain of parting!
Worries don’t depress you, shoes don’t pinch you;
How fortunate, birds, you are!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Auf der Wanderschaft I
German source:
Adelbert von Chamisso
On the road I
English source:
Richard Stokes
Wohl wandert' ich aus in trauriger Stund,
I set out in an unhappy hour,
Es weinte die Liebe so sehr,
Love was weeping so much,
Der Fuss ist mir lahm, die Schulter mir wund,
My foot was sore, my shoulder hurt,
Das Herz, das ist mir so schwer.
My heart was weighing me down.
Was singt ihr, ihr Vögel, im Morgenlicht?
Birds, why are you singing in the dawn?
Ihr wisst nicht, wie scheiden tut!
You don’t know the pain of parting!
Es drücken euch Sorgen und Schuhe nicht;
Worries don’t depress you, shoes don’t pinch you;
Ihr Vögel, ihr habt es gut!
How fortunate, birds, you are!
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
Adelbert von Chamisso
Adelbert von Chamisso was a German poet and botanist, author of Peter Schlemihl, a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso(t) de Boncourt, a name referring to the family estate at…