Songs

Aufblick

by Rebecca Clarke

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Text & Translation

Aufblick
German source: Richard Dehmel

Über unsre Liebe hängt
Eine tiefe Trauerweide.
Nacht und Schatten um uns beide.
Unsre Stirnen sind gesenkt.

Wortlos sitzen wir im Dunkeln.
Einstmals rauschte hier ein Strom,
Einstmals sahn wir Sterne funkeln.

Ist denn Alles tot und trübe?
Horch: – ein ferner Mund – vom Dom:

Glockenchöre … Nacht … und Liebe …

Gazing up
English translation © Richard Stokes

Above our love hangs
A deep weeping willow.
Night and shadow envelop us.
Our brows are lowered.

Wordless we sit in the dark.
Once a river roared here,
Once we saw stars sparkle.

Is everything, then, dead and dismal?
Listen: – a distant voice – from the cathedral: –

Choirs of bells, night and love.

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

Aufblick
German source: Richard Dehmel

Gazing up
English source: Richard Stokes

Über unsre Liebe hängt
Above our love hangs
Eine tiefe Trauerweide.
A deep weeping willow.
Nacht und Schatten um uns beide.
Night and shadow envelop us.
Unsre Stirnen sind gesenkt.
Our brows are lowered.

Wortlos sitzen wir im Dunkeln.
Wordless we sit in the dark.
Einstmals rauschte hier ein Strom,
Once a river roared here,
Einstmals sahn wir Sterne funkeln.
Once we saw stars sparkle.

Ist denn Alles tot und trübe?
Is everything, then, dead and dismal?
Horch: – ein ferner Mund – vom Dom:
Listen: – a distant voice – from the cathedral: –

Glockenchöre … Nacht … und Liebe …
Choirs of bells, night and love.

Composer

Rebecca Clarke

Anglo-American composer Rebecca Clarke was born in 1886 in Harrow, London. Classified by Gramophone as ‘one of the very best of her time’, Clarke is best known for her instrumental works - most notably her 1919 Viola Sonata. Her vocal music is…

Poet

Richard Dehmel

Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer. His poems use a range of metrical patterns, and have been set to music by composers such as Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, and Kurt Weill. His poetry often focused on themes of love and…

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