Songs

Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter

by Hugo Wolf From Italienisches Liederbuch

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Text & Translation

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Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter
German source: Paul Heyse

Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter
Die so lieblich dich geboren,
So an Schönheit auserkoren,
Meine Sehnsucht fliegt dir zu!

Du so lieblich von Gebärden,
Du die Holdeste der Erden,
Du mein Kleinod, meine Wonne,
Süsse, benedeit bist du!

Wenn ich aus der Ferne schmachte
Und betrachte deine Schöne,
Siehe wie ich beb’ und stöhne,
Dass ich kaum es bergen kann!

Und in meiner Brust gewaltsam
Fühl ich Flammen sich empören,
Die den Frieden mir zerstören,
Ach, der Wahnsinn fasst mich an!

Blessed be your mother in heaven
English translation © Richard Stokes

Blessed be your mother in heaven,
Who bore you to be so gracious,
You the paragon of beauty –
My yearning wings its way to you!

You, so gracious of gesture,
You, the fairest on earth,
You, my jewel, my rapture,
A blessing on you, my sweet!

When I languish from afar
And behold your beauty,
See how I tremble and groan,
Till I can hardly hide it!

And powerfully in my breast
I feel the flames rise up
That destroy my peace,
Ah, madness takes hold of me!

Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter
German source: Paul Heyse

Blessed be your mother in heaven
English source: Richard Stokes

Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter
Blessed be your mother in heaven,
Die so lieblich dich geboren,
Who bore you to be so gracious,
So an Schönheit auserkoren,
You the paragon of beauty –
Meine Sehnsucht fliegt dir zu!
My yearning wings its way to you!

Du so lieblich von Gebärden,
You, so gracious of gesture,
Du die Holdeste der Erden,
You, the fairest on earth,
Du mein Kleinod, meine Wonne,
You, my jewel, my rapture,
Süsse, benedeit bist du!
A blessing on you, my sweet!

Wenn ich aus der Ferne schmachte
When I languish from afar
Und betrachte deine Schöne,
And behold your beauty,
Siehe wie ich beb’ und stöhne,
See how I tremble and groan,
Dass ich kaum es bergen kann!
Till I can hardly hide it!

Und in meiner Brust gewaltsam
And powerfully in my breast
Fühl ich Flammen sich empören,
I feel the flames rise up
Die den Frieden mir zerstören,
That destroy my peace,
Ach, der Wahnsinn fasst mich an!
Ah, madness takes hold of me!

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

Paul Heyse

Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty…

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