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 Mary Bevan and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
German source:
Gottfried Keller
Und singt im Wald;
Hört, wie die Stimme gellend
Im Grünen hallt!
Sie war die schönste Blume,
Berühmt im Land;
Es warben Reich' und Arme
Um ihre Hand.
Sie trat in Gürtelketten
So stolz einher;
Den Bräutigam zu wählen,
Fiel ihr zu schwer.
Da hat sie überlistet
Der rote Wein -
Wie müssen alle Dinge
Vergänglich sein!
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
Und singt im Wald;
Wie durch die Dämm'rung gellend
Ihr Lied erschallt!
The charcoal-burner's wife is drunk
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
And singing in the wood,
Listen how her screeching voice
Echoes through the countryside!
She was once the fairest flower,
Celebrated far and wide,
Rich and poor came wooing
To win her hand.
She wore a chatelaine
And walked with haughty pride;
To choose a bridegroom
Proved too hard a task.
Then red wine
Got the better of her –
How transitory
Must all things be!
The charcoal-burner’s wife is drunk
And singing in the wood,
How her screeching song resounds
In the gathering dusk!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
German source:
Gottfried Keller
The charcoal-burner's wife is drunk
English source:
Richard Stokes
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
The charcoal-burner’s wife is drunk
Und singt im Wald;
And singing in the wood,
Hört, wie die Stimme gellend
Listen how her screeching voice
Im Grünen hallt!
Echoes through the countryside!
Sie war die schönste Blume,
She was once the fairest flower,
Berühmt im Land;
Celebrated far and wide,
Es warben Reich' und Arme
Rich and poor came wooing
Um ihre Hand.
To win her hand.
Sie trat in Gürtelketten
She wore a chatelaine
So stolz einher;
And walked with haughty pride;
Den Bräutigam zu wählen,
To choose a bridegroom
Fiel ihr zu schwer.
Proved too hard a task.
Da hat sie überlistet
Then red wine
Der rote Wein -
Got the better of her –
Wie müssen alle Dinge
How transitory
Vergänglich sein!
Must all things be!
Das Köhlerweib ist trunken
The charcoal-burner’s wife is drunk
Und singt im Wald;
And singing in the wood,
Wie durch die Dämm'rung gellend
How her screeching song resounds
Ihr Lied erschallt!
In the gathering dusk!
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…
