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 David Stout and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Das Ständchen
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Wolken schaut der Mond herfür,
Ein Student dort auf den Gassen
Singt vor seiner Liebsten Tür.
Und die Brunnen rauschen wieder
Durch die stille Einsamkeit,
Und der Wald vom Berge nieder,
Wie in alter, schöner Zeit.
So in meinen jungen Tagen
Hab ich manche Sommernacht
Auch die Laute hier geschlagen
Und manch lust’ges Lied erdacht.
Aber von der stillen Schwelle
Trugen sie mein Lieb zur Ruh’ –
Und du, fröhlicher Geselle,
Singe, sing nur immer zu!
The serenade
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Gazes out across the roofs,
There in the street a student sings
Before his sweetheart’s door.
And again the fountains murmur
In the silent loneliness,
And the woods on the mountain
Murmur, as in the good old days.
Likewise in my young days,
Often on a summer’s night
I too plucked my lute here,
And composed some merry songs.
But from that silent threshold
My love’s been taken to rest –
And you, my blithe friend,
Sing on, just sing on!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Das Ständchen
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
The serenade
English source:
Richard Stokes
Auf die Dächer zwischen blassen
The moon from pallid clouds
Wolken schaut der Mond herfür,
Gazes out across the roofs,
Ein Student dort auf den Gassen
There in the street a student sings
Singt vor seiner Liebsten Tür.
Before his sweetheart’s door.
Und die Brunnen rauschen wieder
And again the fountains murmur
Durch die stille Einsamkeit,
In the silent loneliness,
Und der Wald vom Berge nieder,
And the woods on the mountain
Wie in alter, schöner Zeit.
Murmur, as in the good old days.
So in meinen jungen Tagen
Likewise in my young days,
Hab ich manche Sommernacht
Often on a summer’s night
Auch die Laute hier geschlagen
I too plucked my lute here,
Und manch lust’ges Lied erdacht.
And composed some merry songs.
Aber von der stillen Schwelle
But from that silent threshold
Trugen sie mein Lieb zur Ruh’ –
My love’s been taken to rest –
Und du, fröhlicher Geselle,
And you, my blithe friend,
Singe, sing nur immer zu!
Sing on, just sing on!
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
Joseph von Eichendorff
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism. Ever since their publication and up to the present day, some…
Performances
Previously performed at:
- 16. Songs for violin and voice: Caitlin Hulcup & Jonathan Stone 12 Oct 2020
- Oxford Lieder on Radio 3 In Concert 01 Oct 2020