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 Lydia Teuscher and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Text & Translation
Das Vöglein
(1838)
German source:
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Gaukelt hernieder;
Lustig sogleich
Schwingt es sich wieder.
Jetzt fir so nahm
Jetzt sich versteckend;
Abermals da,
Scherzend und neckend.
Tastest du zu,
Bist du betrogen,
Spottend im Nu
Ist es entflogen.
Still! bis zur Hand
Wird's dir noch hüpfen,
Bist du gewandt,
Kann’s nicht entschlüpfen.
Ist’s denn so schwer,
Das zu erwarten?
Schau um dich her:
Blühender Garten!
Ei, du verzagst?
Lass es gewähren,
Bis du’s erjagst,
Kannst du’s entbehren.
Wird es auch dann
Wenig nur bringen;
Aber es kann
Süssestes singen.
The little bird
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Down from its branch;
And in a trice
Happily flies back again.
Now it is near you,
Now it is hiding,
There it comes again,
Playing and teasing.
If you try to touch it,
You’ll be foiled,
Off it flies in a flash,
Mockingly away.
Be quiet! Right up to your hand
It will come hopping,
If you are quick,
It won’t escape.
Is it really so hard
To wait for that moment?
Look about you
At the garden in bloom!
What? You despair?
Let it have its own way –
Until you catch it,
You can do without it.
Even then it will
Bring you little;
But it can
Sing most sweetly.
Das Vöglein
(1838)
German source:
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
The little bird
English source:
Richard Stokes
Vöglein vom Zweig
The little bird flutters
Gaukelt hernieder;
Down from its branch;
Lustig sogleich
And in a trice
Schwingt es sich wieder.
Happily flies back again.
Jetzt fir so nahm
Now it is near you,
Jetzt sich versteckend;
Now it is hiding,
Abermals da,
There it comes again,
Scherzend und neckend.
Playing and teasing.
Tastest du zu,
If you try to touch it,
Bist du betrogen,
You’ll be foiled,
Spottend im Nu
Off it flies in a flash,
Ist es entflogen.
Mockingly away.
Still! bis zur Hand
Be quiet! Right up to your hand
Wird's dir noch hüpfen,
It will come hopping,
Bist du gewandt,
If you are quick,
Kann’s nicht entschlüpfen.
It won’t escape.
Ist’s denn so schwer,
Is it really so hard
Das zu erwarten?
To wait for that moment?
Schau um dich her:
Look about you
Blühender Garten!
At the garden in bloom!
Ei, du verzagst?
What? You despair?
Lass es gewähren,
Let it have its own way –
Bis du’s erjagst,
Until you catch it,
Kannst du’s entbehren.
You can do without it.
Wird es auch dann
Even then it will
Wenig nur bringen;
Bring you little;
Aber es kann
But it can
Süssestes singen.
Sing most sweetly.
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
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Christian Friedrich Hebbel, was a German poet and dramatist. Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Ditmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums. Despite his humble origins, he showed a talent for…