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.
Der Freund
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Ein sanft gewiegtes Kind,
Kennt nicht des Lebens Tiefe,
Vor süssem Träumen blind.
Doch wen die Stürme fassen
Zu wildem Tanz und Fest,
Wen hoch auf dunklen Strassen
Die falsche Welt verlässt:
Der lernt sich wacker rühren,
Durch Nacht und Klippen hin -
Lernt der das Steuer führen
Mit sichrem, ernstem Sinn.
Der ist von echtem Kerne,
Erprobt zu Lust und Pein,
Der glaubt an Gott und Sterne,
Der soll mein Schiffmann sein!
The friend
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
A gently cradled child,
Knows not the depths of life,
Blinded by sweet dreams.
But he who, the storms seize
For wild dances and feasts,
Whom, high on dark paths,
The false world abandons:
He learns to bear himself bravely,
Through night and past cliffs,
He learns to steer a course
With sure and serious mind.
He is a man of true worth,
Proven in joy and pain,
He believes in God and the stars,
He shall be my helmsman!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Der Freund
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
The friend
English source:
Richard Stokes
Wer auf den Wogen schliefe,
Whoever would sleep on the waves,
Ein sanft gewiegtes Kind,
A gently cradled child,
Kennt nicht des Lebens Tiefe,
Knows not the depths of life,
Vor süssem Träumen blind.
Blinded by sweet dreams.
Doch wen die Stürme fassen
But he who, the storms seize
Zu wildem Tanz und Fest,
For wild dances and feasts,
Wen hoch auf dunklen Strassen
Whom, high on dark paths,
Die falsche Welt verlässt:
The false world abandons:
Der lernt sich wacker rühren,
He learns to bear himself bravely,
Durch Nacht und Klippen hin -
Through night and past cliffs,
Lernt der das Steuer führen
He learns to steer a course
Mit sichrem, ernstem Sinn.
With sure and serious mind.
Der ist von echtem Kerne,
He is a man of true worth,
Erprobt zu Lust und Pein,
Proven in joy and pain,
Der glaubt an Gott und Sterne,
He believes in God and the stars,
Der soll mein Schiffmann sein!
He shall be my helmsman!
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…