Songs
Der schwere Abend
by Robert Schumann From Sechs Gedichte und Requiem (1850) Op. 90 1–5.viii.1850
Der schwere Abend
German source:
Nikolaus Lenau
Herab so bang und schwer,
Wir beide traurig gingen
Im Garten hin und her.
So heiss und stumm, so trübe
Und sternlos war die Nacht,
So ganz wie unsre Liebe
Zu Tränen nur gemacht.
Und als ich musste scheiden,
Und gute Nacht dir bot,
Wünscht ich bekümmert beiden
Im Herzen uns den Tod.
The oppressive evening
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
So anxiously heavy,
We both walked up and down
Sadly in the garden.
The night was so sultry and silent,
So gloomy and starless,
Just like our love,
Fit only for tears.
And when I had to leave
And bade you good night,
I wished us both dead
In the anguish of my heart.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Der schwere Abend
German source:
Nikolaus Lenau
The oppressive evening
English source:
Richard Stokes
Die dunklen Wolken hingen
The dark clouds hung
Herab so bang und schwer,
So anxiously heavy,
Wir beide traurig gingen
We both walked up and down
Im Garten hin und her.
Sadly in the garden.
So heiss und stumm, so trübe
The night was so sultry and silent,
Und sternlos war die Nacht,
So gloomy and starless,
So ganz wie unsre Liebe
Just like our love,
Zu Tränen nur gemacht.
Fit only for tears.
Und als ich musste scheiden,
And when I had to leave
Und gute Nacht dir bot,
And bade you good night,
Wünscht ich bekümmert beiden
I wished us both dead
Im Herzen uns den Tod.
In the anguish of my heart.
Composer
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured…
Poet
Nikolaus Lenau
Nikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau, a German-language Austrian poet. He was born at Schadat, now Lenauheim, Romania, then in Hungary. His father, a Habsburg government official, died in 1807 in…