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 Quirijn de Lang and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Ein Grab
German source:
Johann Günther
Auf das dunkle Grab hier fällt,
Dann aus meinem Auge bricht
Die Trän', die keine Macht mehr hält.
Keine Blum' am Grabe blüht,
Keine Seele denkt daran;
Kalter Wind vorüberzieht –
Was deckt das kühle Grab, sag an?
Was des Grabes Hülle deckt,
Kannst du dann nur ahnen,
Wenn dich gleicher Schmerz bewegt,
Der mag dich daran mahnen.
A grave
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Falls on the dark grave here,
A tear trickles from my eyes,
That nothing can restrain.
No flower blossoms by the grave,
Not a soul is aware of it;
Cold winds blow by –
Tell me what the cool grave shrouds.
What lies beneath the grave’s shroud,
You can only divine
When you too are moved by such grief –
That grief may then forewarn you.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Ein Grab
German source:
Johann Günther
A grave
English source:
Richard Stokes
Wenn des Mondes bleiches Licht
When the moon’s pale light
Auf das dunkle Grab hier fällt,
Falls on the dark grave here,
Dann aus meinem Auge bricht
A tear trickles from my eyes,
Die Trän', die keine Macht mehr hält.
That nothing can restrain.
Keine Blum' am Grabe blüht,
No flower blossoms by the grave,
Keine Seele denkt daran;
Not a soul is aware of it;
Kalter Wind vorüberzieht –
Cold winds blow by –
Was deckt das kühle Grab, sag an?
Tell me what the cool grave shrouds.
Was des Grabes Hülle deckt,
What lies beneath the grave’s shroud,
Kannst du dann nur ahnen,
You can only divine
Wenn dich gleicher Schmerz bewegt,
When you too are moved by such grief –
Der mag dich daran mahnen.
That grief may then forewarn you.
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…
