This song was recorded on the album 'Robert and Clara Schumann: Rückert Lieder' on Stone Records (in collaboration with BBC Music Magazine). Featuring every piano-accompanied setting of the poet Friedrich Rückert by both Robert and Clara Schumann, including duets and ensembles, it was recorded in preparation for Oxford Lieder's The Schumann Project in 2016.
Click here to listen to this song with Katie Bray, Roderick Williams and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Ich bin dein Baum
German source:
Friedrich Rückert
Mich hält in Liebespfleg’ und süßer Zucht,
Komm, daß ich in den Schoß dir dankbar streue
Die reife, dir allein gewachs’ne Frucht.
Ich bin dein Gärtner, o du Baum der Treue!
Auf and’res Glück fühl ich nicht Eifersucht,
Die holden Äste find ich stets aufs Neue
Geschmückt mit Frucht, wo ich gepflückt die
Frucht.
I am your tree
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Treats me affectionately and tenderly,
Come, let me with thanks shower into your lap
The ripe fruit I grew for you alone.
I am your gardener, O tree of loyalty!
I am not jealous of others’ happiness:
I always find your dear branches decked anew
With fruit, where I once picked the fruit.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Ich bin dein Baum
German source:
Friedrich Rückert
I am your tree
English source:
Richard Stokes
Ich bin dein Baum, o Gärtner, dessen Treue
I am your tree: O gardener, whose loyalty
Mich hält in Liebespfleg’ und süßer Zucht,
Treats me affectionately and tenderly,
Komm, daß ich in den Schoß dir dankbar streue
Come, let me with thanks shower into your lap
Die reife, dir allein gewachs’ne Frucht.
The ripe fruit I grew for you alone.
Ich bin dein Gärtner, o du Baum der Treue!
I am your gardener, O tree of loyalty!
Auf and’res Glück fühl ich nicht Eifersucht,
I am not jealous of others’ happiness:
Die holden Äste find ich stets aufs Neue
I always find your dear branches decked anew
Geschmückt mit Frucht, wo ich gepflückt die
With fruit, where I once picked the fruit.
Frucht.
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
Friedrich Rückert
Friedrich Rückert was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Rückert was born at Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local Gymnasium and at the universities of Würzburg and Heidelberg.…