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 Nicky Spence and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Liebesglück
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Hellfrische Augen hat’s wie zwei Kerzen,
Und wo sie spielend streifen das Feld,
Ach, wie so lustig glänzet die Welt!
Wie in der Waldnacht zwischen den Schlüften
Plötzlich die Täler sonnig sich klüften,
Funkeln die Ströme, rauscht himmelwärts
Blühende Wildnis - so ist mein Herz!
Wie vom Gebirge ins Meer zu schauen,
Wie wenn der Seefalk, hangend im Blauen,
Zuruft der dämmernden Erd’, wo sie blieb? -
So unermesslich ist rechte Lieb’!
Love's happiness
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Her bright eyes sparkle like two candles,
And when they playfully gaze on the field,
Ah, how joyously the world shines!
Just as in dark forests between ravines
The valleys suddenly divide into sunlight,
The streams sparkle, and the blossoming
Wilderness rustles heavenward – so does my heart!
Like gazing from summits into the sea,
Like a sea-falcon, hovering in the blue sky,
Asks the twilit earth where she’s been –
So immeasurable is true love!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Liebesglück
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Love's happiness
English source:
Richard Stokes
Ich hab’ ein Liebchen lieb recht von Herzen,
I’ve a sweetheart I love with all my heart,
Hellfrische Augen hat’s wie zwei Kerzen,
Her bright eyes sparkle like two candles,
Und wo sie spielend streifen das Feld,
And when they playfully gaze on the field,
Ach, wie so lustig glänzet die Welt!
Ah, how joyously the world shines!
Wie in der Waldnacht zwischen den Schlüften
Just as in dark forests between ravines
Plötzlich die Täler sonnig sich klüften,
The valleys suddenly divide into sunlight,
Funkeln die Ströme, rauscht himmelwärts
The streams sparkle, and the blossoming
Blühende Wildnis - so ist mein Herz!
Wilderness rustles heavenward – so does my heart!
Wie vom Gebirge ins Meer zu schauen,
Like gazing from summits into the sea,
Wie wenn der Seefalk, hangend im Blauen,
Like a sea-falcon, hovering in the blue sky,
Zuruft der dämmernden Erd’, wo sie blieb? -
Asks the twilit earth where she’s been –
So unermesslich ist rechte Lieb’!
So immeasurable is true love!
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…