Meeres Stille
German source:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ohne Regung ruht das Meer,
Und bekümmert sieht der Schiffer
Glatte Fläche rings umher.
Keine Luft von keiner Seite!
Todesstille fürchterlich!
In der ungeheueren Weite
Reget keine Welle sich.
Calm sea
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Motionless the sea rests,
And the fearful boatman sees
A glassy surface all around.
No breeze from any quarter!
Fearful, deadly silence!
In all that vast expanse
Not a single ripple stirs.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Meeres Stille
German source:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Calm sea
English source:
Richard Stokes
Tiefe Stille herrscht im Wasser,
Deep silence weighs on the water,
Ohne Regung ruht das Meer,
Motionless the sea rests,
Und bekümmert sieht der Schiffer
And the fearful boatman sees
Glatte Fläche rings umher.
A glassy surface all around.
Keine Luft von keiner Seite!
No breeze from any quarter!
Todesstille fürchterlich!
Fearful, deadly silence!
In der ungeheueren Weite
In all that vast expanse
Reget keine Welle sich.
Not a single ripple stirs.
Composer
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an late Classical and early Romantic composer. He produced a vast oeuvre during his short life, composing more the 600 vocal works (largely Lieder), and well as several symphonies, operas, and a large body of piano music. He…
Poet
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on…
Performances
Previously performed at:
- Roderick Williams & Roger Vignoles 21 Apr 2024
- LiedFest Berlin-Oxford 25 Nov 2022
- 7. Benjamin Appl & Thomas Dunford: The Songwriter 15 Oct 2022
- 35. Dietrich Henschel: Schubert: Songs of the Sea 13 Oct 2021
- 27. The Sound of Silence: Benjamin Appl & Sholto Kynoch 14 Oct 2020
- Goethe - A Life in Songs: Christopher Maltman & Graham Johnson 07 Apr 2019
- The Elements in Song: Christoph Prégardien & Ulrich Eisenlohr 21 Oct 2018
- Mastercourse Day Three 26 Oct 2016