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 Daniel Norman and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Mein Liebchen, wir sassen beisammen
German source:
Heinrich Heine
Traulich im leichten Kahn.
Die Nacht war still, und wir schwammen
Auf weiter Wasserbahn.
Die Geisterinsel, die schöne,
Lag dämm’rig im Mondenglanz;
Dort klangen liebe Töne,
Und wogte der Nebeltanz.
Dort klang es lieb und lieber,
Und wogt’ es hin und her;
Wir aber schwammen vorüber,
Trostlos auf weitem Meer.
My sweetest, we sat together
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Lovingly in our light boat.
The night was still, and we drifted
Along a wide waterway.
The beautiful haunted island
Glimmered in the moon’s dim light;
Sweet music was sounding there,
And dancing mists were swirling.
The sounds grew sweeter and sweeter,
The mists swirled this way and that;
We, however, drifted past,
Desolate on the wide sea.
Mein Liebchen, wir sassen beisammen
German source:
Heinrich Heine
My sweetest, we sat together
English source:
Richard Stokes
Mein Liebchen, wir sassen beisammen,
My sweetest, we sat together,
Traulich im leichten Kahn.
Lovingly in our light boat.
Die Nacht war still, und wir schwammen
The night was still, and we drifted
Auf weiter Wasserbahn.
Along a wide waterway.
Die Geisterinsel, die schöne,
The beautiful haunted island
Lag dämm’rig im Mondenglanz;
Glimmered in the moon’s dim light;
Dort klangen liebe Töne,
Sweet music was sounding there,
Und wogte der Nebeltanz.
And dancing mists were swirling.
Dort klang es lieb und lieber,
The sounds grew sweeter and sweeter,
Und wogt’ es hin und her;
The mists swirled this way and that;
Wir aber schwammen vorüber,
We, however, drifted past,
Trostlos auf weitem Meer.
Desolate on the wide sea.
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
Heinrich Heine
Heine was born of Jewish parents. Much of his early life was influenced by the financial power of his uncle Salomon Heine, a millionaire Hamburg banker, with whom he remained on an awkward footing for many years. After he had been educated in the…