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 Katherine Broderick and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Nachtzauber
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Zwischen Stein und Blumen weit
Nach den stillen Waldesseen,
Wo die Marmorbilder stehen
In der schönen Einsamkeit?
Von den Bergen sacht hernieder,
Weckend die uralten Lieder,
Steigt die wunderbare Nacht,
Und die Gründe glänzen wieder,
Wie du’s oft im Traum gedacht.
Kennst die Blume du, entsprossen
In dem mondbeglänzten Grund
Aus der Knospe, halb erschlossen,
Junge Glieder blühendsprossen,
Weisse Arme, roter Mund,
Und die Nachtigallen schlagen
Und rings hebt es an zu klagen,
Ach, vor Liebe todeswund,
Von versunk’nen schönen Tagen -
Komm, o komm zum stillen Grund!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Night magic
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Amongst the stones and flowers
To the silent woodland lakes
Where the marble statues stand
In the lovely solitude?
Softly from the mountains,
Awakening age-old songs,
Wondrous night descends,
And the valleys gleam again,
As you often dreamed.
Do you know the flower that blossomed
In the moonlit valley?
From its half-open bud
Young limbs have flowered forth,
White arms, red lips,
And the nightingales are singing,
And all around a lament is raised,
Ah, wounded to death with love,
For the lovely days now lost –
Come, ah come to the silent valley!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Nachtzauber
German source:
Joseph von Eichendorff
Night magic
English source:
Richard Stokes
Hörst du nicht die Quellen gehen
Can you not hear the brooks running
Zwischen Stein und Blumen weit
Amongst the stones and flowers
Nach den stillen Waldesseen,
To the silent woodland lakes
Wo die Marmorbilder stehen
Where the marble statues stand
In der schönen Einsamkeit?
In the lovely solitude?
Von den Bergen sacht hernieder,
Softly from the mountains,
Weckend die uralten Lieder,
Awakening age-old songs,
Steigt die wunderbare Nacht,
Wondrous night descends,
Und die Gründe glänzen wieder,
And the valleys gleam again,
Wie du’s oft im Traum gedacht.
As you often dreamed.
Kennst die Blume du, entsprossen
Do you know the flower that blossomed
In dem mondbeglänzten Grund
In the moonlit valley?
Aus der Knospe, halb erschlossen,
From its half-open bud
Junge Glieder blühendsprossen,
Young limbs have flowered forth,
Weisse Arme, roter Mund,
White arms, red lips,
Und die Nachtigallen schlagen
And the nightingales are singing,
Und rings hebt es an zu klagen,
And all around a lament is raised,
Ach, vor Liebe todeswund,
Ah, wounded to death with love,
Von versunk’nen schönen Tagen -
For the lovely days now lost –
Komm, o komm zum stillen Grund!
Come, ah come to the silent valley!
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…