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 Stephan Loges and Sholto Kynoch, click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Peregrina II
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Auf einmal nun mit tausend Tränen,
Und kann gar nicht zufrieden sein,
Und will die Brust in alle Weite dehnen?
Ach, gestern in den hellen Kindersaal,
Beim Flimmer zierlich aufgesteckter Kerzen,
Wo ich mein selbst vergass in Lärm und Scherzen,
Tratst du, o Bildnis mitleid-schöner Qual;
Es war dein Geist, er setzte sich ans Mahl,
Fremd sassen wir mit stumm verhaltnen Schmerzen;
Zuletzt brach ich in lautes Schluchzen aus,
Und Hand in Hand verliessen wir das Haus.
Peregrina II
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Suddenly and with a thousand tears,
And cannot be satisfied at all,
And long to extend my heart into infinity?
Ah, you came yesterday to the bright nursery,
In the gleam of decorative candles,
As I forgot myself in noise and mirth,
You came, agony’s image, lovely in compassion;
It was your ghost, it joined us at the feast,
Strangers we sat, our sorrows mutely hidden;
At last I broke out into loud sobs,
And hand in hand we left the house.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Peregrina II
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Peregrina II
English source:
Richard Stokes
Warum, Geliebte, denk ich dein
Why, beloved, do I now think of you
Auf einmal nun mit tausend Tränen,
Suddenly and with a thousand tears,
Und kann gar nicht zufrieden sein,
And cannot be satisfied at all,
Und will die Brust in alle Weite dehnen?
And long to extend my heart into infinity?
Ach, gestern in den hellen Kindersaal,
Ah, you came yesterday to the bright nursery,
Beim Flimmer zierlich aufgesteckter Kerzen,
In the gleam of decorative candles,
Wo ich mein selbst vergass in Lärm und Scherzen,
As I forgot myself in noise and mirth,
Tratst du, o Bildnis mitleid-schöner Qual;
You came, agony’s image, lovely in compassion;
Es war dein Geist, er setzte sich ans Mahl,
It was your ghost, it joined us at the feast,
Fremd sassen wir mit stumm verhaltnen Schmerzen;
Strangers we sat, our sorrows mutely hidden;
Zuletzt brach ich in lautes Schluchzen aus,
At last I broke out into loud sobs,
Und Hand in Hand verliessen wir das Haus.
And hand in hand we left the house.
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
Eduard Mörike
Eduard Friedrich Mörike was a German Romantic poet. Mörike was born in Ludwigsburg. His father was Karl Friedrich Mörike (d. 1817), a district medical councilor; his mother was Charlotte Bayer. He attended the Latin school at Ludwigsburg, and the…
Performances
Previously performed at:
- Devilishly Good Songs 24 Oct 2023
- 29. Der Doppelgänger: Maria Forsström & Matti Hirvonen 16 Oct 2019
- Brahms & Wolf: Ian Bostridge & Julius Drake 24 Oct 2017