Songs
Schlafen, schlafen (Aus Dem Schmerz sein Recht)
by Alban Berg From Vier Gesänge (1910) Op. 2 1840
Text & Translation
Schlafen, schlafen (Aus Dem Schmerz sein Recht)
German source:
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Kein Erwachen, keinen Traum!
Jener Wehen, die mich trafen,
Leisestes Erinnern kaum.
Daß ich, wenn des Lebens Fülle
Niederklingt in meine Ruh',
Nur noch tiefer mich verhülle,
Fester zu die Augen tu'!
Sleep, sleep
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
No awakening, no dream!
Of the pains I had to bear
Scarce the faintest memory -
So that when life's plenitude
Echoes down to where I rest,
I enshroud myself more deeply still,
Press my eyes more tightly shut!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Schlafen, schlafen (Aus Dem Schmerz sein Recht)
German source:
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Sleep, sleep
English source:
Richard Stokes
Schlafen, Schlafen, nichts als Schlafen!
Sleep, sleep, nothing but sleep!
Kein Erwachen, keinen Traum!
No awakening, no dream!
Jener Wehen, die mich trafen,
Of the pains I had to bear
Leisestes Erinnern kaum.
Scarce the faintest memory -
Daß ich, wenn des Lebens Fülle
So that when life's plenitude
Niederklingt in meine Ruh',
Echoes down to where I rest,
Nur noch tiefer mich verhülle,
I enshroud myself more deeply still,
Fester zu die Augen tu'!
Press my eyes more tightly shut!
Composer
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His circle included the musicians Alexander von Zemlinsky and Franz Schreker, the painter Gustav Klimt, the writer and satirist Karl Kraus, the architect Adolf Loos,…
Poet
Christian Friedrich Hebbel
Christian Friedrich Hebbel, was a German poet and dramatist. Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Ditmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums. Despite his humble origins, he showed a talent for…
Performances
Previously performed at:
- Love and Love Betrayed 19 Oct 2024
- 3. Snow White: Katie Macdonald & Thomas Eeckhout 21 Apr 2023