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 Anna Huntley and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Traurige Wege
German source:
Nikolaus Lenau
Ach, wie war der Wald so froh!
Alles grün, die Vögel sangen,
Und das scheue Wild entfloh.
Wo die Liebe frei und offen
Rings von allen Zweigen schallt,
Ging die Liebe ohne Hoffen
Traurig durch den grünen Wald.
Bin mit dir am Fluss gefahren;
Ach, wie war die Nacht so mild!
Auf der Flut, der sanften, klaren,
Wiegte sich des Mondes Bild.
Lustig scherzten die Gesellen;
Unsre Liebe schwieg und sann,
Wie mit jedem Schlag der Wellen
Zeit und Glück vorüberrann.
Graue Wolken niederhingen,
Durch die Kreuze strich der West,
Als wir einst am Kirchhof gingen;
Ach, wie schliefen sie so fest!
An den Kreuzen, an den Steinen
Fand die Liebe keinen Halt;
Sahen uns die Toten weinen,
Als wir dort vorbeigewallt?
Sad pathways
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Ah, how beautiful the forest was!
All was green, the birds were singing,
And the startled wild beasts fled.
Where Love, freely and openly,
Echoed all around the branches,
Our love, void of hope,
Moved sadly through the green forest.
I went with you to the river;
Ah, how soft the night was!
On the clear and tranquil waters
The moon’s reflection swayed.
Our companions laughed out loud;
Our love was silent and sensed
How with every plashing wave
Time and happiness slipped away.
Grey clouds hung down from heaven,
The West Wind blew among the crosses,
When we passed by the graveyard once;
Ah, how deeply they were sleeping!
By the crosses, by the stones
Love could find no anchor;
Did the dead see us weeping,
As we passed them by?
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Traurige Wege
German source:
Nikolaus Lenau
Sad pathways
English source:
Richard Stokes
Bin mit dir im Wald gegangen;
I walked with you into the forest;
Ach, wie war der Wald so froh!
Ah, how beautiful the forest was!
Alles grün, die Vögel sangen,
All was green, the birds were singing,
Und das scheue Wild entfloh.
And the startled wild beasts fled.
Wo die Liebe frei und offen
Where Love, freely and openly,
Rings von allen Zweigen schallt,
Echoed all around the branches,
Ging die Liebe ohne Hoffen
Our love, void of hope,
Traurig durch den grünen Wald.
Moved sadly through the green forest.
Bin mit dir am Fluss gefahren;
I went with you to the river;
Ach, wie war die Nacht so mild!
Ah, how soft the night was!
Auf der Flut, der sanften, klaren,
On the clear and tranquil waters
Wiegte sich des Mondes Bild.
The moon’s reflection swayed.
Lustig scherzten die Gesellen;
Our companions laughed out loud;
Unsre Liebe schwieg und sann,
Our love was silent and sensed
Wie mit jedem Schlag der Wellen
How with every plashing wave
Zeit und Glück vorüberrann.
Time and happiness slipped away.
Graue Wolken niederhingen,
Grey clouds hung down from heaven,
Durch die Kreuze strich der West,
The West Wind blew among the crosses,
Als wir einst am Kirchhof gingen;
When we passed by the graveyard once;
Ach, wie schliefen sie so fest!
Ah, how deeply they were sleeping!
An den Kreuzen, an den Steinen
By the crosses, by the stones
Fand die Liebe keinen Halt;
Love could find no anchor;
Sahen uns die Toten weinen,
Did the dead see us weeping,
Als wir dort vorbeigewallt?
As we passed them by?
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
Nikolaus Lenau
Nikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau, a German-language Austrian poet. He was born at Schadat, now Lenauheim, Romania, then in Hungary. His father, a Habsburg government official, died in 1807 in…