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, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Um Mitternacht
German source:
Eduard Mörike
Lehnt träumend an der Berge Wand,
Ihr Auge sieht die goldne Waage nun
Der Zeit in gleichen Schalen stille ruhn;
Und kecker rauschen die Quellen hervor,
Sie singen der Mutter, der Nacht, ins Ohr
Vom Tage,
Vom heute gewesenen Tage.
Das uralt alte Schlummerlied,
Sie achtets nicht, sie ist es müd;
Ihr klingt des Himmels Bläue süsser noch,
Der flüchtgen Stunden gleichgeschwungnes Joch.
Doch immer behalten die Quellen das Wort,
Es singen die Wasser im Schlafe noch fort
Vom Tage,
Vom heute gewesenen Tage.
At midnight
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Leans dreaming against the mountain wall,
Watches now the golden scales of time
Quietly at rest in equipoise;
And the springs babble more boldly,
They sing in the ear of their mother, the night,
Of the day,
Of the day that has been today.
That old, that age-old lullaby,
She disregards, she is tired of it;
The blue of the sky sounds sweeter to her,
The evenly curved yoke of the fleeting hours.
But still the streams murmur on,
They babble in sleep as their waters run
Of the day,
Of the day that has been today.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Um Mitternacht
German source:
Eduard Mörike
At midnight
English source:
Richard Stokes
Gelassen stieg die Nacht ans Land,
Night has serenely stepped ashore,
Lehnt träumend an der Berge Wand,
Leans dreaming against the mountain wall,
Ihr Auge sieht die goldne Waage nun
Watches now the golden scales of time
Der Zeit in gleichen Schalen stille ruhn;
Quietly at rest in equipoise;
Und kecker rauschen die Quellen hervor,
And the springs babble more boldly,
Sie singen der Mutter, der Nacht, ins Ohr
They sing in the ear of their mother, the night,
Vom Tage,
Of the day,
Vom heute gewesenen Tage.
Of the day that has been today.
Das uralt alte Schlummerlied,
That old, that age-old lullaby,
Sie achtets nicht, sie ist es müd;
She disregards, she is tired of it;
Ihr klingt des Himmels Bläue süsser noch,
The blue of the sky sounds sweeter to her,
Der flüchtgen Stunden gleichgeschwungnes Joch.
The evenly curved yoke of the fleeting hours.
Doch immer behalten die Quellen das Wort,
But still the streams murmur on,
Es singen die Wasser im Schlafe noch fort
They babble in sleep as their waters run
Vom Tage,
Of the day,
Vom heute gewesenen Tage.
Of the day that has been today.
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…