Waldseligkeit
German source:
Richard Dehmel
den Bäumen naht die Nacht,
als ob sie selig lauschen,
berühren sie sich sacht.
Und unter ihren Zweigen,
da bin ich ganz allein,
da bin ich ganz mein eigen :
ganz nur Dein!
Woodland rapture
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
night draws near the trees;
as if blissfully listening,
they gently touch each other.
And beneath their branches
I am utterly alone,
utterly my own;
utterly and only yours.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Waldseligkeit
German source:
Richard Dehmel
Woodland rapture
English source:
Richard Stokes
Der Wald beginnt zu rauschen,
The wood begins to stir,
den Bäumen naht die Nacht,
night draws near the trees;
als ob sie selig lauschen,
as if blissfully listening,
berühren sie sich sacht.
they gently touch each other.
Und unter ihren Zweigen,
And beneath their branches
da bin ich ganz allein,
I am utterly alone,
da bin ich ganz mein eigen :
utterly my own;
ganz nur Dein!
utterly and only yours.
Composer
Alma Mahler (Schindler-Mahler)
Alma Schindler (1879-1964) was born in Vienna into an artistic inclined family. As a child, her musical gifts were encouraged to some extent with piano and composition lessons, including with Alexander Zemlinsky, although in 1898 her father vetoed…
Poet
Richard Dehmel
Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer. His poems use a range of metrical patterns, and have been set to music by composers such as Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, and Kurt Weill. His poetry often focused on themes of love and…