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 Geraldine McGreevy and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.
Was soll der Zorn, mein Schatz, der dich erhitzt?
German source:
Paul Heyse
Ich bin mir keiner Sünde ja bewusst.
Ach, lieber nimm ein Messer wohlgespitzt
Und tritt zu mir, durchbohre mir die Brust.
Und taugt ein Messer nicht, so nimm ein Schwert,
Dass meines Blutes Quell gen Himmel fährt.
Und taugt ein Schwert nicht, nimm des Dolches Stahl
Und wasch’ in meinem Blut all meine Qual.
Why this anger, my love, that inflames you so?
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
For I am not conscious of any wrong-doing.
Ah, I’d rather you take a well-sharpened knife
And come to me and pierce my breast.
And if a knife won’t do, then take a sword
And let my blood stream up to the sky.
And if a sword won’t do, a steel dagger
And wash away all my torment in my blood.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Was soll der Zorn, mein Schatz, der dich erhitzt?
German source:
Paul Heyse
Why this anger, my love, that inflames you so?
English source:
Richard Stokes
Was soll der Zorn, mein Schatz, der dich erhitzt?
Why this anger, my love, that inflames you so?
Ich bin mir keiner Sünde ja bewusst.
For I am not conscious of any wrong-doing.
Ach, lieber nimm ein Messer wohlgespitzt
Ah, I’d rather you take a well-sharpened knife
Und tritt zu mir, durchbohre mir die Brust.
And come to me and pierce my breast.
Und taugt ein Messer nicht, so nimm ein Schwert,
And if a knife won’t do, then take a sword
Dass meines Blutes Quell gen Himmel fährt.
And let my blood stream up to the sky.
Und taugt ein Schwert nicht, nimm des Dolches Stahl
And if a sword won’t do, a steel dagger
Und wasch’ in meinem Blut all meine Qual.
And wash away all my torment in my blood.
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
Paul Heyse
Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty…