Songs

Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf

by Hugo Wolf From Italienisches Liederbuch

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This song was recorded live at the Oxford Lieder Festival as part of Hugo Wolf: The Complete Songs on Stone Records.
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Text & Translation

View IPA

Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf
German source: Paul Heyse

Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf,
Trag’ ich mein Herz dir in der Hand entgegen.
So liebevoll umarmst du mich darauf,
Dann woll’n wir uns dem Herrn zu Füssen legen.
Und sieht der Herrgott uns’re Liebesschmerzen,
Macht er ein Herz aus zwei verliebten Herzen,
Zu einem Herzen fügt er zwei zusammen,
Im Paradies, umglänzt von Himmelsflammen.

When you, my love, ascend to heaven
English translation © Richard Stokes

When you, my love, ascend to heaven,
I’ll come to you with my heart in hand.
And then you will embrace me so lovingly
And we shall fall at the Lord’s feet.
And when the Lord sees the anguish of our love,
He’ll make one heart of two loving hearts,
He’ll fashion two hearts into one,
In Paradise, ringed by heavenly radiance.

Translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf
German source: Paul Heyse

When you, my love, ascend to heaven
English source: Richard Stokes

Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf,
When you, my love, ascend to heaven,
Trag’ ich mein Herz dir in der Hand entgegen.
I’ll come to you with my heart in hand.
So liebevoll umarmst du mich darauf,
And then you will embrace me so lovingly
Dann woll’n wir uns dem Herrn zu Füssen legen.
And we shall fall at the Lord’s feet.
Und sieht der Herrgott uns’re Liebesschmerzen,
And when the Lord sees the anguish of our love,
Macht er ein Herz aus zwei verliebten Herzen,
He’ll make one heart of two loving hearts,
Zu einem Herzen fügt er zwei zusammen,
He’ll fashion two hearts into one,
Im Paradies, umglänzt von Himmelsflammen.
In Paradise, ringed by heavenly radiance.

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…

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