Songs

Wie des Mondes Abbild zittert

by Hugo Wolf

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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.
Click here to listen to this song with Sarah-Jane Brandon and Sholto Kynoch, or click here to buy the CD from Stone Records.

Text & Translation

View IPA

Wie des Mondes Abbild zittert
German source: Heinrich Heine

Wie des Mondes Abbild zittert
In den wilden Meereswogen,
Und er selber still und sicher
Wandelt an dem Himmelsbogen:

Also wandelst du, Geliebte,
Still und sicher, und es zittert
Nur dein Abbild mir im Herzen,
Weil mein eignes Herz erschüttert.

How the moon's reflection trembles
English translation © Richard Stokes

How the moon’s reflection trembles
In the sea’s wild heaving waves,
While the moon itself, calmly and surely,
Moves through the vault of heaven:

Thus you move, beloved,
Calmly and surely, and only
Your reflection trembles in my heart,
For my heart itself is devastated.

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

Wie des Mondes Abbild zittert
German source: Heinrich Heine

How the moon's reflection trembles
English source: Richard Stokes

Wie des Mondes Abbild zittert
How the moon’s reflection trembles
In den wilden Meereswogen,
In the sea’s wild heaving waves,
Und er selber still und sicher
While the moon itself, calmly and surely,
Wandelt an dem Himmelsbogen:
Moves through the vault of heaven:

Also wandelst du, Geliebte,
Thus you move, beloved,
Still und sicher, und es zittert
Calmly and surely, and only
Nur dein Abbild mir im Herzen,
Your reflection trembles in my heart,
Weil mein eignes Herz erschüttert.
For my heart itself is devastated.

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

Heinrich Heine

Heine was born of Jewish parents. Much of his early life was influenced by the financial power of his uncle Salomon Heine, a millionaire Hamburg banker, with whom he remained on an awkward footing for many years. After he had been educated in the…

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