Songs

Der Strom, der neben mir verrauschte (1864) Op. 32 no.4

Part of a series or song cycle:

Der Strom, der neben mir verrauschte

August von Platen

Der Strom, der neben mir verrauschte, wo ist er nun?

Der Vogel, dessen Lied ich lauschte, wo ist er nun?

Wo ist die Rose, die die Freundin am Herzen trug,

Und jener Kuß, der mich berauschte, wo ist er nun?

Und jener Mensch, der ich gewesen, und den ich längst

Mit einem andern ich vertauschte, wo ist er nun?

The river that rushed by me

English Translation © Richard Stokes

The river that rushed by me, where is it now?

The bird whose song I listened to, where is it now?

Where is the rose my love wore on her heart,

And that kiss which entranced me, where is it now?

And that man I used to be, and whom I long ago

Exchanged for another self, where is he now?

Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

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Composer

Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna.

Brahms has been considered, by his contemporaries and by later writers, as both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by many.

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Poet

August von Platen

Karl August Georg Maximilian Graf von Platen-Hallermünde was a German poet and dramatist. In German he mostly is called Graf (Count) Platen.

August von Platen was born on 24 October 1796 at Ansbach, the son of the Oberforstmeister (a senior public servant) of that state, Count Philipp August von Platen-Hallermünde, by second wife Baroness Christiane Eichler von Auriz. Shortly after his birth Ansbach and other Franconian principalities became incorporated with Bavaria. Platen entered the school of cadets (Kadettenhaus) in Munich, Bavaria, where he showed early poetic talent. In 1810 as an adolescent he passed into the royal school of pages (Königliche Pagerie).

In 1814 Platen was appointed lieutenant in the regiment of Bavarian life-guards. With them he took part in the short campaign in France of 1815, being in bivouac for several months near Mannheim and in the department of the Yonne. He saw no fighting, however, and returned home with his regiment towards the close of the same year. Desiring to study, and finding garrison life distasteful, he obtained a long leave of absence, and after a tour in Switzerland and the Bavarian Alps, entered the university of Würzburg in 1818 as a student of philosophy and philology.

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