Songs
An Schwager Kronos
(1816)
D369
An Schwager Kronos
Spute dich, Kronos!Fort den rasselnden Trott! Bergab gleitet der Weg:Ekles Schwindeln zögertMir vor die Stirne dein Zaudern. Frisch, holpert es gleich,Über Stock und Steine den Trott Rasch ins Leben hinein!Nun schon wiederDen eratmenden Schritt Mühsam berghinauf,Auf denn, nicht träge denn Strebend und hoffend hinan!Weit, hoch, herrlichRings den Blick ins Leben hinein; Vom Gebirg zum Gebirge Schwebet der ewige Geist,Ewigen Lebens ahndevoll.Seitwärt des Überdachs SchattenZieht dich anUnd ein Frischung verheissender Blick Auf der Schwelle des Mädchens da Labe dich! – Mir auch, Mädchen, Diesen schäumenden Trank,Diesen frischen Gesundheitsblick!Ab denn, rascher hinab! Sieh, die Sonne sinkt!Eh sie sinkt, eh mich Greisen Ergreift im Moore Nebelduft, Entzahnte Kiefer schnattre Und das schlotternde Gebein,Trunknen vom letzten Strahl Reiss mich, ein Feuermeer Mir im schäumenden Aug’ Mich geblendeten Taumelnden In der Hölle nächtliches Tor.Töne, Schwager, in’s Horn,Rassle den schallenden Trab,Dass der Orkus vernehme: wir kommen, Dass gleich an der TürDer Wirt uns freundlich empfange.
To Coachman Chronos
Make haste, Chronos!Break into a rattling trot!The way runs downhill;I feel a sickening giddinessat your dallying.Quick, away, never mind the bumping, over sticks and stones, trotbriskly into life!Now once againbreathless, at walking pace, struggling uphill;up then, don’t be sluggish, onwards, striving and hoping.Wide, lofty and gloriousis the view around into life;from mountain range to mountain range the eternal spirit glides,bringing promise of eternal life.A shady roofdraws you asideand the gaze of a girlon the step, promising refreshment. Refresh yourself! For me too, girl, that foaming draught,that fresh, healthy look.Down then, down faster!Look, the sun is sinking!Before it sinks, before the mist seizes me, an old man, on the moor, toothless jaws chattering,limbs shaking,Snatch me, drunk with its last ray, a sea of firefoaming in my eyes,blinded, reelingthrough hell’s nocturnal gate.Coachman, sound your horn, rattle noisily on at a trot.Let Orcus know we’re coming.So that the innkeeper is at the door to give us a kind welcome.
Translations by Richard Wigmore first published by Gollancz and reprinted in the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition
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Composer
Franz Peter Schubert was an late Classical and early Romantic composer. He produced a vast oeuvre during his short life, composing more the 600 vocal works (largely Lieder), and well as several symphonies, operas, and a large body of piano music. He was uncommonly gifted from a young age, but appreciation of his music was limited during his lifetime. His work became more popular in the decades after his death, and was praised by 19th century composers, including Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Liszt.
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Poet
Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him exist. A literary celebrity by the age of 25, Goethe was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Karl August in 1782 after first taking up residence there in November 1775 following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. He was an early participant in the Sturm und Drang literary movement. During his first ten years in Weimar, Goethe served as a member of the Duke's privy council, sat on the war and highway commissions, oversaw the reopening of silver mines in nearby Ilmenau, and implemented a series of administrative reforms at the University of Jena. He also contributed to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and the rebuilding of its Ducal Palace, which in 1998 were together designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, please click here.
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An Schwager Kronos
To Coachman Chronos
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
Composer
Franz Peter Schubert was an late Classical and early Romantic composer. He produced a vast oeuvre during his short life, composing more the 600 vocal works (largely Lieder), and well as several symphonies, operas, and a large body of piano music. He was uncommonly gifted from a young age, but appreciation of his music was limited during his lifetime. His work became more popular in the decades after his death, and was praised by 19th century composers, including Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Liszt.
Information from Wikipedia. Read more here.
See Full Entry
Poet
Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him exist. A literary celebrity by the age of 25, Goethe was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Karl August in 1782 after first taking up residence there in November 1775 following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. He was an early participant in the Sturm und Drang literary movement. During his first ten years in Weimar, Goethe served as a member of the Duke's privy council, sat on the war and highway commissions, oversaw the reopening of silver mines in nearby Ilmenau, and implemented a series of administrative reforms at the University of Jena. He also contributed to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and the rebuilding of its Ducal Palace, which in 1998 were together designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, please click here.
See Full Entry
Sorry, no further description available.
Previously performed at:
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