Songs
Zufriedenheit ‘Lied’
(1815)
D362
Zufriedenheit ‘Lied’
Ich bin vergnügt, im Siegeston Verkünd’ es mein Gedicht,Und mancher Mann mit seiner Krön Und Szepter ist es nicht.Und wär’er’s auch; nun, immerhin! Mag er’s doch! so ist er, was ich bin.Des Sultans Pracht, des Mogols Geld Des Glück, wie hiess er doch,Der, als er Herr war von der Welt, Zum Mond hinauf sah noch?Ich wünsche nichts von alle dem, Zu lächeln drob fällt mir bequem. Recht tun und edel sein und gutIst mehr als Geld und Ehr;Da hat man immer guten MutUnd Freude um sich her,Und man ist stolz und mit sich eins,Scheut kein Geschöpf und fürchtet keins.
Contentment 'Song'
I am happy, my versesproclaim it triumphantly,and many a man with his crown and sceptre is not.And even if he is, well, all the better! Let him be: he is as I am.The sultan’s splendour, the mogul’s wealth, the good fortune of – what was his name? He who, when ruler of the world,still gazed up at the moon.I desire none of that; I prefer to smile at it.Scheut kein Geschöpf und fürchtet keins.is more than wealth and honoursuch a man is always in good spirits,with joy around him;he is proud and at one with himself,shuns no creature and fears nothing.
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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
Matthias Claudius was a German poet, most notable for Der Mond ist aufgegangen (The Moon Has Risen) and editor of the journal Der Wandsbecker Bothe.
After studying at Jena, Claudius held a series of editorial and minor official positions in Copenhagen and Darmstadt until in 1788 he acquired a sinecure in the Schleswig-Holstein bank. He edited the Wandsbecker Bothe (1771–75), popular not only with a general readership, for whose enlightenment it was designed, but also with the most important literary men of the time. Among the journal’s contributors were the philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder, the poet Friedrich Klopstock, and the critic and dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, the three of whom, with Claudius, formed a circle that fought against the prevailing rationalist and Classical spirit and sought to preserve a natural and Christian atmosphere in literature. Claudius’ own poems, e.g., Der Tod und das Mädchen, have a naive, childlike, and devoutly Christian quality.
Taken from Encyclopedia Britannica. To view the full Britannica article, please click here.
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Zufriedenheit ‘Lied’
Contentment 'Song'
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
Matthias Claudius was a German poet, most notable for Der Mond ist aufgegangen (The Moon Has Risen) and editor of the journal Der Wandsbecker Bothe.
After studying at Jena, Claudius held a series of editorial and minor official positions in Copenhagen and Darmstadt until in 1788 he acquired a sinecure in the Schleswig-Holstein bank. He edited the Wandsbecker Bothe (1771–75), popular not only with a general readership, for whose enlightenment it was designed, but also with the most important literary men of the time. Among the journal’s contributors were the philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder, the poet Friedrich Klopstock, and the critic and dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, the three of whom, with Claudius, formed a circle that fought against the prevailing rationalist and Classical spirit and sought to preserve a natural and Christian atmosphere in literature. Claudius’ own poems, e.g., Der Tod und das Mädchen, have a naive, childlike, and devoutly Christian quality.
Taken from Encyclopedia Britannica. To view the full Britannica article, please click here.
See Full Entry
Sorry, no further description available.
About Oxford Lieder
Oxford Lieder is one of the world's leading promoters of song and the winner of a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award. The focal point of each year is the two-week Oxford Lieder Festival in October.
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