Songs
An die Nachtigall
(1868)
Op. 46 no.4
An die Nachtigall
Geuß nicht so laut der liebentflammten LiederTonreichen SchallVom Blütenast des Apfelbaums hernieder,O Nachtigall!Du tönest mir mit deiner süßen KehleDie Liebe wach;Denn schon durchbebt die Tiefen meiner Seele Dein schmelzend Ach.Dann flieht der Schlaf von neuem dieses Lager, Ich starre dannMit nassem Blick’ und totenbleich und hager Den Himmel an.Fleuch, Nachtigall, in grüne Finsternisse, Ins Haingesträuch,Und spend’ im Nest der treuen Gattin Küsse; Entfleuch, entfleuch!
To the Nightingale
Do not pour so loudly the full-throated soundsOf your love-kindled songsDown from the blossoming boughs of the apple-tree,O nightingale!The tones of your sweet throatAwaken love in me;For the depths of my soul already quiverWith your melting lament.Sleep once more forsakes this couch,And I stareMoist-eyed, haggard and deathly paleAt the heavens. Fly, nightingale, to the green darkness,To the bushes of the grove,And there in the nest kiss your faithful mate;Fly away, fly away!
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
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.
Information from Wikipedia. Click here for the full article.
See Full Entry
Poet
Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty, was German poet who is considered the most gifted lyric poet of the Göttinger Hain, a group of young poets who saw themselves as heirs of the great lyric poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and whose work was characterized by love of nature and the expression of national feeling.
He was influenced by Johann Uz and Friedrich Klopstock, but his love for the Volkslied and his delight in nature preserved him from the artificiality of Uz and the unworldliness of Klopstock. A strain of melancholy runs through all his lyrics. His ballads are the pioneers of the rich ballad literature on English models, which sprang up in Germany over the next few years.
To many, the opening lines of Hölty's poem Der alte Landmann an seinen Sohn ("he Old Farmer to His Son) are the very embodiment of all Prussian virtues. This poem was set to music by Mozart to a melody adapted from the aria Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from his 1791 opera The Magic Flute. It was played daily by the carillon of the Potsdam Garrison Church where Frederick the Great was initially buried.
Many of Hölty's poems were set to music by composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Several streets and schools in Germany are named after him, including the Hölty-Gymnasium in Wunstorf near Hanover; in 2008, the biennial poetry prize Hölty-Preis was created in his name.
Among the many poems set by Schubert are An den Mond (D193 and D468), An die Nachtigall (D196), Blumenlied (D431), Frühlingslied (D243 and D398), Klage (D436), Mailied (D129, D199 and D202), Minnelied (D429), Die Nonne (D208), Seligkeit (D433), Totengräberlied (D38 and D44) and Winterlied (D401).
Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, click here.
See Full Entry
Sorry, no further description available.
Previously performed at:
- 16 Oct 2020: 34. Winners of the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform: Siân Dicker & Kr...
-
- 14 Oct 2017: Songs of Youth & Experience: Anna Stéphany & Sholto Kynoch
-
- 14 Oct 2017: Bring and Sing
-
- 21 Oct 2016: A Woman's Love & Life: Juliane Banse & Marcelo Amaral
-
An die Nachtigall
To the Nightingale
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
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.
Information from Wikipedia. Click here for the full article.
See Full Entry
Poet
Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty, was German poet who is considered the most gifted lyric poet of the Göttinger Hain, a group of young poets who saw themselves as heirs of the great lyric poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and whose work was characterized by love of nature and the expression of national feeling.
He was influenced by Johann Uz and Friedrich Klopstock, but his love for the Volkslied and his delight in nature preserved him from the artificiality of Uz and the unworldliness of Klopstock. A strain of melancholy runs through all his lyrics. His ballads are the pioneers of the rich ballad literature on English models, which sprang up in Germany over the next few years.
To many, the opening lines of Hölty's poem Der alte Landmann an seinen Sohn ("he Old Farmer to His Son) are the very embodiment of all Prussian virtues. This poem was set to music by Mozart to a melody adapted from the aria Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen from his 1791 opera The Magic Flute. It was played daily by the carillon of the Potsdam Garrison Church where Frederick the Great was initially buried.
Many of Hölty's poems were set to music by composers including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Several streets and schools in Germany are named after him, including the Hölty-Gymnasium in Wunstorf near Hanover; in 2008, the biennial poetry prize Hölty-Preis was created in his name.
Among the many poems set by Schubert are An den Mond (D193 and D468), An die Nachtigall (D196), Blumenlied (D431), Frühlingslied (D243 and D398), Klage (D436), Mailied (D129, D199 and D202), Minnelied (D429), Die Nonne (D208), Seligkeit (D433), Totengräberlied (D38 and D44) and Winterlied (D401).
Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, click here.
See Full Entry
Sorry, no further description available.
Previously performed at:
- 16 Oct 2020: 34. Winners of the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform: Siân Dicker & Kr...
- 14 Oct 2017: Songs of Youth & Experience: Anna Stéphany & Sholto Kynoch
- 14 Oct 2017: Bring and Sing
- 21 Oct 2016: A Woman's Love & Life: Juliane Banse & Marcelo Amaral
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