Songs

Auf dem Kirchhofe (1886) Op. 105 no.4

Part of a series or song cycle:

Auf dem Kirchhofe

Baron Detlev von Liliencron

Der Tag ging regenschwer und sturmbewegt,

Ich war an manch vergeßnem Grab gewesen.

Verwittert Stein und Kreuz, die Kränze alt,

Die Namen überwachsen, kaum zu lesen.

Der Tag ging sturmbewegt und regenschwer,

Auf allen Gräbern fror das Wort: Gewesen.

Wie sturmestot die Särge schlummerten—

Auf allen Gräbern taute still: Genesen.

In the Churchyard

English Translation © Richard Stokes

The day was heavy with rain and storms,

I had stood by many a forgotten grave.

Weathered stones and crosses, faded wreaths,

The names overgrown, scarcely to be read.

The day was heavy with storms and rains,

On each grave froze the word: Deceased.

How the coffins slumbered, dead to the storm—

Silent dew on each grave proclaimed: Released.

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

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

Baron Detlev von Liliencron

Liliencron first attracted attention by the volume of poems, Adjutantenritte und andere Gedichte (1883), which was followed by several unsuccessful dramas, a volume of short stories, Eine Sommerschlacht (1886), and a novel Breide Hummelsbüttel (1887). His complete works were published in 14 volumes (1904–1905); his Gedichte having been previously collected in four volumes under the titles Kampf und Spiele, Kämpfe und Ziele, "Nebel und Sonne and Bunte Beute (1897–1903).

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