Songs
Das Veilchen
(1785)
K476
Das Veilchen
Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand,Gebückt in sich und unbekannt;Es war ein herzigs Veilchen.Da kam ein’ junge SchäferinMit leichtem Schritt und muntrem SinnDaher, daher,Die Wiese her, und sang.Ach! denkt das Veilchen, wär ich nurDie schönste Blume der Natur,Ach, nur ein kleines Weilchen,Bis mich das Liebchen abgepflücktUnd an dem Busen matt gedrückt!Ach nur, ach nurEin Viertelstündchen lang!Ach! aber ach! das Mädchen kamUnd nicht in Acht das Veilchen nahm,Ertrat das arme Veilchen.Es sank und starb und freut’ sich noch:Und sterb’ ich denn, so sterb’ ich dochDurch sie, durch sie,Zu ihren Füßen doch.Das arme VeilchenEs war ein herzigs Veilchen!
The Violet
A violet was growing in the meadow, Unnoticed and with bowed head;It was a dear sweet violet. Along came a young shepherdess, Light of step and happy of heart,Along, alongThrough the meadow, and sang. Ah! thinks the violet, if I were onlyThe loveliest flower in all Nature, Ah! for only a little while,Till my darling had picked meAnd crushed me against her bosom!Ah only, ah onlyFor a single quarter hour!But alas, alas, the girl drew nearAnd took no heed of the violet,Trampled the poor violet. It sank and died, yet still rejoiced:And if I die, at least I die Through her, through herAnd at her feet. The poor violet!It was a dear sweet violet!
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart,[b] was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era.
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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.
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Previously performed at:
Das Veilchen
The Violet
Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart,[b] was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era.
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.