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by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)
Translation © by Michael P Rosewall
Die Weise guter Zecher ist
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan dili)
Die Weise guter Zecher ist
[In]1 früh' und später Stunde,
Daß alter Wein im Becher ist,
Und neuer Witz im Munde --
Denn wo man Eins davon entbehrt,
Da ist das Andre auch nichts werth --
Das Eine steht zum Andern.
Je mehr wir uns vertieft im Wein,
Je höher steigt der Geist uns --
Der Bart der Weisheit trieft von Wein,
Die ganze Welt umkreis't uns,
Versunken ganz in Trunkenheit,
Und trunken in Versunkenheit,
In Wein, Gesang und Liebe!
Die Weisen beim Pokale stehn
Hoch über der Gemeinheit,
Wie Berge überm Thale stehn
In himmelhoher Reinheit --
Die Berge färbt des Himmels Licht,
Uns wiederstrahlt das Angesicht
Im Glanz der vollen Becher!
Sagt, was die Welt im Tausch uns giebt
Für unser lustig Leben!
Die Wonne, die ein Rausch uns giebt,
Wer mag uns Bess'res geben?
Nur Eins kenn' ich, das schöner ist:
Wenn du, Hafisa! bei mir bist,
Mit Küssen und mit Scherzen!
Und weil so kurz das Leben ist,
Muß stets der Weisen Ziel sein:
Des Glücks, das uns gegeben ist,
Kann nimmermehr zuviel sein!
Drum Kind, laß alle Skrupel sein
Und steig herab in unsre Reih'n,
Wie in's Gebirg die Sonne!
A. Rubinstein sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Die Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy mit einem Prolog von Friedrich Bodenstedt, Hundertfünfte Auflage, Berlin: R.v. Decker's Verlag Marquardt & Schenk, 1882, pages 37-38.
1 Bohn, Rubinstein: "Zu"; further changes may exist for Bohn's setting, not shown above.Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Die Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy, in Lieder zum Lobe des Weines und irdischer Glückseligkeit, no. 3 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan dili) by Mirzə Şəfi Vazeh (1794 - 1852) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Emil Bohn , "Trinklied", op. 2 (Drei Lieder für Männerchor) no. 2, published 1876 [ men's chorus a cappella ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Hoffmann (1830 - 1870), "Trinklied", op. 34 (Zwei Gesänge für vierstimmigen Männerchor und Soli) no. 2, published 1892 [ four-part men's chorus ], Berlin, Simon [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Karl Johann Hofmann (1842 - 1902), "Die weisen Zecher ", op. 20 (Sechs Männerquartette) no. 5, published 1874 [ vocal quartet for male voices ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Salomon Jadassohn (1831 - 1902), "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 78 (Fünf Gesänge für vierstimmigen Männerchor) no. 5, published 1886 [ four-part men's chorus ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Liebe (1819 - 1900), "Wein, Gesang und Liebe", op. 105 no. 2, published 1888 [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Bodenstedt-Liebe-Album, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Ludwig Amand Mangold (1813 - 1889), "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 70 no. 1, published 1877 [ men's chorus and orchestra ], from cantata Die Weisheit des Mirza-Schaffy. Cantate für Sopran- und Bariton-Solo, Männerquartett, Männerchor und Orchester, no. 1, Schleusingen, Glaser [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Ludwig Amand Mangold (1813 - 1889), "Sagt, was die Welt im Tausch uns giebt", op. 70 no. 2, published 1877 [ vocal quartet for male voices, baritone, men's chorus, and orchestra ], from cantata Die Weisheit des Mirza-Schaffy. Cantate für Sopran- und Bariton-Solo, Männerquartett, Männerchor und Orchester, no. 2, Schleusingen, Glaser [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ottokar Mascha (b. 1852), "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", published 1873 [ men's chorus a cappella ], from Drei Lieder des Mirza Schaffy von Friedrich von Bodenstedt für Männerchor, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Reichelt , "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 3 no. 2, published 1874 [ vocal quartet for male voices with piano ], from Lieder zum Lobe des Weines und irdischer Glückseligkeit. Ein Cyclus aus den Dichtungen des Mirza-Schaffy für Männerquartett (3--4 fach besetzt) mit Begleitung des Pianoforte, no. 2, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Roth , "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", published 1888 [ voice and piano ], from Die Lieder des Mirza Schaffy. Operette. , no. 1, Hamburg, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829 - 1894), "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 34 no. 5 (1854), stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Lieder von Mirza-Schaffy, no. 5, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hans Michael Schletterer (1824 - 1893), "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 26 (Fünf Lieder für Bass mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 3 [ bass and piano ], Stuttgart, Ebner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Schulz-Weida (1830 - 1872), "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 217 no. 7, published 1872 [ low voice and piano? ], from Mirza Schaffy. Trinklieder und Sprüche für 1 tiefere Stimme, no. 7, Berlin, Barth & Fritze [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Vollmer , "Die Weise guter Zecher ist", op. 2 no. 3, published 1879 [ bass and piano ], from Drei Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy zum Lobe des Weines und irdischer Glückseligkeit für Bass mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 3, Berlin, Challier & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893) [an adaptation] ; composed by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , appears in Clair-obscur, first published 1954, copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-08
Line count: 35
Word count: 192
The technique of a good drinker is
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
The technique of a good drinker is, In the early and late hours, To have old wine in the glass And new witticisms in the mouth – For if you lack one of these, The other isn’t worth anything – Each one depends on the other. The deeper we are into our wine, The higher our spirits rise – The beard of wisdom drips with wine, The entire world that surrounds us, Completely sunken in drunkenness, And drunken in sunkenness, In wine, song and love! Wise ones stand by their goblets, High above life’s baseness, Like mountains towering over the valleys In the purity of heaven on high – The mountains are colored by heavens light And our faces reflect that In the radiance of a full goblet! Tell what the world gives in exchange For our merry lives! The rapture that intoxication gives, Who could provide better? I know of only one thing more beautiful: When you, Hafisa! are with me, With kissing and jesting! And because life is so short, The goal of the wise must be: Happiness that is given to us -- Which can never, ever be too much! Therefore, my child, lay all scruples aside And descend here into our number Like the sun sets in the mountains!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Die Weise guter Zecher ist" = "The technique of a good drinker"
"Die weisen Zecher " = "The wise drinker"
"Sagt, was die Welt im Tausch uns giebt" = "Tell what the world gives us in exchange"
"Trinklied" = "Drinking Song"
"Wein, Gesang und Liebe" = "Wine, Song and Love"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 by Michael P Rosewall, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Die Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy, in Lieder zum Lobe des Weines und irdischer Glückseligkeit, no. 3
Based on:
- a text in Azerbaijani (Azərbaycan dili) by Mirzə Şəfi Vazeh (1794 - 1852) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2024-07-11
Line count: 35
Word count: 212