English translations of Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's, opus 9

by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922)

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1. Der Bote
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Der Bote", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 1 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Am Himmelsgrund schießen
So lustig die Stern',
Dein Schatz läßt dich grüßen
Aus weiter, weiter Fern' !

  Hat eine Zither gehangen
An der Thür unbeacht't,
Der Wind ist gegangen
Durch die Saiten bei Nacht.

  Schwang sich auf dann vom Gitter
Über die Berge, übern Wald --
Mein Herz ist die Zither,
Gibt ein'n fröhlichen Schall.

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
1.
Language: English 
The stars [shoot]1 so merrily
Across the heavenly background,
Your beloved sends you greetings
From the great, great distance!
 
Unnoticed, a zither hung
At the door;
The wind blew through
The strings by night.
 
[The tones] then rose aloft from the strings
Over the mountains, over the forest --
My heart is the zither,
It emits a joyous sound.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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1 Bohm: " shine"; further changes may exist, not shown above.


This text was added to the website: 2015-06-09
Line count: 12
Word count: 59

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
2. Seliges Vergessen
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Seliges Vergessen", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 2 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Im Winde fächeln,
Mutter, die Blätter,
Und bei dem Säuseln
Schlummre ich ein.

  Über mir schwanken
Und spielen die Winde,
Wiegen so linde
Das Schiff der Gedanken,
Wie wenn ohne Schranken
Der Himmel mir offen,
Daß still wird mein Hoffen
Und Frieden ich finde,
Und bei dem Säuseln
Schlummre ich ein.

  Erwachend dann sehe,
Als ob sie mich kränzen,
Rings Blumen ich glänzen,
Und all meine Wehen
Verschweben, vergehen,
Der Traum hält sie nieder,
Und Leben giebt wieder
Das Flüstern der Blätter,
Und bei dem Säuseln
Schlummre ich ein.

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
2. Blessed oblivion
Language: English 
In the [wind]1 flutter,
Mother, the leaves,
And to their rustling
I fall asleep.

Above me sway
And play the winds,
They rock so gently
The ship of my thoughts,
As if without barriers
The heavens stood open for me,
So that my hopes fall quiet
And I find peace,
And to the rustling
I fall asleep.

When I awaken I see,
As if they were garlanding me,
Flowers shining all around,
And all my pains
Dissipate, dissolve,
The dream holds them down,
And life is given anew
By the whispering of the leaves,
And to their rustling
I fall asleep.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2012 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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1 Seyffardt: "winter"; changes in addition to those noted above may exist.


This text was added to the website: 2012-07-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 102

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
3. Nachtzauber  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Nachtzauber", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 3 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Hörst du nicht die Quellen gehen
Zwischen Stein und Blumen weit
Nach den stillen Waldesseen,
Wo die Marmorbilder stehen
In der schönen Einsamkeit?
Von den Bergen sacht hernieder,
Weckend die uralten Lieder,
Steigt die wunderbare Nacht,
Und die Gründe glänzen wieder,
Wie du's oft im Traum gedacht.

  Kennst die Blume du, entsprossen
In dem mondbeglänzten Grund?
Aus der Knospe, halb erschlossen,
Junge Glieder blühend sprossen,
Weiße Arme, roter Mund,
Und die Nachtigallen schlagen,
Und rings hebt es an zu klagen,
Ach, vor Liebe todeswund,
Von versunknen schönen Tagen --
Komm, o komm zum stillen Grund!

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Leipzig: C.F. Amelangs Verlag, 1892, page 222. Note: in some posthumous anthologies, the poem appears with the title "Einsamkeit", cf. Dichtergrüße. Neuere deutsche Lyrik ausgewählt von Elise Polko, Leipzig, G. F. Amelang's Verlag, 1873, page 140 (the text splits the first stanza into two stanzas of five lines each, then omits the first five lines of the second stanza and leaves the last five lines as its third stanza, while changing line -3 to "Ach, von Liebe todeswund"; the poem is also titled "Einsamkeit" in Deutscher Hort, Bände 44 – 47, Kunst und Leben 3.Teil, Leipzig : Verlag von Quelle & Meyer, 1925, p.10.


by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
3. Night magic
Language: English 
Do you not hear the spring running
between the stones and flowers far
toward the quiet wood lakes,
where the marble statues stand
in fine solitude?
From the mountains, gently
awakening ancient songs,
the wondrous night descends
and the earth gleams again
as you often see in a dream.

Do you know the flower that blooms
in the moonlit land,
from whose buds, half-open,
young limbs bloom with
white arms and red mouth?
And the nightingale sings,
and all around, a lament is raised;
alas, wounded fatally by love,
by lovely days now gone forever -
come, o come to the silent land!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Translation of title "Nachtzauber" = "Night magic"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 102

Translation © by Emily Ezust
4. Der Soldat
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Der Soldat", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 4 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Ist auch schmuck nicht mein Rößlein,
So ist's doch recht klug,
Trägt im Finstern zu 'nem Schlößlein
Mich rasch noch genug.

  Ist das Schloß auch nicht prächtig,
Zum Garten aus der Thür
Tritt ein Mädchen allnächtig
Dort freundlich herfür.

  Und ist auch die Kleine
Nicht die Schönst' auf der Welt,
So gibt's doch just Keine,
Die mir besser gefällt.

  Und spricht sie vom Freien:
So schwing' ich mich auf mein Roß --
Ich bleibe im Freien,
Und sie auf dem Schloß.

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
4. The soldier
Language: English 
 Although my horse may not look so handsome,
 he is actually quite clever,
 and will carry me through the dark to a certain little castle
 quickly enough.
 
 Although the castle is not very splendid,
 out of her door and into the garden 
 steps a maiden who, all night,
 will be friendly to me.
 
 And although this small girl
 is not the fairest in the world,
 there is still no other
 that I like better.
 
 But if she speaks of marriage,
 I'll leap onto my horse -
 I'll stay free
 and she'll stay at the castle.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 95

Translation © by Emily Ezust
5. Nachts  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Nachts", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 5 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Ich [stehe]1 [in]2 Waldesschatten
Wie an des Lebens Rand,
Die Länder wie dämmernde Matten,
Der Strom wie ein silbern Band.

  Von fern nur schlagen die Glocken
Über die Wälder herein,
Ein Reh hebt den Kopf erschrocken
Und schlummert gleich wieder ein.

  Der Wald aber rühret die Wipfel 
Im Traum von der Felsenwand.
Denn der Herr geht über die Gipfel
Und segnet das stille Land.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Leipzig: C.F. Amelangs Verlag, 1892, page 96.

1 Borinski: "steh' "; further changes may exist not shown above.
2 Hollaender, Sommer: "im"

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
5. At night
Language: English 
I stand in forest-shadows
as on the verge of life,
the lands like dusky meadows, 
the stream like a silver ribbon.

Far away bells are ringing
into the woods.
Alerted, a deer raises its head,
and is soon sleeping again.

But the trees move their tops,
dreaming of walls of rock.
For the master walks over the heights,
blessing the silent land.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Jakob Kellner, (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.
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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 62

Translation © by Jakob Kellner
6. Die Einsame I
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Die Einsame I", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 6 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Wenn morgens das fröhliche Licht bricht ein,
Tret' ich zum offenen Fensterlein,
Draußen gehn lau die Lüft' auf den Auen,
Singen die Lerchen schon hoch im Blauen,
Rauschen am Fenster die Bäume gar munter,
Ziehn die Brüder in den Wald hinunter;
Und bei dem Sange und Hörnerklange
Wird mir immer so bange, bange.

  Wüßt' ich nur immer, wo du jetzo bist,
Würd' mir schon wohler auf kurze Frist.
Könntest du mich nur über die Berge sehen
Dein gedenkend im Garten gehen:
Dort rauschen die Brunnen jetzt alle so eigen,
Die Blumen vor Trauer im Wind sich neigen.
Ach! von den Vöglein über die Thale
Sei mir gegrüßt viel tausend Male!

  Du sagtest gar oft: Wie süß und rein
Sind deine blauen Äugelein!
Jetzo müssen sie immerfort weinen,
Daß sie nicht finden mehr, was sie meinen;
Wird auch der rote Mund erblassen,
Seit du mich, süßer Buhle, verlassen.
Eh' du wohl denkst, kann das Blatt sich wenden,
Geht alles gar bald zu seinem Ende.

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
6. The lonely one
Language: English 
  When the joyful light rises in the morning
I go to my open window.
Outdoors, the breezes waft warmly upon the meadows,
The larks are already singing high in the blue heavens,
The trees rustle merrily by the window,
And the men are heading down into the forest;
And with the singing and the sound of the horns
I always become so anxious, anxious.
 
  If I only knew where you are right now,
I would feel better for a short time.
If only you could see me over the mountains,
[See that I am] thinking of you while walking in the garden:
There the fountains all murmur so singularly,
The flowers are bowed with sorrow in the wind.
Ah! by the birds over the valley
I send you many thousands of greetings!
 
  You often said:  How sweet and pure
Are your blue eyes!
Now they must weep continually,
Because they do not find what they seek;
My red lips shall also grow pale
Since you, my sweet lover, have left me.
Before you think it, everything may change,
Everything may soon come to an end.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2015-06-09
Line count: 24
Word count: 186

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
7. Die Einsame II  [sung text not yet checked]
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Die Einsame II", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 7 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Wär's dunkel, ich läg' im [Wald]1,
Im Walde rauscht's so sacht,
Mit ihrem Sternenmantel
[Bedecket]2 mich da die Nacht,
Da kommen die Bächlein gegangen,
Ob ich schon schlafen thu'?
Ich [schlaf']3 nicht, ich [hör']4 noch [lange]5
Den Nachtigallen zu,
Wenn die Wipfel über mir [schwanken]6,
[Es klinget]7 die ganze Nacht,
Das sind im Herzen die Gedanken,
Die singen, wenn niemand wacht.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Leipzig: C.F. Amelangs Verlag, 1892, page 228.

1 Gumbert, Herzogenberg, Pfitzner, Schoeck: "Walde"
2 Gumbert, Pfitzner, Schoeck: "Bedeckt"
3 Sommer: "schlafe"
4 Herzogenberg: "höre"
5 Pfitzner: "lang"
6 Gumbert: "rauschen"
7 Herzogenberg: "Es klingt"; Pfitzner: "Das klingt"

by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
7. The lonely girl
Language: English 
Would it were dark, I would lie in the wood,
in the wood it rustles so gently;
With it's coat of stars
Night covers me there.
There come the brooks 
if I am yet asleep?
I don't sleep, by a long way I attend
to the nightingales.
When the treetops wave above me,
they resound all night.
Those are the thoughts in the heart -
They sing when no one is left awake.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Jakob Kellner, (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.
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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 72

Translation © by Jakob Kellner
8. Vesper
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Vesper", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 8 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Die Abendglocken klangen
  Schon durch das stille Thal,
Da saßen wir zusammen
  Da droben wohl hundertmal.

Und unten war's so stille
  Im Lande weit und breit,
Nur über uns die Linde
  Rauscht' durch die Einsamkeit.

Was gehn die Glocken heute,
  Als ob ich weinen müßt'?
Die Glocken, die bedeuten
  Daß mein Lieb' gestorben ist!

Ich wollt', ich läg' begraben,
  Und über mir rauschte weit
Die Linde jeden Abend
  Von der alten, schönen Zeit!

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by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
8. Vespers
Language: English 
The evening bells were already
  [Ringing]1 in the quiet valley
When we sat together
  Up there, surely a hundred times.
 
And down below it was so quiet
  In the countryside far and wide,
Only the linden tree above us
  Soughed in the solitude.
 
How are the bells ringing today
  As if I must weep?
The bells signify
  That my love has died!
 
I wish that I lay buried
  And that above me broadly [spread out]
The linden tree soughed every evening
  Of [the old, beautiful time]2.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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Translated titles:
"Vesper" = "Vespers"
"Die Abendglocken" = "Evening bells"
1 Spohr: "sounding"; further changes may exist not shown above.
1 Thelen: "olden and beautiful times"


This text was added to the website: 2015-06-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 89

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
9. Auf einer Burg
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Auf einer Burg", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 9 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Eingeschlafen auf der Lauer
Oben ist der alte Ritter;
Drüber gehen Regenschauer
Und der Wald rauscht durch das Gitter.

  Eingewachsen Bart und Haare
Und versteinert Brust und Krause,
Sitzt er viele hundert Jahre
Oben in der stillen Klause.

  Draußen ist es still und friedlich,
Alle sind ins Thal gezogen,
Waldesvögel einsam singen
In den leeren Fensterbogen.

  Eine Hochzeit fährt da unten
Auf dem Rhein im Sonnenscheine,
Musikanten spielen munter,
Und die schöne Braut die weinet.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Leipzig: C.F. Amelangs Verlag, 1892, page 28.


by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
9. In a castle
Language: English 
Asleep on his watch
up there is the old knight;
above move rainshowers,
and the wood rustles through the grill.

Beard and hair grown into one,
chest and ruff have turned to stone;
he sits for many hundreds of years
above in his silent den.

Outside it is quiet and peaceful:
all have taken to the valley;
woodbirds sing alone
in the empty arching windows.

A wedding passes by below
on the Rhine, in the sunlight:
musicians play gaily
and the fair bride - she weeps.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 85

Translation © by Emily Ezust
10. Frau Venus
 (Sung text)
by Hans August Friedrich Zincke genannt Sommer (1837 - 1922), "Frau Venus", op. 9 (Lieder nach Gedichten von Eichendorff's) no. 10 (1885), published 1886 [ medium voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Litolff
Language: German (Deutsch) 
  Was weckst du, Frühling, mich von neuem wieder?
Daß all die alten Wünsche auferstehen,
Geht übers Land ein wunderbares Wehen;
Das schauert mir so lieblich durch die Glieder.

  Die schöne Mutter grüßen tausend Lieder,
Sie wieder jung im Brautkranz süß zu sehen;
Der Wald will sprechen, rauschend Ströme gehen,
Najaden tauchen singend auf und nieder.

  Die Rose seh' ich gehn aus grüner Klause
Und, wie so buhlerisch die Lüfte fächeln,
Errötend in die laue Flut sich dehnen.

  So mich auch ruft ihr aus dem stillen Hause --
Und schmerzlich nun muß ich im Frühling lächeln,
Versinkend zwischen Duft und Klang vor Sehnen.

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Confirmed with Gedichte von Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Leipzig: C.F. Amelangs Verlag, 1892, pages 218-219.


by Joseph Karl Benedikt, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 - 1857)
10. Dame Venus
Language: English 
  Why do you, Spring, again awaken me anew?
So that all my old wishes arise,
A wondrous breeze passes over the land;
It shivers so wonderfully through my limbs.
 
 A thousand songs greet the lovely mother,
Who, young once more, is sweet to behold in her bridal wreath;
The forest wishes to speak, rushing rivers flow,
Naiads rise and plunge while singing.
 
  I see the rose emerge from its green chamber
And, as the breezes fan it so seductively,
I see it blushingly spread out in the warm flood.
 
  Thus you call me as well from my quiet house --
And painfully I must now smile in springtime,
Sinking down for longing between the scents and sounds.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2015-06-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 117

Translation © by Sharon Krebs