Mini-Concert of Clara Schumann’ Op. 13 and Amy Beach’s Ye banks and braes (Robert Burns) on 14 April 2020
English Translation by David Wishart
Six songs op.13
1. I stood in dark dreams (Heinrich Heine)
I stood in dark dreams and gazed at her portrait,
and that beloved face furtively came alive.
Around her lips a wonderful smile appeared
and as if from melancholy tears her two eyes gleamed.
My tears also flowed down from my cheeks, and ah, I can’t believe,
that I have lost you!
2. They loved one another (Heinrich Heine)
They both loved one another, but neither
would confess it to the other.
They glared at each other so coldly,
yet wanted to die of love.
They finally separated and saw each other
only occasionally in their dreams.
They were already long dead
and hardly even knew it.
3. Love’s Spell (Emanuel Geibel)
Love sat like a nightingale
in the rose bush and sang;
the wondrous sweet sound flew
all across the green forest.
And as it sounded, there rose in a circle
perfume from a thousand flowers,
and all the treetops rustled softly,
and the air went even more quietly;
the brooks were silent, they hardly
rippled down from the heights
the little deer stood as if in a dream
and listened to the sound.
And bright and ever brighter flowed
the sun’s brilliance,
around flowers, forest and canyon
a golden red glow poured.
I however was walking along the path
and heard the sound too.
Alas! From that hour on what I sang
was just its echo.
4. the moon comes silently (Emanuel Geibel)
The moon comes silently
with its golden shine,
meanwhile in beautiful splendor
the tired earth sleeps.
And on the skies sway
from many a faithful mind
many thousand thoughts of love
over the sleepers.
And down in the valley
the windows of my beloved’s house sparkle;
I however am in the dark
silently staring out into the world.
5. I have seen in your eyes (Friedrich Rückert)
I have seen in your eyes
the shine of eternal love,
I saw on your cheeks
the roses of heaven blooming.
And though the shine in your eyes is extinguished
and though the roses are scattered,
their reflection, eternally refreshed,
has stayed in my heart,
And never will I look at your cheeks
and never gaze in your eyes,
without the roses blooming on them
without them sending the shine to me.
6. The silent lotus flower (Emanuel Geibel)
The silent lotus flower
rises from the blue lake,
the leaves flicker and flash,
the cup is white as snow.
On it the moon pours from the sky
all its golden shine,
it pours all its rays
into the flower’s bosom.
In the water around the flower
a white swan circles,
it sings so sweetly, so softly
and looks at the flower.
It sings so sweetly, so softly
and wants to perish in singing.
O flower, white flower,
can you understand the song?