journal article
Das deutsche Volkslied "Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär'...."The Journal of English and Germanic Philology
Vol. 60, No. 2 (Apr., 1961)
, pp. 193-212 (20 pages)
Published By: University of Illinois Press
//www.jstor.org/stable/27713800
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Journal Information
JEGP focuses on Northern European cultures of the Middle Ages, covering Medieval English, Germanic, and Celtic Studies. The word "medieval" potentially encompasses the earliest documentary and archeological evidence for Germanic and Celtic languages and cultures; the literatures and cultures of the early and high Middle Ages in Britain, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia; and any continuities and transitions linking the medieval and post-medieval eras, including modern "medievalisms" and the history of Medieval Studies.
Publisher Information
The University of Illinois Press is one of the leading publishers of humanities and social sciences journals in the country. Founded in 1918, the Press publishes more than 40 journals representing 18 societies, along with more than 100 new books annually. Our publication program covers a wide range of disciplines including psychology, philosophy, Black studies, women's studies, cultural studies, music, immigration, and more. Current issues are available through the Scholarly Publishing Collective. The Press is a founding member of the Association of University Presses.
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The Journal of English and Germanic Philology © 1961 University of Illinois Press
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Songs
Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär (1840) Op. 43 no.1
Part of a series or song cycle:
Drei Duette (Op. 43)
- Text & Translation
- Composer
- Poet
- Performances
Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär
Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär’
Und auch zwei Flüglein hätt’,
Flög’ ich zu dir!
Weil’s aber nicht kann sein,
Bleib’ ich allhier.
Bin ich gleich weit von dir,
Bin ich doch im Schlaf bei dir,
Und red’ mit dir!
Wenn ich erwachen thu
Bin ich allein.
Es vergeht kein’ Stund’ in der Nacht,
Da mein Herze nicht erwacht,
Und an dich gedenkt,
Dass du mir viel tausendmal
Dein Herz geschenkt.
If I were a little bird
English Translation © Richard Stokes
If I were a little bird,
And had two little wings,
I’d fly to you!
But since it cannot be,
I shall stay right here.
Though I am far from you,
I’m with you as I sleep,
And I speak with you!
On awakening
I am alone.
Not an hour of night goes by
Without my heart awakening
And thinking how you
A thousand times
Have given me your heart.
Translations by Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
Composer
Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.
Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many Lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Works such as Kinderszenen, Album für die Jugend, Blumenstück, the Sonatas and Albumblätter are among his most famous. His writings about music appeared mostly in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication which he jointly founded.
In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara, against the wishes of her father, following a long and acrimonious legal battle, which found in favor of Clara and Robert. Clara also composed music and had a considerable concert career as a pianist, the earnings from which formed a substantial part of her father's fortune.
Schumann suffered from a lifelong mental disorder, first manifesting itself in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode, which recurred several times alternating with phases of ‘exaltation’ and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. After a suicide attempt in 1854, Schumann was admitted to amental asylum, at his own request, in Endenich near Bonn. Diagnosed with "psychotic melancholia", Schumann died two years later in 1856 without having recovered from his mental illness.
Taken from wikipedia. To read the rest of the article, please click here.
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Poet
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