MARIPOSA, Michelle Mariel C.

MuPC 151 – German Voice Literature

Mr. Jonathan Velasco

Fünf Lieder, Op. 105

Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, No. 2
Music by Johannes Brahms
Text by Hermann Lingg

Song collection background

Johannes Brahms’ Fünf Lieder, Op. 105, is a collection of five poems by different poets that Brahms set
to music. Brahms described this collection of songs as a “song bouquet,” like flowers plucked from different
bushes and different gardens, then combined into a whole—in this case, poems plucked from different poets,
then set into a collection.

On No. 2, Immer leise wird mein Schlummer

The second song of the collection contrasts the first, Wie Melodien zieht es mir, in both text and music.
Where the first is a strophic setting, in a clear and happy key of A major, with soaring melodies and passages in
the piano, the second song is painful, grave, but at the same time, ethereal. The text is of a persona, whose lover
has left him for another, and because of that, the persona wishes himself to sleep forever—to die. A persistent
rhythmic figure pervades the piano, off-setting the regularity and fluidity of the text. Later in the song, as the
persona expresses his desire to see his lover once again, Brahms modulates from the pervading C# minor to its
major mode, leaving listeners to wonder, is there still hope for the heartbroken persona? Or is it simply a
temporary burst of hope, as in a pleasant memory that quickly fades away?

Immer leise wird mein Schlummer text and translations

Text Word-for-word translation Poetic translation

Immer leiser wird mein
Schlummer,
Nur wie Schleier liegt mein
Kummer
Zitternd über mir.
Oft im Traume hör' ich dich
Rufen drauß vor meiner Tür:
Niemand wacht und öffnet dir,
Ich erwach' und weine bitterlich.
Ever quieter is my slumber
Only like a veil lies my grief
Trembling over me
Often in dreams I hear you
Calling outside from my door
No one watches and opens it (for)
you
I wake up and cry bitterly
My sleep grows ever quieter,
Only my grief, like a veil,
Lies trembling over me.
I often hear you in my dreams
Calling outside my door,
No one keeps watch and lets you
in,
I awake and weep bitterly.

Ja, ich werde sterben müssen,
Eine Andre wirst du küssen,
Wenn ich bleich und kalt.
Eh' die Maienlüfte wehn,
Eh' die Drossel singt im Wald:
Willst du mich noch einmal sehn,
Komm, o komme bald!
Yes, I must die
Another you will kiss
When I am pale and cold,
Before the May winds blow
Before the thrush sings in the
forest:
Do you want to see me again,
Come, o come soon!
Yes, I shall have to die,
You will kiss another
When I am pale and cold.
Before May breezes blow,
Before the thrush sings in the
wood;
If you would see me once again,
Come soon, come soon!
Vier Lieder, Op. 43
Von ewiger Liebe, No. 1
Music by Johannes Brahms
Text by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben

Song collection background

Unlike Brahms’ other song collections, the four songs in Brahms’ Op. 43 are unrelated to one another,
and this is unusual because Brahms usually worked to unit his songs within a collection. The Swiss publisher,
Jakob Rieter-Biedermann, heard the songs Von ewiger Liebe and Die Mainacht in a concert and expressed the
desire to publish the songs together; eventually, Brahms relented and added two other unrelated songs to the
opus: Ich schnell mein Horn ins Jammertal and Das Lied vom Herrn von Falkenstein.

On No. 1, Von ewiger Liebe

Von ewiger Liebe is a dialogue between lovers, where the man expresses his insecurity over their
relationship, but the woman assures the man that their love is stronger than steel or iron. Brahms provides a
very imaginative setting of the text, composing it in three separate structures: (1) setting up the scene at night,
with a somber B minor chord exploited by the rumbling of the lower notes of the piano over a brisk 3/4 meter,
(2) the man’s insecurities, with the vocal line rising up, and (3) the woman’s assurance of love, as Brahms
settles into B major, with a more static vocal line, and a gentle slowing down with the transition from 3/4 to 6/8.

Von ewiger Liebe text and translations

Text Word-for-word translation Poetic translation

Dunkel, wie dunkel in Wald und in
Feld!
Abend schon ist es, nun schweiget
die Welt.
Nirgend noch Licht und nirgend
noch Rauch,
Ja, und die Lerche sie schweiget
nun auch.
Kommt aus dem Dorfe der
Bursche heraus,
Gibt das Geleit der Geliebten nach
Haus,
Führt sie am Weidengebüsche
vorbei,
Redet so viel und so mancherlei:
„Leidest du Schmach und
betrübest du dich,
Leidest du Schmach von andern
um mich,
Werde die Liebe getrennt so
geschwind,
Schnell wie wir früher vereiniget
sind.
Scheide mit Regen und scheide
mit Wind,
Schnell wie wir früher vereiniget
sind.“
Dark, how dark in forest and the
field!
Evening already it is, now silent is
the world
Nowhere else light and nowhere
else smoke,
Yes, and the lark is silent now too
Comes from the village a lad,
Giving escort to his sweetheart to
house
Leads her around the willows,
Talking so much about so many
(things):
Suffer you shame and you grieve,
Suffer you shame for what others
think of me,
(Let) love be separated quickly,
Fast like how we were united
Sheath with rain and sheath with
wind,
Fast like how we were united
Dark, how dark in forest and field!
Evening already, and the world is
silent.
Nowhere a light and nowhere
smoke,
And even the lark is silent now
too.
Out of the village there comes a
lad,
Escorting his sweetheart home,
He leads her past the willow-
copse,
Talking so much and of so many
things:
‘If you suffer sorrow and suffer
shame,
Shame for what others think of
me,
Then let our love be severed as
swiftly,
As swiftly as once we two were
plighted.
Let us depart in rain and depart in
wind,
As swiftly as once we two were
plighted.’
Spricht das Mägdelein, Mägdelein
spricht:
„Unsere Liebe sie trennet sich
nicht!
Fest ist der Stahl und das Eisen gar
sehr,
Unsere Liebe ist fester noch mehr.
Eisen und Stahl, man schmiedet
sie um,
Unsere Liebe, wer wandelt sie
um?
Eisen und Stahl, sie können
zergehn,
Unsere Liebe muß ewig bestehn!“
Speaks the girl, the girl speaks:
Our love, separated, cannot!
Strong is the steel, and iron is too
Our love is stronger still
Iron and steel, they are reforged,
Our love, who can change it?
Iron and steel, they can be melted,
Our love must forever stay!
The girl speaks, the girl says:
‘Our love cannot be severed!
Steel is strong, and so is iron,
Our love is even stronger still:
Iron and steel can both be
reforged,
But our love, who shall change it?
Iron and steel can be melted down,
Our love must endure for ever!’