Abschied by Schubert

For all those leaving town for the holidays ... a safe and comfortable trip!! ... :) Peace in the New Year ♥

Abschied from the song cycle Schwanengesang by Franz Schubert

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Baritone
Gerald Moore, Piano

Photographs by Paul Whiton
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Abschied

Ade! du muntre, du fröhliche Stadt, ade!
Schon scharret mein Rößlein mit lustigen Fuß;
Jetzt nimm noch den letzten, den scheidenden Gruß.
Du hast mich wohl niemals noch traurig gesehn,
So kann es auch jetzt nicht beim Abschied geschehn.

Ade, ihr Bäume, ihr Gärten so grün, ade!
Nun reit ich am silbernen Strome entlang.
Weit schallend ertönet mein Abschiedsgesang;
Nie habt ihr ein trauriges Lied gehört,
So wird euch auch keines beim Scheiden beschert!

Ade, ihr freundlichen Mägdlein dort, ade!
Was schaut ihr aus blumenumduftetem Haus
Mit schelmischen, lockenden Blicken heraus?
Wie sonst, so grüß ich und schaue mich um,
Doch nimmer wend ich mein Rößlein um.

Ade, liebe Sonne, so gehst du zur Ruh, ade!
Nun schimmert der blinkenden Sterne Gold.
Wie bin ich euch Sternlein am Himmel so hold;
Durchziehn wir die Welt auch weit und breit,
Ihr gebt überall uns das treue Geleit.

Ade! du schimmerndes Fensterlein hell, ade!
Du glänzest so traulich mit dämmerndem Schein
Und ladest so freundlich ins Hüttchen uns ein.
Vorüber, ach, ritt ich so manches Mal,
Und wär es denn heute zum letzten Mal?

Ade, ihr Sterne, verhüllet euch grau! Ade!
Des Fensterlein trübes, verschimmerndes Licht
Ersetzt ihr unzähligen Sterne mir nicht,
Darf ich hier nicht weilen, muß hier vorbei,
Was hilft es, folgt ihr mir noch so treu!

===========
Farewell

Farewell! You brave, you cheerful city, farewell!
Already my horse trots keen of hoof;
Now make the last, the parting greeting.
You have never seen me sad;
Let it not happen now, on parting.

Farewell! Your trees, your gardens so green, farewell!
Now I ride along the silvery stream
My farewell song echoes far & wide
Never have you heard a sad song,
So I won't give you one on parting.

Farewell! You friendly young maids, farewell!
Why are you looking out of your flower-perfumed house,
with impish, beckoning glances?
How can I but greet them and look around,
But never will I turn my horse round.

Farewell! Dear sun, as you go to bed, farewell!
Now the glittering Star shimmers golden.
How close am I to you, stars in the heavens,
We travel far and wide through this world,
You are always for us a faithful guide.

Farewell! You shimmering window bright, farewell!
You glint so familiar with a dawning light,
And invite us so friendly into the hut,
So many times have I ridden past,
And will today be the last?

Farewell! Stars, envelop yourselves in grey, farewell!
The cloudy, shimmering window light,
Cannot replace, for me, you infinite stars,
I cannot stay here, I must carry on,
What good does it do, you follow me so faithfully.


Grateful acknowledment to Emily Ezust and The Lied and Art Song Texts Page for the original German text by Ludwig Rellstab and the English translation. Link to site:
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=13375

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Abschied
• Schubert
• Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
• Gerald Moore
• Schwanengesang
• Paul Whiton

[zauberk]

Hi everyone!

I have a question from the last stanza; please answer this question.

Des Fensterlein trübes, verschimmerndes Licht

Ersetzt ihr unzähligen Sterne mir nicht,

What does this "des" mean? Is it a short form of "dessen"? What does it refer to?

[oakroom48]

Hi, I'll try to find out for you. I don't know German terribly well. Thanks for commenting:)

[mutewoman]

It's not exactly a short form of "dessen", but it means actually "the dimly extuingishing light of the little window..." I don't know the right grammatical terms to explain it; feel free to contact me back if this wasn't clear.

[oakroom48]

As you can see, this information was kindly provided by mutewoman, who is German, and an experienced wordsmith. Her lovely Channel is here on YouTube and might be of interest to you! All the best

[FiDiTanzer528]

Love this one, of course. He always used to use this as the last encore at his Schubert recitals. Always a little laughter from the audience at that first "Ade". They knew he was saying "that's all folks". :)

[oakroom48]

Interesting:) Thanks for commenting! -b

[1000musica]

No, it's a form of def.article of german genitive, like the english genitive "s" or "of the".

The traduction here is: The light of the little window...".

[mutewoman]

You are quite right, I didn't translate it quite grammatically correct, trying to find a "good" English phrase. But if the translation were correct, the German text would be: Des Fensterleins trübe verschimmerndes Licht, without your N Coz then "trübe" were an adjectif to "verschimmern" - errm, at least I hope that is the correct term. I'm no grammar teacher :)

[zauberk]

Thanks for your help mutewoman!

If the right translation were "the dimly extuingishing light of the little window...", then why is it that the text isn't like this: (S and N are capitalized to highlight)

Des FensterleinS trübeN, verschimmerndes Licht

[zauberk]

Thanks! You're so kind.

[oakroom48]

You have? Sergio, you grew up in Camelot!! Thank you for commenting:) -b xx