"Auf dem Wasser zu singen" (To sing on the water), D. 774, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert in 1823, based on the poem of the same name by Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg.
The text describes a scene on the water from the perspective of the narrator who is in a boat, and delves into the narrator's reflections on the passing of time. The song's piano accompaniment recreates the texture of the shimmering waves (der Freude sanftschimmernden Wellen) mentioned in the third line of the poem and its rhythmic style in the 6/8 meter is reminiscent of a barcarole. Harmonically, the song as a whole and within each stanza traces a movement from the minor mode to the major mode: the song begins in A-flat minor and ends in A-flat major.
Franz Liszt transcribed the piece for solo piano, S. 558.
Text
Mitten im Schimmer der spiegelnden Wellen
Gleitet, wie Schwäne, der wankende Kahn;
Ach, auf der Freude sanftschimmernden Wellen
Gleitet die Seele dahin wie der Kahn;
Denn von dem Himmel herab auf die Wellen
Tanzet das Abendrot rund um den Kahn.
Über den Wipfeln des westlichen Haines
Winket uns freundlich der rötliche Schein;
Unter den Zweigen des östlichen Haines
Säuselt der Kalmus im rötlichen Schein;
Freude des Himmels und Ruhe des Haines
Atmet die Seel' im errötenden Schein.
Ach, es entschwindet mit tauigem Flügel
Mir auf den wiegenden Wellen die Zeit.
Morgen entschwindet mit schimmerndem Flügel
Wieder wie gestern und heute die Zeit,
Bis ich auf höherem, strahlenden Flügel
Selber entschwinde der wechselnden Zeit.
Amid the shimmer of the mirroring waves
the rocking boat glides, swan-like,
on gently shimmering waves of joy.
The soul, too, glides like a boat.
For from the sky the setting sun
dances upon the waves around the boat.
Above the tree-tops of the western grove
the red glow beckons kindly to us;
beneath the branches of the eastern grove
the reeds whisper in the red glow.
The soul breathes the joy of heaven,
the peace of the grove, in the reddening glow.
Alas, with dewy wings
time vanishes from me on the rocking waves.
Tomorrow let time again vanish with shimmering
wings, as it did yesterday and today,
until, on higher, more radiant wings,
I myself vanish from the flux of time.
References
- Wollenberg, Susan (2011). Schubert's Fingerprints: Studies in the Instrumental Works. Ashgate Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 978-140-942-122-1.
- Schafer, Maureen (2002). "Illuminating Text: A Macro Analysis of Franz Schubert's "Auf dem Wasser zu singen"" (PDF). Musical Insights. 2. Macromusic.org: 97–104.
- Wigmore, Richard. "Auf dem Wasser zu singen | Song Texts, Lyrics &…". Oxford International Song Festival. Gollancz, reprinted in the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
Further reading
- Youens, Susan (November 2008). "Swan Songs: Schubert's 'Auf dem Wasser zu Singen'". Nineteenth-Century Music Review. 5 (2): 19–42. doi:10.1017/S1479409800003359.
External links
German Wikisource has original text related to this article: "Lied auf dem Wasser zu singen" (Stolberg's poem)- "Auf dem Wasser zu singen": Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Animated score on YouTube, Barbara Bonney, Geoffrey Parsons
| Songs by Franz Schubert | |
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| Part songs |
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| Lieder |
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| Cycles |
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| Multiple | |
