The use of cameras or recording equipment during the

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry ofthe

West Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

For the convenience of concertgoers, 

the Garden Cafe remains open for light refreshments

until 6:00 pm on Sundays.

Music Department

National Gallery of Art

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

www.nga.gov

Concerts are made possible in part through the generosity of donors

to the National Gallery ofArt through The Circle. Reserved seating is

available in recognition oftheir support. Please contact the development 

office at (202) 842-6450 or circle@nga.gov for more information.

The Seventy-first Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,918th Concert

Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano 

Kenneth Slowik, fortepianist

“Music from the Era ofthe Fortepiano, 1700-1830”

Presented in honor of Masterpieces ofAmerican Furniture

from the Kaufman Collection, iyoo-i8jo

December 23, 2012

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
Program

Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792)

Nott’e di

Si mio ben

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Dans un bois solitaire

Jean Paul Egide Martini (1741-1816)

Cruels moments

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) 

Sonata in E Minor, Hob. XVI: 34

Presto

Adagio

Vivace molto

Haydn

The Wanderer

Spirit Song

INTERMISSION
Kraus

L’Enfant au bergeau

Le Major Franz Ignaz von Beecke (1733-1803)

Les Adieux de la Reins d sa prison du Temple

Haydn

Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI: 40

Allegretto e innocente

Presto

Kraus

Der Abschied

Mozart

Abendempjindung

The Musicians

JENNIFER LANE

Much in demand as an opera singer and oratorio soloist as well as a recitalist, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Lane has performed with many ofthe most

prestigious orchestras in the United States and abroad, including the

Atlanta, Jerusalem, Minnesota, National, San Francisco, and Saint Louis

symphony orchestras. She has sung with the Metropolitan, New York City,

and San Francisco opera companies, Opera du Caen, and Opera Monte

Carlo as well as with the period instrument ensembles Freiburger Barock,

Philharmonia Baroque, Handel & Haydn Society of Boston, Les Arts Florissants, and Les Musiciens du Louvre.

Lane has recorded more than fifty cds, a number ofthem Gramophone

award winners, and is featured in two films— Dido and AEneas, with the

Mark Morris Dance Group and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and The

Opera Lover, a romantic comedy. Among her recent recordings are Stravinsky’s

Oedipus Rex, and Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder and song cycle Das Buck der

Hangenden Garten. Early music recordings in which she is featured include

Rameau’s Pygmalion with Concert Royal, Seventeenth-Century French Airs de

Cour with Ensemble Orinda, and Villancicos y Cantadas with El Mundo. She 

has also recorded the alto solos in J. S. Bach’s St.John Passion and St. Matthew

Passion with Kenneth Slowik conducting.

Lane has appeared at the Boston Early Music and Tanglewood festivals, 

Festival d’Art Lyrique d’Aix en Provence, and Muzyka w Starym Krakowie.

She has directed productions of Dido and AFneas, Semele, and Acis and

Galatea at the Shakespeare Blackfriars Theatre for the Staunton, Virginia, 

Music Festival as well as opera productions at Stanford University and the

Lake Placid Institute.

Currently an associate professor of voice at the University of North Texas

in Denton, Lane has taught master classes at the Baldwin Wallace Bach

Festival; Colegio Major Lluis Vives in Valencia, Spain; the Peabody Institute

at Johns Hopkins University; the Royal Academy in London; the San Francisco Conservatory; and the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley, San Diego,

and Santa Barbara.

5
KENNETH SLOWIK

Artistic director ofthe chamber music program at the National Museum of

American History since 1985, Kenneth Slowik is a founding member ofthe

Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Axelrod and Smithson quartets, and the

Castle Trio and conductor ofthe Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra. He has

also appeared frequently in performance and recordings with Anner Bylsma’s

ensemble lArchibudelli. As soloist and/or conductor, he has appeared with the

Baltimore and National symphony orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra, Filharmonia Sudecka, l’Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, the Pleven Philharmonic, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. His extensive discography,

spanning composers from Monteverdi to Richard Strauss, includes more than

seventy recordings—many ofthem international prizewinners—featuring

him as cellist, violist da gamba, keyboard player, baryton player, and conductor. 

A member ofthe music faculties ofthe University ofMaryland and l’Academie 

de Musique du Domaine Forget, Slowik was named artistic director ofthe

Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute in 1993 and received the Smithsonian

Secretary’s Distinguished Research Lecture Award in 2011.

6

Program Notes

As it had for the previous four centuries, Europe dominated the world stage

between the years 1700 and 1830, with the exception ofthe startling political

upheaval that was the American Revolution. In Europe, radical new ideas in

philosophy and politics emerged, significant advances in science and technology were realized, and genius flourished in the fine arts. Although seen

by the rest ofthe world as a backwater during those same years, the American

colonies and the young United States proved fertile ground for a number of

musicians, artists, and craftsmen who produced decorative art objects that

have only recently come to be respected and admired. Many ofthose artists

and craftsmen were self-taught, and some remain anonymous, but their

accomplishments speak for themselves.

The unveiling ofthe Kaufman Collection at the National Gallery ofArt is

a landmark moment for the nation’s capital, which until this time has had

no major presentation of early American furniture and related decorative arts

on permanent public view. The new installation highlights nearly 100 examples from the distinguished collection of George M. and Linda H. Kaufman,

acquired over the course offive decades and promised to the National Gallery.

Masterpieces ofAmerican Furniturefrom the Kaufman Collection, 1700-1830,

remains on view indefinitely on the ground floor ofthe West Building.

The years 1700-1830 are also commonly understood to be the era during

which the fortepiano eclipsed the harpsichord and dominated the world of

keyboard music until it was in turn superseded by the modern piano. The

earliest reliable record of a fortepiano comes from the inventory ofthe Medici

family, who in 1700 commissioned one from the workshop ofthe Venetian

Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731). Seeking to improve on the harpsichords

and clavichords of his time, Cristofori used thicker strings and stretched

them under higher tension, using a frame considerably more robust than

that of previously built keyboard instruments. Instead of plectra he installed

hammers that struck two strings at once. A more aggressive striking ofthe

keys resulted in a louder sound—hence the name for the new instrument

(“loud-soft” in Italian).

7
This evening’s concert explores the repertoire for voice and keyboard

from a group of composers who were friends as well as colleagues. They

professed a clear preference for the fortepiano as the keyboard instrument

of choice when accompanying the voice.

Joseph Martin Kraus was one ofthe most well-traveled and stylistically

eclectic composers of his day. He is represented on tonight's program by

songs in Italian, French, and German. While in the service of King Gustav hi

of Sweden, Kraus was sent on an extended grand tour ofthe courts of

Europe, where he met Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), Haydn, and 

Martini, and joined the Masonic lodge in Vienna to which Mozart belonged. 

While in Paris, Kraus was introduced to Queen Marie Antoinette. His song

L’Enfant au bergeau sets a poem by children’s author Arnaud Berquin (1747-

1791), a favorite text ofthe queen. As author of both the words and the music

for Der Abschied, Kraus felt free to omit the final stanza of his poem in its

musical setting. The song is evocative ofthe music Richard Wagner assigned 

to the three Norns in his opera Gotterdammerung (Twilight ofthe Gods).

Jean Paul Egide Martini, known in his youth as Johann Paul Aegidius

Schwartzendorf, played the organ for German monasteries and convents 

from age ten until he was in his late teens. Determined to live in France, he 

took on the French version of his forenames, changed his surname to

Martini, and served several noble patrons in Nancy and Paris until the time

ofthe French Revolution. His pro-Bourbon sympathies being no secret—he 

composed, for example, a song titled Priere pour le Roi (Prayer for the king)

in 1793—his service as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire 

was terminated in 1802, but he lived long enough to be reinstated in 1814 by

Louis xviii, who named Martini a superintendent of court music.

Franz Ignaz von Beecke—identified as “Le Major” by his contemporaries, since his career as a military officer was more prestigious than his

musical accomplishments—was active in Southern Germany and Austria

as an autodidact composer and harpsichordist. His first musical mentor

was the Austrian violinist and composer Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-

1799), but in the course ofhis career he was eventually introduced to Gluck,

Haydn, and Mozart—a meeting that became a subject of concern in letters 

to and from Mozart’s father, who fretted that Mozart had made a fool ofhimselfwhile with von Beecke. Von Beecke’s Los Adieux do la Roino a sa prison du

Templo is a setting ofwhat were believed to be Marie Antoinette’s last words.

Program notes by Jennifer Lane

9
Upcoming concerts at the National Gallery ofArt

National Gallery ofArt Vocal Ensemble

Music by

Brahms, Haydn, Lehar, Strauss, 

and other Viennese composers

December 30, 2012

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Andreas Sonning, flutist

with Tone Elisabeth Braaten, soprano

and members ofthe

National Gallery ofArt Orchestra

Per Kristian Skalstad, conductor

Music by

Bull, Grieg, and Habbestad

Sponsored by the

Royal Norwegian Embassy

January 6, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

East Building Auditorium

Orava String Quartet

Music by

Haydn and Mendelssohn

January 13, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Cyrus Forough, violinist

Katya Janpoladyan, cellist

Sung-Im Kim, pianist

Music by

Schubert and Vali

January 20, 2013

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court
“Music from the Age of the Fortepiano”

Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano, and Kenneth Slowik, fortepianist

December 23, 2012

Texts and Translations

Nott’e di

Jean Baptiste Poquelin, aka Moliere (1622-1673)

(From Le Malade imaginaire, 1673)

Nott’e di, v’am’e v’adoro,

cere’ un si per mio restoro; 

ma se voi dite di no,

bell’ingrata, io morird.

Fra la speranza 

s’afflige il cuore,

in lontananza 

consum’ a l’hore;

si dolce inganno

che mi figura

breve l’affano,

ahi! troppo dura!

Cosi per tropp’amar languisco e morro.

Nott’e di, v’am’e v’adoro,

cere’ un si per mio restoro;

ma se voi dite di no,

bell’ingrata, io moriro.

Se non dormite,

almen pensate 

alle ferite

eh’ al cuor’ mi fate;

d’almen fingete,

per mio conforto, 

se m’uccidete, 

d’aver il torto;

vostra pieta mi scemera il martiro.

Nott’e di, v’am’e v’adoro, 

cere’ un si per mio restoro; 

ma se voi dite di no,

bell’ingrata, io morird.

Night and Day

(From The Imaginary Invalid)

Night and day I love and adore you.

Iseek a “yes ” to restore me;

but ifyou say “no, ”

beautiful ingrate, Iwill die.

By hopes

my heart is afflicted,,

by distance

the hours are consumed,

ifsweet deceit

appears in yourface,

shortened is the suffering,

but ah! it is too intense!

Thusfrom too much bitterness I languish and die.

Night and day Ilove and adore you.

Iseek a “yes ” to restore me;

but ifyou say “no, ”

beautiful ingrate, Iwill die.

IfI don’t sleep

then Ithink too much

about the wounds

you have given my heart,—

at leastpretend

to comfort me;

ifyou kill me,

you will wrong me.

Yourpity mocks my martyrdom.

Night and day Ilove and adore you.

Iseek a “yes ” to restore me;

but ifyou say “no, ”

beautiful ingrate, Iwill die.
Si, mio ben Yes, My Love

Si, mio ben, sard fedele,

non temer, saro costante, 

e sapra quest’alma amante,

per te vivere, per te morir.

Yes, my love, I will befaithful,

do notfear, I will be constant,

and this enamor’d soul

will livefor you, diefor you.

Prima il mar vedra senza onde,

senza arene, o senza sponde,

che s’estingua nel mio seno

un si nobile pensier.

You willfirst see the sea without waves,

without sand, and without banks,

before you will see extinguished in my breast

such a noble thought.

Resta in pace e pensa, o cara,

che mi struggo ai lumi tuoi,

e che sola, oh Dio! tu puoi 

farmi dolce ogni morir.

Rest peacefully and think, my love,

ofmy struggle before your eyes;

and that, oh God! you could

make me sweetly die.

Dans un bois solitaire et sombre In a Woods Dark and Lonely

Dans un bois solitaire et sombre

je me promenais l’autr’ jour,

un enfant y dormait a 1’ombre,

c’etait le redoutable Amour!

L’approche, sa beaute me flatte,

mais je devais m’en defier;

il avait les traits d’une ingrate,

que j ’avais jure d’oublier.

Il avait la bouche vermeille,

le teint aussi frais que le sien,

un soupir m’echappe, il s’eveille;

fAmour se reveille de rien!

Aussi-tot deployant ses ailes

et saisissant son arc vengeur,

l’une de ses fleches cruelles 

en partant, il me blesse au coeur.

Va! Dit-il, aux pieds de Sylvie,

de nouveau languir et bruler!

Tu l’aimeras toute ta vie,

pour avoir ose m’eveiller.

In a woods dark and lonely,

I was walking the other day;

a child was sleeping in the shadow,

it was the redoubtable Cupid!

I approached him, his beauty pleased me,

butIshould have distrusted it;

he had the traits ofan ingrate,

who I hadjustsworn toforget.

He had the vermillion mouth,

the samefresh color as hers,

a sigh escaped me, he awakes;

Cupid, who is awakened by nothing!

Immediately deploying his arrows,

and striking his vengeful bow,

one ofhis cruel arrows,

in parting, wounds me in the heart.

Go! Says he, to thefeet ofSylvia,

to languish and burn anew!

You will love her all your life,

for having dared to awaken me!
Cruels Moments Cruel Moments

Cruels moments,

qui penetres mon Ame;

tardes encor 

instants de nos Adieux.

Ah! loin de toi,

cher objet de ma flame,

je n’aurai plus

que des jours malheureux!

Le desespoir en coupera la trame,

jamaisje n’oublirai ta foi.

Ton Coeur,

fait il meme serment pour moi?

Cruel moments,

thatpenetrate my soul;

delay again

the instants ofourfarewells.

Ah!farfrom you,

dear object ofmyflame,

I cannot bear any longer

the misfortune ofmy days!

Despair will cut short their web,

never willIforget yourfaith.

Your heart—

does it make the same promise to me?

The Wanderer

Anne Hunter (1742-1821)

To wander alone when the moon, faintly beaming

With glimmering lustre, darts thro'' the dark shade,

Where owls seek for cover, and nightbirds 

complaining

Add sound to the horror that darkens the glade.

'Tis not for the happy; come, daughter ofsorrow,

'Tis here thy sad thoughts are embalm'd in thy tears,

Where, lost in the past, disregarding tomorrow, 

There's nothing for hopes and nothing for fears.

The Spirit Song

Hunter

Hark! Hark, what I tell to thee,

Nor sorrow o’er the tomb;

My spirit wanders free,

And waits ‘til thine shall come.

All pensive and alone,

1 see thee sit and weep,

Thy head upon the stone

Where my cold ashes sleep.

1 watch thy speaking eyes,

And mark each falling tear;

1 catch thy passing sighs,

Ere they are lost in air.

Hark! Hark, what I tell to thee...
L’Enfant au Ber^eau (Romance)

Amaud Berquin (1747-1791)

Lullaby to a Child (Romance)

Dors, mon enfant, clos ta paupiere;

tes cris me dechirent le Coeur!

Dors, mon enfant; ta pauvre mere

a bien assez de sa douleur.

Sleep, my child, close your eyelids,

your cries break my heart;

sleep my child, yourpoor mother

feels enough ofyour sorrow.

Lorsque, par de douces tendresses, 

ton pere sut gagner ma foi,

il me semblait, dans ses caresses 

naif, innocent comme toi:

Je le crus: ou sont ses promesses? 

il oublie et son fils et moi!

Dors mon enfant, clos ta paupiere....

When, with his sweet tendernesses,

yourfather would gain my trust,

he seemed to me, in his caresses,

naive, innocent like you.

I believed him: where are his promises?

—heforgets both his son and me!

Sleep, my child, close your eyelids....

A ton reveil, qu’un doux sourire

me soulage dans mon tourment!

de ton pere, pour me seduire,

tel fut l’aimable enchantement:

qu’il connoissait bien son empire,

et qu’il en use mechamment!

When you sleep, your sweet smile

relieves me ofmy torment;

thus yourfather, to seduce me,

made such lovely enchantment:

how well he knew his influence,

and how badly he used me!

Le cruel, helas! il me quitte,

il me laisse sans nul appui.

Je l’aimais avant sa fuite!

Oh! je l’aime encore aujourd’hui!

dans quelques lieux qu’il habite,

mon amour habite avec lui.

Dors mon enfant, clos ta paupiere....

Cruel one, alas, he has left me,

left me with no support.

Iloved him so much before hisflight,

oh! Istill love him today!

Yes, wherever he now lives,

my love lives there with him.

Sleep, my child, close your eyelids....

Oui le voila; c’est son image

que tu retraces a mes yeux:

ta bouche aura son doux langage,

ton front, son air vif et joyeux.

Ne prends point son humeur volage,

mais garde ses traits gracieux.

Dors mon enfant, clos ta paupiere....

Yes, there it is, it is his image

that you retrace before my eyes:

your mouth with his sweet speech;

upon yourforehead his air, lively andjoyous.

Don’t ever take up hisfickle temperament,

but guard closely his graceful traits.

Sleep, my child, close your eyelids....

Tu ne peux concevoir encore

ce qui m’arrache ces sanglots!

que le chagrin qui me devore

n’attaque jamais ton repos!

Se plaindre de ceux qu’on adore,

c’est le plus grand de tous les maux.

Dors mon enfant, clos ta paupiere....

You cannot yet conceive

how much your sobs tear my heart;

let the griefthat devours me

never attackyour repose!

This plaint to the one I adore

is the most important ofall my words.

Sleep, my child, close your eyelids....
Les Adieux de la Reine a sa Prison du Temple Farewells of the Queen to her Prison in the Temple

Triste sejour ou la Douleur 

m’a fait repandre tant de larmes,

par quels incon^evables Charmes

etes vous si cher a mon Coeur?

De ma cruelle destinee 

comment subir tous les Hazards!

Quoi, par la Fille de Cesars 

une Prison est regretter!

O ma Prison, de mes Malheurs 

tu sais si l’epreuve etait forte!

j ’aurais pu graver sur ta Porte,

nouveaux Jours, nouvelles Douleurs;

Si nean moins tu m’interesse,

C’est que j’ai re<?u

dans ces lieux

d’un Epoux les demiers Adieux, 

d’un Fils les demieres Caresses.

Helas! auraient-ils le dessein,

au Fils, de reunir la Mere? 

dans ma douloureuse Carriere 

aurois je au moins un jour serein?

Comment, de <?e Peuple barbare, 

puis je attendre un Bonheur si doux!

me reunir a mon Epoux

est le Plaisir qu’il me prepare.

Quel Crime puisje avoir commis?

Sad sojourn, where sorrow

makes me shed so many tears;

By what inconceivable charms

are you so dear to my heart?

By my cruel destiny—

how to bear all these hazards!

What! For a daughter ofCcesars,

a prison is to be regretted!

Oh myprison, ofmy misfortunes

you knowyou are the extreme proof!

I have etched upon your door,

new days, new sorrows;

Ifyou interest me in nothing else,

at leastI have received

in this place

from my husband his lastfarewells,

andfrom my son his last caresses.

Alas! Could it be the intention

ofmy son to reunite with his mother?

In my sorrowful career

mightI have at least one tranquil day?

How, from this barbarous people,

can I expect a kindness so sweet!

Rather, to reunite with my husband is

the pleasurefor which theyprepare me.

What crime have I committed?

Dans le Malheur qui m’environne,

est ce d’avoir a sa Couronne 

quelque fois rapelle mon Fils?

Ah! pour une Mere sensible;

presenter un Throne sanglant,

c’est pour la Mere et pour 1’Enfant

remplir un Devoir bien penible.

Si de Dieu la supreme Loi.

d mon Fils si cher a ta Mere,

te forfait, comme a dit ton Pere,

au Malheur de devenir Roi,

Et que dans ton Ame seduite l’orgueil

repandit son Poison,

songes qu’a pleurer sa Prison,

ta pauvre Mere fut reduite.

Within the misfortune that surrounds me,

it is to receive the crown that my son was called.

Ah! to a mother’s sensibility,

to present a bloody throne,

isfor the mother andfor her child

a doubly painful duty.

IfGod’s supreme law,

oh my son, so dear to your mother,

should compel you, as yourfather has said,

to the misfortune ofbecoming king,

and shouldpride seduce your soul

and spread its poison there,

you will see in dreams

that yourpoor mother’s prison

has reduced her to weeping.
Fille aimable, qui du Malheur

fais l’epreuve si jeune encore,

tendre Rose, qu’avant declore 

consume un Souffle destructeur.

Pour quelque roial Hymenee 

j ’ai era cultiver tes Attraits, 

un Cachet voila ton Palais,

des Fers voila ta destinee.

Quoi! nous separer sans pitie,

de mes Maux compagne cherie Elisabeth’,

c’est de ma vie, m’arracher deja la Moitie. 

Du pesant fardeau de tes Chaines 

je ne te soulagerai plus,

Ah! je remets a tes Vertus 

le Plaisir d’adoucir tes Peines.

J’entends des mes Persecuteurs 

la vile troupe qui s’avance.

Mon Coeur imposez vous silence.

Soions Reine, cessez mes Pleurs,

puissent des destins plus propi^es 

me rendre a ma Captivite!

Je croirai de la Liberte 

gouter un Moment les Delices.

Loving daughter, who by misfortune

is the proof, still young;

tender rose that, before blooming,

was consumed by a sigh so destructive;

for that royal nuptial I had cultivated

your attractions.

A seal is yourpalace,

to iron thus your destiny.

What! We are separated without pity,

Elisabeth, beloved companion ofmy ills,

ofmy life halfis torn out already.

Ofthe heavy burden ofmy chains,

Iwill not relieve you any longer.

Ah! I owe to your virtues

the pleasure ofsweetening my pains.

I hearfrom my persecutors

that their vileforces advance.

My heart, Iimpose upon you silence.

Be a queen, cease my tears.

Allow a destiny more propitious

to render me to my captivity!

Ishall believe that liberty is the enjoyment of

even one single moment ofdelight.
Der Abschied

Joseph Martin Kraus

Skulda winkt.

Vergebens wurzelt der Fuss des Weilenden 

vergebens hangt der lechzende Blick

am Auge des, den ich liebte,

den ich liebte wie mich selbst,

Skulda winkt!

Sie sah die Thrane,

die bebende Thrane des Abschieds,

unt fuhlte nicht Mitleid.

Sie sah des unmachtgen Armes letztes Streben.

Sie sah des Trauemden Kampf,

und fuhlte nicht Mitleid.

Aber sie sah des Angstvollen Drang,

horte das bange Klopfen der Brust,

sah die edlere Flamme

im Busender sich Liebenden,

und fuhlte Mitleid.

In das Schauergewebe Walhallas Spaherinnen 

hullte sie das Aug

von der ersten Thrane des Mitleids nass,

wand den erweichtem Blick

von der rtihrenden Szene hinweg,

hob den eisemen Finger 

zum letzten Winke empor:

Skulda winkt.

Sie entflieht mit den Wogen des Sturmwinds;

seufzend theilt sich der Aether

dem Rauschen des wehenden Schleiers.

Sie gebot—ich folgte,

so folgt mit bleiemem Schritte

der gebietenden Flamme

des hohen Obaddon ein Schatten.

The Departure

Skulda waves,

herfoot tarrying in vain,

in vain shefastens herpanting glance

upon the one she adores,

the one Itoo adore,

Skulda waves!

She saw the throne,

the trembling Thrane’sfarewells,

andfelt no pity.

She saw him unmade,

the poor one’s last stirrings;

she saw the tragic struggle,

andfelt no pity.

But when she saw the yearning ofthe anxious one,

when she heard thefrightened beating ofhis heart,

and saw the nobleflame in his breast,

she loved andfeltpity.

In the horrid web of Valhalla’s lookout,

in pity, atfirst she shrouded her moist eyesfrom

seeing the Thrane,

then herpale glance wandered awayfrom the

touching scene,

and with her last signal she pointed herjealousfinger

upwards:

Skulda waved,

she escaped with the heaving storm winds;

sighing through the ether, the smoke, the blowing

haze.

She commands—Ifollow;

thus a shadow follows, with leaden steps,

the biddingflames ofhigh Obaddon.
Abendempfindung

Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746-1818)

Abend ist’s, die Sonne is verschwunden, 

und der Mond strahlt Silberglanz;

so entfliehn des Lebens schonste Stunden,

fliehn voriiber wie im Tanz.

Bald entflieht des Lebens bunte Szene,

und der Vorhang rollt herab;

aus ist unser Spiel! des Freundes Trane 

fliesset schon auf unser Grab.

Bald vielleicht mir weht, (wie Westwind leise),

eine stille Ahnung zu,

schliess ich dieses Lebens Pilgerreise, 

fliege in das Land der Ruh.

Werd’t ihr dann an meinem Grabe weinen,

Trauemd meine Asche sehn,

Dann, o Freunde, will ich euch erscheinen 

und will Himmel auf euch wehn.

Schenk auch du ein Tranchen mir 

und pfliicke mir ein Veilchen aufmein Grab,

und mit deinem seelenvollen Blicke 

sieh dann sanft auf mich herab.

Weih mir eine Trane, und ach!

Schame dich nur nicht, sie mir zu weihn,

o sie wird in meinem Diademe 

dann die schonste Perle sein!

Evening musings

It’s evening, the sun has sunk,

and the Moon shines silver rays;

soflee Life’s beautiful hours,

flying away as ifin a dance.

Soon willfly away Life’s colorful scenes,

and the curtain comes rolling down.

Finished is our drama! afriend’s tears

alreadyfall upon our grave.

Soon perhaps (like the West Wind, lightly),

a quietforeboding thought arrives ,

thatIwill close this life’s pilgrimage,

andfly toward the land ofrest.

Ifyou would then weep over my grave

and gaze mournfully over my ashes,

then, ofriends, I will appear,

and waft you all heavenward.

Bestow upon me a little tear and ah!

pluck a violetfor my grave,

and with your soulful gaze

look then gently upon me.

Consecrate a tearfor me, and ah!

do not be ashamed to weep;

oh, those tears, in my diadem,

will be thefairestpearls!

Translations by Jennifer Lane