Castalia 371
Spring Night
Dear Friends,
I’m so happy to share with you
Frühlingsnacht [Spring Night]
a setting by Robert Schumann (1810 — 1856)
of the poem by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788 — 1857)
12th and final song of Schumann’s Liederkreis Op. 39
performed by Ishmael Wallace, tenor and pianist
The German text as sung (please see below for my translation):
Frühlingsnacht
Über’m Garten durch die Lüfte
Hört ich Wandervögel ziehn,
Das bedeutet Frühlingsdüfte,
Unten fängts schon an zu blühn.
Jauchzen möcht ich, möchte weinen,
Ist mirs doch, als könnts nicht sein!
Alle Wunder wieder scheinen
Mit dem Mondesglanz herein.
Und der Mond, die Sterne sagens,
Und in Träumen rauschts der Hain,
Und die Nachtigallen schlagens:
Sie ist deine, sie ist dein!
Spring Night
Borne on the breeze, I hear their voices,
Birds returning to the north,
And with them comes the breath of spring;
Already little flowers come forth.
I feel like crying out, like weeping —
All I’d longed for, here again;
The wonders of the past returning
In the glory of the moon.
And in the nightingales’ wild throbbing,
In the light of moon and stars,
From the meadows in their dreaming,
Comes the single word: “She’s yours!”
The young man has seen the sun go down, has seen the going under of legitimate authority. He has mourned the lost castle, the death of the beloved. He has heard the nightingales give forth the song of longing from its tomb. The nightingales… they wished to tell him something of the good old days. In the twilight, he has remained faithful, though desperately afraid. And now, hearing the migratory birds, he knows Spring is on its way.
In the glory of the moon, all the wonders of the past return. What nightingales, moon and stars, and rustling meadows all have to tell him, at last he understands. He has received the word.
Thank you so much.
With every good wish,
Ishmael
The songs which lead us to this point:
#1, In der Fremde [In a Foreign Land]
#2, Intermezzo
#3, Waldesgespräch [Forest Conversation]
#4, Die Stille [The Quiet Woman]
#5, Mondnacht [Moon Night]
#6, Schöne Fremde [A Lovely Spot in Foreign Country]
#7, Auf einer Burg [On a Castle Wall]
#8, In der Fremde [In a Foreign Land]
#9, Wehmut [Sorrow]
#10, Zwielicht [Twilight]
#11, Im Walde [In the Forest]
Music as a Path:
I help musicians and music lovers deepen their connection with music through coaching online: counterpoint, harmony, analysis, composition, interpretation… For more details, please see my website: