Classical Music | Baritone

Recorded on 10/12/2004, uploaded on 01/16/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Composed in 1826, Der Einsame depicts the contentment of a lonely life. In the poem by Carl Lappe, the narrator sits alone in front of his fireplace. It is evening and crickets chirp outside his home. Schubert's setting begins in the key of G major with a repeated chord accompaniment suggesting the banality of the narrator's simple life. Underneath, in the bass, is heard the "chirping" crickets. The narrator then muses on his lonely existence and recollects the day's happenings, both good and bad, but casts aside the sorrowful that it should not disturb the night. Here the vocal line flows easily with an air of contentment. The first four stanzas remain close to the tonic key of G, venturing only into the related keys of C major and A minor. A tinge of resentment, however, enters when he confesses that he is unhappy with his country life. The music briefly shifts to the key of E major but quickly transforms it into the dominant of A minor. Despite his restlessness, the narrator quietly surrenders to resolved contentment. The tonic key of G major returns in the final stanza and the poet continues on in his simple life.      Joseph DuBose

Wann meine Grillen schwirren,

Bei Nacht, am spät erwärmten Herd,

Dann sitz ich mit vergnügtem Sinn

Vertraulich zu der Flamme hin,

So leicht, so unbeschwert.                

Ein trautes, stilles Stündchen

Bleibt man noch gern am Feuer wach,

Man schürt, wann sich die Lohe senkt,

Die Funken auf und sinnt und denkt:

Nun abermal ein Tag!

Was Liebes oder Leides

Sein Lauf für uns dahergebracht,

Es geht noch einmal durch den Sinn;

Allein das Böse wirft man hin,

Es störe nicht die Nacht.

Zu einem frohen Traume

Bereitet man gemacht sich zu,

Wann sorgenlos ein holdes Bild

Mit sanfter Lust die Seele füllt,

Ergibt man sich der Ruh.

O wie ich mir gefalle

In meiner stillen Ländlichkeit!

Was in dem Schwarm der lauten Welt

Das irre Herz gefesselt hält,

Gibt nicht Zufriedenheit.               

Zirpt immer, liebe Heimchen

In meiner Klause eng und klein.

Ich duld' euch gern: ihr stört mich nicht

Wann euer Lied das Schweigen bricht

Bin ich nicht ganz allein.

-- Karl Gottlieb Lappe (1773-1843)

The Solitary

When crickets chirp

at night by the late warmth of my hearth,

I sit cozily and gaze

with contented mind in to the flames.

At ease and light of heart.

A dear silent little hour

one gladly spends awake by the fire

when the flame sinke, one pokes

the sparks into life, and ponders and thinks:

Another day is done.

Whatever joy or sorrow

its course has brought us

passes through the mind once more.

Only the bad is cast aside,

lest it should disturb the night.

Gently we prepare ourselves

for happy dreams,

when a lovely image comes unsought

and fills our soul with tender joy,

we yield to rest.

O how I love

this tranquil country life.

The restless heart,

held captive in the world's mad tumult,

can never be content.

Chirp away, dear cricket

in my narrow little room.

I will happily put up with you, you don't bother me.

When your song breaks the silence.

I am no longer quite alone.

-- Karl Gottlieb Lappe

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.