Abschied
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Abschied
(This page)
DETAILS AND TEXT/TRANSLATION.
Abschied (Song of Parting):
Composer's note: Alfred Lichtenstein wrote this
poem4 for his friend Peter Scher shortly
before going to the front, where he was killed in
September 1914, aged 25. The music aims to reflect both
the heartfelt words of the poem and the background of
the middle-class German poet, who one assumes would
have been familiar with the rich sounds of Brahms and
Beethoven. I have set the poem in the original German.
(See the Libretto, reproduced below, for the
translation.5)
Original text:
Abschied [4]
Vorm Sterben mache' ich noch mein Gedicht
Still, Kameraden, stört mich nicht
Wir ziehn zum Krieg, der Tod ist unser Kitt
O heulte' mir doch die Geliebte nit
Was liegt an mir? Ich geh' gerne ein
Die Mutter weint
Man muss aus Eisen sein
Die Sonne fällt zum Horizont hinab
Bald wirft man mich ins milde Massengrab
Am Himmel brennt das brave Abendrot
Vielleicht bin ich in dreizehn Tagen tot
Parting [5]
Before I die I will write my poem.
Quiet, friends, don't disturb me.
We're heading for war. Death is our bond.
Oh, if only my beloved would stop howling.
What am I to do. I go gladly to it.
Mother is crying. One must be made of iron.
The sun sinks to the horizon.
Soon I will be thrown into the soft mass grave.
The sky is aflame with a splendid sunset
In thirteen days I may be dead.
REFERENCES:
4 Abschied (Farewell) by Alfred
Lichtenstein (1889-1914). From Alfred Lichtenstein,
Dichtungen. Edited by Kanzog, Vollmer & Raabe
(1989). Arche Verlag AG, Zürich.
5 With thanks to Alison Dietz for the
translation.
© Emily Feldberg 2017-2018.