Samuel Hasselhorn
Stille Tränen • Robert Schumann
- Reading time
- 3 min.
What is your one special Lied? Which few minutes of sung poetry would you take to a desert island, rescue from a fire, save from oblivion? We put the question to Samuel Hasselhorn.
Stille Tränen – Robert Schumann
Lyrics
Du bist vom Schlaf erstanden
Und wandelst durch die Au.
Da liegt ob allen Landen
Der Himmel wunderblau.
So lang du ohne Sorgen
Geschlummert schmerzenlos,
Der Himmel bis zum Morgen
Viel Tränen niedergoß.
In stillen Nächten weinet
Oft mancher aus dem Schmerz,
Und morgens dann ihr meinet,
Stets fröhlich sei sein Herz.
— Justinus Kerner
You have risen from sleep
and are wandering through the meadow.
There lies over all the land
Heaven's wondrous blue.
As long as, free from cares,
you've been slumbering without pain,
Heaven has, since morning,
shed many tears.
In silent nights,
many weep from pain,
and in the morning you assume
their hearts are always light.
Samuel Hasselhorn: “I am so much looking forward to returning to Brussels and singing for my very first time at the beautiful La Monnaie. How special to come back to this city where I won the Queen Elisabeth competition back in 2018 and how great to do that with the repertoire that is so close to my heart – Lieder! To me the Lieder repertoire is so unique because it not only combines two of the most beautiful art forms (music and poetry), but even melts those two together to something even higher. The poetry itself doesn’t need the music and the music doesn’t necessarily need the poetry – but coming together it creates something so special. A song we will perform on September 17th I want to invite you to take a closer look on is Robert Schumann‘s ‘Stille Tränen’. What makes this song so special is the meaning of the poetry by Justinus Kerner. This song is about a deeper connection between people - about humanity. The last verse says: ‘Often on silent nights / Many a man weeps his grief away, / And in the morning you imagine / His heart is ever happy.’ It reminds us that even though everything seems fine looking at a human being from the outside, it doesn’t mean necessarily that this person is happy - without worries or pain. Being truly interested in other people, listening to them, being considerate and mindful are all characteristics that we slowly unlearn. Keeping this song and text in mind can teach us something very important and powerful for this world. I don‘t share the above recording of pianist Javier Arrebola and myself because I think it is the best out there – but I am happy with the connection to the music and poetry we found in this specific recording.”
