Golden glow
(Poet's title: Goldner Schein)
Set by Schubert:
D 357
canon for three voices
Schubert did not set the stanzas in italics[May 1, 1816]
Goldner Schein
Deckt den Hain,
Mild beleuchtet Zauberschimmer
Der umbuschten Waldburg Trümmer.
Still und hehr
Strahlt das Meer;
Heimwärts gleiten, sanft wie Schwäne,
Fern am Eiland Fischerkähne.
Silbersand
Blinkt am Strand;
Röter schweben hier, dort blässer,
Wolkenbilder im Gewässer.
Rauschend kränzt,
Goldbeglänzt,
Wankend Ried des Vorlands Hügel,
Wildumschwärmt vom Seegeflügel.
Malerisch
Im Gebüsch
Winkt, mit Gärtchen, Laub’ und Quelle,
Die bemooste Klausnerzelle.
Auf der Flut
Stirbt die Glut;
Schon erblaßt der Abendschimmer
An der hohen Waldburg Trümmer.
Vollmondschein
Deckt den Hain;
Geisterlispel wehn im Tale
Um versunkne Heldenmale.
A golden glow
Covers the grove;
A magical shimmering gently lights up
The ruins of the forest castle, surrounded by bushes.
Quiet and majestically
The sea shines;
They are gliding homewards, soft as swans,
Those fishing boats far away by the island.
Silver sand
Is glistening on the beach;
Redder here, paler there, are floating
Images of clouds in the water.
Rustling as they crowd around,
Glistening gold,
Are the swaying reeds by the hill at the headland,
Surrounded by a host of sea-birds.
Picturesque
In the bushes
With its little garden, foliage and spring, beckons
The hermit’s moss-covered cell.
On the flood
The glow dies;
The evening light has already turned pale
On the high ruins of the forest castle.
The light of the full moon
Covers the grove;
Spirit whispers are fluttering about in the valley
Around decayed monuments to heroes.
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Themes and images in this text:
Bushes and undergrowth Castles and towers Covers and covering Gold Light Magic and enchantment Woods – groves and clumps of trees (Hain)
Nothing happens but a whole world is evoked. This imagistic writing is remarkably dense but astonishingly vivid at the same time. The light shimmers and illuminates a dark world of ruins and shadows; we know that something is hidden, but we cannot know what.
The poet even manages to add darkness and mystery to the abandoned scene by describing the ruined woodland castle as surrounded by bushes (not just trees). It is hemmed in and covered yet totally open to our gaze.
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Original Spelling Goldner Schein Goldner Schein Deckt den Hain; Mild beleuchtet Zauberschimmer Der umbüschten Waldburg Trümmer. Still und hehr Strahlt das Meer; Heimwärts gleiten, sanft wie Schwäne, Fern am Eiland Fischerkähne. Silbersand Blinkt am Strand; Röther schweben hier, dort blässer, Wolkenbilder im Gewässer. Rauschend kränzt, Goldbeglänzt, Wankend Ried des Vorlands Hügel, Wildumschwärmt vom Seegeflügel. Malerisch Im Gebüsch Winkt, mit Gärtchen, Laub' und Quelle, Die bemooste Klausnerzelle. Auf der Fluth Stirbt die Gluth; Schon erblaßt der Abendschimmer An der hohen Waldburg Trümmer. Vollmondschein Deckt den Hain; Geisterlispel wehn im Thale Um versunkne Heldenmale.
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Friedrich Matthisson’s auserlesene Gedichte, herausgegeben von Joh. Heinr. Füssli, Zürich, bey Orell, Gessner, Füssli und Compagnie, 1791, pages 91-92; and with Gedichte von Friedrich von Matthisson. Erster Theil. Tübingen, bei Cotta, 1811, pages 191-193
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 191 [213 von 380] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ185186703