Friday, November 30, 2007

I think I should atone for all that ugliness by posting something excessively lovely.



*SQUEAL!*
Oh, I finally found a video I can love of my favorite Tchaikovsky setting of Goethe's achingly beautiful "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt" and here sung by Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in his native tongue.

I always loved singing this song because it's so lovely, and I most enjoy singing in German, for some reason, much better than French or certainly English. I also love lieder (German art songs)-- usually German Romantic poets' text set to music. This was my favorite.

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt [None but the lonely heart]
Weiß, was ich leide! [Knows how I suffer]
Allein und abgetrennt
Von aller Freude,
Seh' ich ans Firmament
Nach jener Seite.

Ach! der mich liebt und kennt,
Ist in der Weite.
Es schwindelt mir, es brennt
Mein Eingeweide.
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Weiß, was ich leide!

It's really dramatic stuff. Gotta love it.

4 comments:

Christina RN LMT said...

Es schwindelt mir, es brennt
Mein Eingeweide.


"I feel dizzy, my guts are burning."

Sounds like love to me!

;)

Dmitri could serenade me any day, his voice is the epitome of creamy goodness.

phlegmfatale said...

christina -
I KNOW! It's terrible to think of Dmitri suffering, isn't it? Gorgeous voice. Not my most favoritist, but close... Those Germans are so dramatic. But you know all about that, don't you?!!!

Christina RN LMT said...

My life IS drama.

No, not really.

;)

Anonymous said...

Years ago I played it incessantly on the piano. I don't think I have it here now, however. Shall have to remedy that.