In the fifth song of "Das Schöne Müllerin“ it’s the end of his first day at work, and the miller wishes that he had superhuman strength to impress the miller’s daughter.
On May 21st, we had looked at the settings of Goethe's Sehnsucht by both Beethoven and Schubert, and they were quite different. But listen to the opening of that setting by Beethoven again, Opus 83-2 and compare it to the opening here by Schubert.
Schubert Am Feierabend: https://youtu.be/rU9BWGErLLw
Am Feierabend
Hätt' ich tausend arme zu rühren!
Könnt' ich brausend die Räder führen!
Könnt' ich wehen durch alle Haine!
Könnt' ich drehend alle Steine!
Daß die schöne Müllerin
Merkte meinen treuen Sinn!
Ach, wie ist mein Arm so schwach!
Was ich hebe, was ich trage,
Was ich schneide, was ich schlage,
Jeder Knappe tut mir‘s nach.
Und da sitz' ich in der großen Runde,
in der stillen kühlen Feierstunde,
Und der Meister spricht zu Allen:
"Euer Werk hat mir gefallen";
Und das liebe Mädchen sagt,
"Allen eine gute Nacht".
----
After Work
If I had a thousand arms to stir!
If I could drive the wheels with a roar!
If I could blow through all the groves!
If I could turn all the millstones!
Then the lovely miller-maid
Would see my true faithfulness!
Alas! My arm is so weak!
What I heave, what I carry,
What I cut, what I hammer,
Any apprentice could do the same.
And there I sit in the great circle,
In the cool and quiet after work,
And the master says to all:
“I am pleased with your work.”
And that sweet maiden says,
“Good night, everyone.”
Am Feierabend, Schubert - Peter Schreier
Am Feierabend, Schubert - Peter Schreier
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John Scialdone published this page in Daily Beethoven 2021-05-31 08:31:19 -0400