Seid mir nur nicht gar zu traurig

 

Seid mir nur nicht gar zu traurig - (2012)    

Wilhelm Busch

for medium voice and piano

 

Seid mir nur nicht gar zu traurig,
Daß die schöne Zeit entflieht,
Daß die Welle kühl und schaurig
Uns in ihre Wirbel zieht;

Daß des Herzens süße Regung,
Daß der Liebe Hochgenuß,
Jene himmlische Bewegung,
Sich zur Ruh begeben muß.

Laßt uns lieben, singen, trinken,
Und wir pfeifen auf die Zeit;
Selbst ein leises Augenwinken
Zuckt durch alle Ewigkeit.

2 pages, circa 1' 45"

Wilhelm Busch

 

Do not be greatly unhappy
That the lovely times go by;
Cool yet dread-filled waves will draw us
Into the vortex' whirling eye;

Yes, sweet stirrings of the heart,
And love's highest and its best,
All within the heaven's movements
Must be given over to rest.

Let us love and sing and drink,
And whistle at the time which flees;
Even our faintest winking glances
Flicker through eternities.

 

rhymed paraphrase by the composer

 

Copyright 2012  ©   Gary Bachlund    All international rights reserved.

 

 

The three strophes are set in an A-A-A' manner, the first episode between them being altered by transposition in the second. The harmonic fulcrum of the tritone generates the accompaniment's gestures and pedal notation suggests a blurring as the two lines sing out. As with the text's imagery of "flickering out," the setting itself does quite the same. Busch treats our mortality with a delightful and instructive mixture of openness and good humor. So should this setting be performed in like manner.

 

The text is found in his collection, Kritik des Herzens. For other settings of Busch's texts, click here.

 

 

The score for Seid mir nur nicht gar zu traurig is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.

 

Seid mir nur nicht gar zu traurig