[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ8X44T2Mzw&w=480&h=360]
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) “Нет, только тот, кто знал” from 6 Romances, Op.6 (1869)
Performed by Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky (b. 16 Oct 1962) and Russian collaborative pianist and composer Mikhail Arkadiev (b. 1958)
Lev Mei‘s Russian translation
Net, tol’ko tot, kto znal svidan’ja, zhazhdu,
pojmjot, kak ja stradal i kak ja strazhdu.
Gljazhu ja vdal’… net sil, tusknejet oko…
Akh, kto menja ljubil i znal – daleko!
Akh, tol’ko tot, kto znal svidan’ja zhazhdu,
pojmjot, kak ja stradal i kak ja strazhdu.
Vsja grud’ gorit…
Kto znal svidan’ja zhazhdu,
pojmjot, kak ja stradal i kak ja strazhdu.None but the lonely heart
Can know my sadness
Alone and parted
Far from joy and gladness
Heaven’s boundless arch I see
Spread out above me
O(h) what a distance drear to one
Who loves me
None but the lonely heart
Can know my sadness
Alone and parted
Far from joy and gladness
Alone and parted far
From joy and gladness
My senses fail
A burning fire
Devours me
None but the lonely heart
Can know my sadness(The original Goethe poem)
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt
Weiß, was ich leide!
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!
And…
A little treat for the contraltos out there – American contralto Eula Beal (January 25, 1919 – July 29, 2008) singing the English translation “None but the lonely heart”, accompanied by Marguerite Campbell.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCtW1RucS-w&w=480&h=360]
It has been said that even in Tchaikovsky’s most joyful, optimistic music, one can hear undertones of sadness. In this song, Tchaikovsky takes what to me reads like a terribly sad poem and writes a musical setting which actually sounds quite optimistic and hopeful. A wonderful piece by a wonderful composer–thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Ezra. I’m glad that you enjoyed it. I agree that there’s a lot of depth to the text and the way Tchaikovsky sets it here.