Talk:Seufzer eines Ungeliebten – Gegenliebe

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Title

Why should "Zwei Lieder WoO 118" be titled "Gegenliebe"? The French Wikipedia article is named fr:Seufzer eines Ungeliebten — Gegenliebe (Beethoven) which contains an unnecessary disambiguator. I think Seufzer eines Ungeliebten — Gegenliebe would be better title.

Why does the article call these two songs a cantata? I thought a cantata always involves an orchestra. I think this is a song cycle, though obviously a short one, with both songs treated as movements that are performed without break. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 12:45, 1 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your comment. It seems that this song is sui generis, and people come up with a variety of analogies to describe it. I have added a source (the Beethoven biographer Barry Cooper), for the "cantata" analogy. I also put in the song cycle analogy, though I don't have a source for it yet. Opus33 (talk) 21:41, 4 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sandbox: creating English translation

Seufzer eines Ungeliebten	The sighs of an unloved one
Hast du nicht Liebe zugemessen Dem Leben jeder Kreatur? Warum bin ich allein vergessen, Auch meine Mutter du! du Natur?	Hast thou not apportioned love Into the life of every creature? Why then am I alone forgotten, Even by thee, my mother, Nature?
Wo lebte wohl in Forst und Hürde, Und wo in Luft und Meer, ein Tier, Das nimmermehr geliebet würde? — Geliebt wird alles außer mir!	Where, in the woods and enclosed fields, Where in the air and the seas, has there ever lived a creature Who was nevermore to be loved? — All are loved, excepting myself.
Wenn gleich [im Hain, auf Flur und Matten]^[1] Sich Baum und Staude, Moos und Kraut Durch Lieb' und Gegenliebe gatten; Vermählt sich mir doch keine Braut.	Although in the woods, meadows, and pastures Even the trees and bushes, the mosses and herbs Are joined through love and countered love; There is no bride who will marry me.
Mir wächst vom süßesten der Triebe Nie Honigfrucht zur Lust heran. Denn ach! mir mangelt Gegenliebe, [Die Eine, nur Eine]^[2] gewähren kann.	The sweetest of growing things,^[3] The apple of love^[4] never grew for me to enjoy. Alas! I lack the requited love, That only one^[5] can provide.

Gegenliebe	Requited love
Wüßt' ich, wüßt' ich, daß du mich Lieb und wert ein bißchen hieltest, Und von dem, was ich für dich, Nur ein Hundertteilchen fühltest;	If only, if only I knew that you loved me And held to be worthy, just a bit, And that you felt for me Just a tiny hundredth of what I feel for you;
Daß dein Danken meinem Gruß' Halben Wegs entgegen käme, Und dein Mund den Wechselkuß Gerne gäb' und wiedernähme:	That thy thanks for my greeting Were returned but halfway, And thy lips the exchanged kisses Gladly gave and received in return
Dann, o Himmel, außer sich, Würde ganz mein Herz zerlodern! Leib und Leben könnt' ich dich Nicht vergebens lassen fodern! —	Then, oh heavens, beside itself, My heart would burst into flame! Not in vain, I could let you claim My body and my life!
Gegengunst erhöhet Gunst, Liebe nähret Gegenliebe, Und entflammt zu Feuersbrunst, Was ein Aschenfünkchen bliebe.	Favor brings forth counter-favor, Love nurtures requited love, And ignites a tempest of fire Where else had remained but a glimmer among ashes.

Sandbox II: working out a section to describe the meters

Meters

Seufzer eines Ungeliebten is composed in iambic tetrameter, with the first line of each couplet including an extra final unstressed syllable, so the lines alternate between 9 and 8 syllables. This is a widely used pattern, seen for instance in Goethe's poem Wilkommen und Abschied. "Gegenliebe" is in a version of trochaic tetrameter in which half of the lines are catalectic; i.e. they omit the final eighth syllable.^[6] In both poems, the lines are grouped into quatrains with rhyme scheme ABAB.

Attridge, Derek (1982) The Rhythms of English Poetry. Burnt Mill: Longman.
Youens, Susan (2008) Program notes for "Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Lieder und Gesänge", with Dame Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone), and Iain Burnside (piano). Hyperion Records. [1]

References

^ Original text :"in Hain und Wiesenmatten".
^ Original text : "Die Eine nur".
^ This is possibly a pun, since "Triebe" also means "urge" or "desire".
^ Literally, "honey-fruit"
^ The German Eine is feminine gender; implying "only one woman".
^ The meter of "Gegenliebe" is, however, quite unusual in arranging its 8- and 7- syllable lines within couplets so that the shorter, 7-syllable line comes first in the couplet (i.e. "7 + 8" couplets). The norm for length-differentiated couplets is 8 + 7; see e.g. Attridge (1982:103). Beethoven partially repairs the metrical anomaly by assigning the last syllable of the 7-syllable lines two quarter notes, a melisma, thus approximating the normal 8 + 8. But Youens (2008) nonetheless remarks that "the prosody leaves something to be desired". In the later version of the "Gegenliebe" tune that Beethoven created for his Choral Fantasy (see below), the problem is resolved by using different poetry and altered music.

Still to do

Discuss publication of the poems, including name of volume. Refer to the French article again.

[1] Original text :"in Hain und Wiesenmatten".

[2] Original text : "Die Eine nur".

[3] This is possibly a pun, since "Triebe" also means "urge" or "desire".

[4] Literally, "honey-fruit"

[5] The German Eine is feminine gender; implying "only one woman".

[6] The meter of "Gegenliebe" is, however, quite unusual in arranging its 8- and 7- syllable lines within couplets so that the shorter, 7-syllable line comes first in the couplet (i.e. "7 + 8" couplets). The norm for length-differentiated couplets is 8 + 7; see e.g. Attridge (1982:103). Beethoven partially repairs the metrical anomaly by assigning the last syllable of the 7-syllable lines two quarter notes, a melisma, thus approximating the normal 8 + 8. But Youens (2008) nonetheless remarks that "the prosody leaves something to be desired". In the later version of the "Gegenliebe" tune that Beethoven created for his Choral Fantasy (see below), the problem is resolved by using different poetry and altered music.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]