"Ich hab die Nacht geträumet" or, "Das Laub fällt von den Bäumen" (Herbstlied) This is a traditional German folk tune, dating from prior to 1777 (when it was first printed). It was used as the tune to two 19th century romantic songs, both of them still widely sung as German folk songs: "Ich hab die Nacht geträumet" (words by Joachim August Zarnack, 1820) and "Das Laub fällt von den Bäumen" (words by Siegfried August Mahlmann, 1805). The former was also arranged for SATB voices by Brahms. The song also has a Wikipedia page. 1915 Luigi Embergher mandolin Vintage Viaten tenor guitar https://youtu.be/9VQMzXBz16s As a special treat (or not!), here is an MP3 of the same recording to which I have added my own vocals -- which demonstrates mainly why I don't do more singing in public. I won't upload it to my Youtube channel (it would look odd anyway having a disembodied voice over a video of my silently playing the mandolin). Your browser does not support the audio element. Martin
Very nicely played, Martin. Do I detect a build-up of moral pressure on those who have not contributed a singing track? I will be kicking and screaming before I sing anything online (and I promise you that my screaming would still sound better than my singing).
Excellent playing Martin and well done with the singing - you are a true, courageous SAW pioneer! And many thanks for the motivation to sing this lovely tune, actually in English. Now I just have to modify the translation a little bit to make it reasonable - “smashed into pieces” didn’t sound so poetic, more comical than tragic. And is it meant to be so abrupt at the end? I thought that he could have said of her, “maybe you have gone” rather than “you are dead”. And since the dude’s in the garden, “maybe you have gone” would rhyme with “something on the lawn” Ah, translations.
Thanks, Richard and Simon. Simon: The Wikipedia translation is fairly literal but I don't think it's meant to be singable, or indeed poetic. The German original doesn't come across as comical or abrupt, but the English isn't entirely consistent in mood (and it doesn't rhyme or scan). I've been looking for singable English lyrics, but without success. I would think there must be some as it's a really well-known song. Martin
It's so great to hear your voice, especially in German! Isn't it funny how someone's voice is a completely normal aspect of meeting them in real life, but something so unusual in this online community of mandolin players? I'm reasonably confident that I could identify many of the regular contributors by the sound of their instruments, style and arrangements - but not by their human voice, which I've heard rarely or never. I didn't know this song, so it's only thanks to your vocals that I now know how beautiful and completely depressing the lyrics are! There's certainly no peer pressure around here for singing - but I'm glad you did. The instrumental melody is pretty, but the words make it appear more complete.
Lyrics from Zarnack. 1820 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Zarnack Living in Potsdam, he wrote an earlier version of O Tannenbaum. The year 1820 doesn't seem such a fun time, the Napoleonic wars had only just ended. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...icts_in_Europe
Dennis, I had exactly the same thought (about what we all sound like).
It has that melancholic "Sturm und Drang" mood German folk songs radiate ever since "es geht ein dunkle Wolk herein", and the nearest genre to The Blues you get in Central Europe. Richard: "my screaming would still sound better than my singing" - that's how Metal was invented, by all means, don't hold back My own singing contributions have all been made, so I am exempt
Great instrumental of a melancholic German song, Martin. And your singing is like everyone’s singing unique!
Es geht ein dunkle Wolk' herein - that's what I was thinking about, too. It has a similar octave jump in the melody. I like both songs a lot.
The saddest part of this posting is that it may encourage me to add vocals to something or other at some point in time
I really appreciate that you make rather unknown German folk songs accessible to us, Martin. I particularly like this song. I found a three-part choir arrangement for "Das Laub fällt von den Bäumen" on a Dutch website for music at Walldorf schools.
Thanks, Christian -- that is a lovely arrangement, and the vocal harmonies you have found transfer beautifully to your instrumentation! It also confirms that the two songs have precisely the same melody. Martin
Wonderful, Christian!
That is beautifully done, Christian. And a lovely European robin too (I miss them). But no singing...
Thanks to Martin's opening of this thread, I discovered this lovely melody from my home country. I'd never heard it before. Having considered both sets of lyrics, I decided I prefer "Das Laub fällt von den Bäumen", which Christian used as the title for his elegant instrumental arrangement. I like how the words work through a whole range of emotions and then settle on acceptance and optimism. For those who don't understand German: The first verse laments the falling of the summer leaves and the end of summer's dreams. The second verse ruminates on the absence of birdsong in the woods, with love as well as the birds having departed. The third verse reassures us that everything we miss at the moment will surely return in the new year. And the fourth verse completes the emotional U-turn by positively welcoming winter as a guardian and rejuvenator, who strips the world of its transient finery but faithfully protects the seeds from which new life will grow. It's very beautiful and moving. In some ways, the story matches the musical growing pains I'm experiencing at the moment. I'm still playing, taking lessons, learning, practising, and generally enjoying the mandolin. But I currently find that I'm having to work much harder than usual to learn new tunes, remember old ones, or make anything sound good. It's not hitting a wall, but trying to find a new path in the woods. So the sense of looking forward to the new springing from the old, with which the song ends, is the attitude I try to take towards it. I wanted to record this song about the falling leaves because it fits the season so well. It was also a welcome break from the other tunes I'm practising at the moment. The video thumbnail looks grainy because it's a still image in the middle of a transition in the video. If you've read my essay above, you may agree that this notion of transition fits the mood quite well. https://youtu.be/3WEw1XRas8E
wow Denis! I sincerely deeply enjoyed your video...I don't know, it has a great sense of authenticity mixed with a great feeling...it has conveyed a lot to me, I don't need to know your language to enjoy the whole thing...the mandolin sounds exquisite, your voice is like that of a friend singing next to me, the flute (?) gives it an atmosphere like a troubadour...thank you! N.B.We have to prepare the Christmas songs for the forum, last year the Christmas contributions were scarce, almost nothing...
I enjoyed it too Dennis, love your singing, even though I was half awake in the morning! Will write more later. https://abcnotation.com/tunePage?a=i.../boehme10/0182 Also: https://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/esac/boehme10.abc
Great singing and playing, Dennis! The lyrics by Hoffmann von Fallersleben are a lot more optimistic!
Great singing -- more in tune than my voice anyway! I like both sets of lyrics, and both are quite poetic. "Ich hab die Nacht geträumet" has more gothic gloom, whereas as Dennis says "Das Laub fällt von den Bäumen" has the decay of autumn first, but then ends on the rebirth and hope. At least in the original Mahlmann lyrics that Dennis is singing. Not sure how the Fallersleben lyrics fit into anything -- they start with the same opening line (and hence title, in the German convention) but then go somewhere completely different. It's said to be Fallersleben's translation of a Dutch folk song, but I don't know if there is a connection between that Dutch song and the Mahlmann lyrics, or whether that Dutch song goes with the same tune. Martin [Edit for the non-Germans here: Hoffmann von Fallersleben is better known as the author of the words to the German national anthem, set to Haydn's music, but he also wrote a lot of folk and children's songs.]
Wonderful Dennis! Keeping it real.
I really enjoyed that, Dennis. I do understand German (up to a point) and your summary helped me. From a gardener's perspective, I also endorse the sentiments. On the thumbnail, occasionally YouTube throws up these really interesting transitional images. On my recording of Humours of Maryland, it managed to merge pictures of a waterscape and an eagle in flight.
Nice vocals and a solid mandolin back-up, Dennis.
Well I did try to learn the lyrics, even say them but sing them is going to be difficult. Thanks for the motivation to sing, Dennis. It’s good to do.
Thank you very much!
Oops, Martin. I see my mistake. I was referring to the lyrics by Mahlmann. A long comment in one of my song books was misleading me to Fallersleben who only collected and published the Dutch song. Thanks for the correction.
Really enjoyed your three part performance too Christian, thanks.
