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“The poem Nänie was written in 1799 by the German author Friedrich Schiller, a leading
figure of German literature, not only poetry, but also as a dramatist and writer of short
stories and philosophical articles emphasizing German idealism.
Brahms composed the music for Nänie in 1881 as a tribute honouring his German artist
friend, Anselm Feuerbach, who had recently died. Many of Feuerbach's paintings were
scenes from classical antiquity—Greek myths and philosophers.
Nänie means Song of Mourning; it laments the death of all things beautiful or perfect.
Schiller illustrated the idea that "Even beauty must perish"with two stories from Greek
mythology. Although he did not give names to all the beings mentioned in the poem, we
are able to identify them in the stories, for they are well-known Greek myths.
The opening section mourns the death of Adonis, a beautiful young hero,beloved of the
goddess of love, Aphrodite. In an earlier myth, Zeus,ruler of all the gods including Hades,
had allowed a loved one to leave the underworld, but then he had cancelled his gift.*
However, in the case of Adonis, Zeus does not relent and Aphrodite is unable to heal the
wounds inflicted by a wild boar.
The closing section has to do with the perfect Achilles, son of the sea nymph Thetis.
Achilles dies in battle at the Scaean Gate, the main gate of Troy. Thetis rises from the sea
with the other sea nymphs, singing a song of lament at the loss of her son.
Schiller closed the poem with the observation that even though "Beauty must fade," and
"the perfect must die;" nevertheless they are glorified because of the songs of lamentation,
for common ordinary people have no songs to honour them.
* There is confusion about the myth referred to--Eros is mentioned only in this translation
(and not at all in the German); other translators omit "the pleading of Eros."
Research on Schiller and Greek mythology involved in Nänie by Louise Smith, 2001
But she rises from the sea (where the naiads live)
with all the daughters of Nereus,
and the lament goes up
for the exalted son.
Behold, the gods weep
all the goddesses weep
that Beauty must fade,
that perfection must die.
[But] Even to be an elegy (Beauty dies, but at least
to be loved as a result is glorious)
in the mouth of the beloved is glorious,
for the ordinary
without song to Orcus descends. (to Hades, the place of the dead)
Best regards,
Jerome Hoberman
Music Director/Conductor
The Hong Kong Bach Choir & Orchestra”
III. Shicksalslied, Op. 54 (1868-1871) - Traducción
Texto de Friedrich Hölderlin
Traducción de Luis Cernuda
.... "la forma en cascada del poema Canción del destino de Hiperión (habitual,
además, en otros muchos poemas de Hölderlin) no es una estupidez ni una nadería;
subraya visualmente la imagen más poderosa del poema, la que se encuentra al
finalizar el texto: la caída del agua de roca en roca, que representa la
permanente caída de la naturaleza humana, su constante movimiento hacia
abajo, su precipitarse al vacío, alejándose del sitio del reposo, del lugar donde
florece eternamente el espíritu, en lo alto, donde alientan los seres celestiales."
Información básica:
Hiperión: En mitología griega, Hiperión (Ὑπερίων, 'El que vive arriba' o 'el que mira desde
arriba') es uno de los Titanes, hijo de Urano y Gea (Cielo y Tierra). Dios de la observación y del
fuego astral -incluso el sol, para algunos.
Hyperions Schicksalslied: Trozo de una novela de Hölderlin titulada Hyperion oder Der
Eremit in Griechenland (Hiperión o el hermitaño en Grecia) que trata sobre fuerzas invisibles,
conflictos, la belleza y la esperanza.