Guten Abend, [gute]1 Nacht, Mit Rosen bedacht, Mit Näglein besteckt, Schlupf' unter die Deck, Morgen früh, [wenns]2 Gott will, Wirst du wieder geweckt.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Achim von Arnim und Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Band 3, Stuttgart, 1979, page 304.
1 Brahms: "gut' "2 Brahms: "wenn"
Note provided by Laura Prichard: Brahms gentle Wiegenlied, op. 49, no. 4, was dedicated to his youthful [girl]friend, Bertha Faber, née Porubsky. Although it was composed to celebrate the birth of her second son, it may contain a touching, bittersweet farewell to Bertha herself, who became a regular alto chorister in the women’s choir Brahms conducted in Hamburg before her marriage. Bertha and the twenty-six-year-old Brahms exchanged many letters, and he was a frequent [chaperoned] dinner guest in her home in 1859. This cradle song’s famous melody was intended to act as a harmony part to the Austrian duet "S’Is Anderscht" (1842) by Alexander Baumann (1814-1857), which Johannes and Bertha sang together in her family parlour. Baumann’s melody is preserved in the piano introduction: its original text is "Du moanst wol di Liab last si zwinga" [Do you think that love can be forced], and continues "Zatrist wo a Bleamle, steht’s nimmermer auf" [if you trample a flower it’ll never rise again]. Brahms sent the published lullaby to Bertha’s husband in Vienna, confessing "Frau Bertha will realize that I wrote the Wiegenlied for her little one. She will find it quite in order that while she is singing Hans to sleep, a love song is being sung to her."
Text Authorship:
- from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Gute Nacht, mein Kind!", appears in Des Knaben Wunderhorn, first published 1808 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carl, Graf Nostitz , "Guten Abend, gut Nacht", published 1886 [ voice and piano ], from Fünfzig Lieder, no. 16, Prag, Hoffmann [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Wiegenlied", op. 49 (Fünf Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte) no. 4 (1868), published 1868, first performed 1869 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Simrock
- by Charles Edward Ives (1874 - 1954), "Wiegenlied", 1900?
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Goedenavond, goedenacht", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Good evening, good night", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Bonsoir, bonne nuit", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Buonasera, buonanotte", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POR Portuguese (Português) (Axel Bergstedt) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (unknown or anonymous translator)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-07
Line count: 6
Word count: 23