Our Man in Vienna

Heinrich Heine – An Invalid Poem

 

Doch die Kastraten klagten,
Als ich meine Stimm erhob;
Sie klagten und sie sagten:
Ich sänge viel zu grob.
Und lieblich erhoben sie alle
Die kleinen Stimmelein,
Die Trillerchen, wie Kristalle,

Sie klangen so fein und rein.
Sie sangen von Liebessehnen,
Von Liebe und Liebeserguß;
Die
Damen schwammen in Tränen
Bei solchem Kunstgenuß.

 

The Castrati

 

The castrati complained
as I began to sing.
Go away, they said,
your voice is so vulgar.

Then in a chorus
they raised their voices
trilling as clearly as crystal
and sounding so pure.

They sang of passion,
of passion and love,
and the ladies wept
at the beauty of it.

 

* * *

 

A Marvelous Invalid Poem by Heine

 

The Castrati by Heine is a beautifully written invalid poem.
It is not the fault of the castrati that they sing as they do.
It is the fault of the Catholic Church that the sing so high.
Their voices are high due to the fact that they were castrated.

In order for this poem to be valid the songs sung high
should be due the singers singing high intentionally.
In other words, the singers should be singing
the way they sing voluntarily.

And the tragedy here is that they
have made the ladies weep,
but the weeping they cause
is all that they are capable
of bringing about.

 

Added by Herbert Kuhner

* * *

 

They sing so high
since they cannot sing low.
Others are to blame
for this specious trilling.

Tears should be shed
for singers who hit high notes
due to the intercession of those
who brought about their falsetto.

I weep not due to the singing,
but for the singers!

 

And here is a valid poem.

 

Zu fragmentarisch ist Welt und Leben

 

Zu fragmentarisch ist Welt und Leben –
Ich muß mich zum deutschen Professor begeben.
Der weiß dos Leben zusammenzusetzen
Und er macht ein verständlich System daraus;
Mit seinen Nachtmützen und Schlafrockfezen
Stopft er die Lücken des Weltenbaus.

 

 

Life and the World Are Too Fragmentary

 

Life and the world are too fragmentary.
I must consult the German professor.
He’ll know how to put everything in place
and make a system of it. And as for the gaps
in the cosmos, he’ll plug them up
with shreds of his nightcap and gown.

 

    * * *

 

Translated by Herbert Kuhner
Mnemosyne, Heft 20, 1996