Softly, softly let us sing
(Poet's title: Leise, leise laßt uns singen)
Set by Schubert:
D 635
for TTBB quartet[circa 1819]
Leise, leise lasst uns singen,
Schlummre sanft, wer schlummern will;
Möcht es unserm Spiel gelingen,
Nur in ihren Traum zu klingen.
Lasst uns rufen, aber still:
Fanny erwache, Fanny erwache.
Gently, gently let us sing.
Sleep softly, whoever wants to sleep.
May our playing only manage to
Reverberate in their dreams.
Let us call, but silently:
“Fanny, wake up, Fanny, wake up.”
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Themes and images in this text:
Dreams Noise and silence Serenades and songs at evening Sleep
It is never easy to tell people to be quiet without actually making a noise, particularly when you are planning to sing a serenade outside someone’s bedroom.
Peter Rastl believes that ‘Fanny’ was Franziska von Hügel, a close associate of the friends of Schubert who must have arranged this ‘surprise’ for her.
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Original Spelling Leise, leise laßt uns singen Leise, leise laßt uns singen, Schlummre sanft, wer schlummern will. Möcht' es unserm Spiel gelingen, Nur in ihren Traum zu klingen. Laßt uns rufen, aber still: Fanny erwache! Fanny erwache!
Note: This is a text versified retroactively by Anton Weiß to Schubert’s part song. His third stanza is the original text set by Schubert. The author of Schubert’s original text is unknown.