Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen - Translation of The Title

Translation of The Title

Songs of a Wayfarer is the title by which the cycle had been known in English. Fritz Spiegl has observed that German "Geselle" actually means "journeyman", i.e., one who has completed an apprenticeship with a master in a trade or craft, but is not yet a master himself; journeymen in German-speaking countries traditionally traveled from town to town to gain experience with various masters. A more accurate translation, therefore, would be Songs of a Travelling Journeyman. The title hints at an autobiographical aspect of the work; as a young, newly qualified conductor (and budding composer), Mahler was himself at this time in a stage somewhere between 'apprentice' and recognized 'master' and had been moving from town to town (Bad Hall, Laibach, Olmütz, Vienna, Kassel). All the while, he was honing his skills and learning from masters in his field.

Read more about this topic:  Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen

Famous quotes containing the words translation of the, translation of, translation and/or title:

    Whilst Marx turned the Hegelian dialectic outwards, making it an instrument with which he could interpret the facts of history and so arrive at an objective science which insists on the translation of theory into action, Kierkegaard, on the other hand, turned the same instruments inwards, for the examination of his own soul or psychology, arriving at a subjective philosophy which involved him in the deepest pessimism and despair of action.
    Sir Herbert Read (1893–1968)

    The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.
    General prologue, Wycliffe translation of the Bible (1384)

    The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.
    General prologue, Wycliffe translation of the Bible (1384)

    Now that the steam engine rules the world, a title is an absurdity, still I am all dressed up in this title. It will crush me if I do not support it. The title attracts attention to myself.
    Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)