The third of Beethoven’s “Three Songs of Goethe” is “Mit einem gemalten Band” (“With a decorated ribbon”). Here’s a translation from “The Beethoven Song Companion,” by Paul Reid, pp. 215–6:
The good, young gods of Spring
Have playfully scattered for me
Little flowers and petals
Around a delicate ribbon.
Zephyr, take it up on your wings,
Twine it around my beloved’s dress;
Then she will step in front of the mirror,
In all her carefree gaiety.
See herself girdled with roses,
Fresh as a rose herself.
Just one glance, beloved creature,
And I have sufficient reward.
May you sense what I feel in my heart,
Give me your hand freely,
And may the ribbon which unites us
Be not just a fragile ribbon of roses!
#Beethoven250 Day 246
“Mit einem gemalten Band” (Opus 83, No. 3), 1810
A wonderful performance by tenor Christopher Pulleyn.
The piano accompaniment of “Mit einem gmalten Band” is mostly triplets, while the vocals only occasionally so. Paul Reid notes: “This is never felt as in any way a dislocation, but rather enhances the keen sense of excitement.”
In December 1810, a month after completing the three Goethe songs, Beethoven turned 40 years old. However, even at this time, Beethoven still believed that he was born in 1772.