Ex. 1-10: Der Scholar

No. 13 from Hugo Wolf's Eichendorff Lieder, composed in 1888 — part of Wolf's extraordinary "year of song" in which he produced one masterpiece after another. The poem originally appeared in Eichendorff's novel Dichter und ihre Gesellen (Poets and Their Companions), and was later published in his poetry collection under the title Der wandernde Student (The Wandering Student).

In medieval Europe, university students routinely traveled vast distances — sometimes over 1,000 km on foot, crossing the Alps — to study under renowned professors in cities like Paris and Bologna. While most people never left their birthplace, students enjoyed a rare freedom to see the wider world.

The poem captures this wandering student spirit: he sings in fair weather with the birds, and alone when rain falls. Lightning cannot frighten a contented soul. Free from the grip of money, he walks the path of learning, thinks deeply, and occasionally refreshes himself with "grape juice" — a humorous euphemism for wine. When the moon rises and studies grow tiring, he plays music outside the door of the prettiest girl in town.

Track 26 from the album R. Schumann, Wolf & Mahler: Lieder by Christoph Prégardien and Michael Gees (2000)
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