HERDER (Johann Gottfried). Autograph poem, in German, entitl - Lot 179

HERDER (Johann Gottfried). Autograph poem, in German, entitled "Madera,eineRomanza". 31quatrains occupying 6pp. in-12. Romance for 2 voices and choir: Essay on translation: "Und zum Schluße dieses Festes "Et pour clore cette fête, Kosten wir ein Glas Madera we taste a glass of Madeira, Tropfenweise, wie die Liebe drop by drop, like love süße Wehmuthsthräne tröpfelt. drips sweet tears of nostalgia. Traurigsüß ist die Geschichte Bittersweet is the story die wir singen: süß und traurig that we sing: sweet and bitter die Gesundheit, die wir bringen: is the toast we give: aller unglückselgen Liebe!..." to all unhappy love!..." Legend of the discovery of the island of Madeira. This romance tells of the unhappy love of two young English noblemen of the 15th century, Robert Machin and Anna d'Arfet, whose families opposed their union. The young girl, placed in a convent, was abducted by her lover, and the two set sail for France, only to be swept away by a storm as far as Madeira. Their companions re-embarked in search of food and a hospitable land, but were caught by pirates... and the two lovers starved to death on the island. Verse piece published, with variants, originally in 1796 by Friedrich Schiller in his Musen-Almanach (Neustrelitz, bei der Buchhändler Michaelis, 1796, pp.7-12), then in Sämmtliche Werke (Berlin, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung (vol.29, 1889, pp.162-169).