GVAI's Holiday Blog Special 11

December 11

A coffee for Schumann and a new Christmas song for you 

People have always loved coffee. And during my stay in Leipzig I visited Zum Arabischen Coffe  Baum(yes, just one e in coffee), one of the oldest European coffee houses, where coffee has been served since 1711.  
Robert Schumann came here regularly between 1828 and 1844.

But many more famous people liked this place: Bach, Lessing, Goethe, Schumann, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Mahler and Napoleon to name only a few. 
Today you can still enjoy a tasty cup of coffee and very delicious cakes and pastries. (I took the Sachertorte ;-) You might want to visit the museum to learn all about the history of coffee as well. 

Besides my small report about beautiful places in Leipzig I want to share a Christmas song written by Schumann with you. 

Unfortunately, I did not find a really good recording on youtube. But I have the lyics and score for you, which you can find on Imslp for free. Schumann's Weihnachtslied Als das Christkind war zur Welt gebracht is song no. 16 of op. 79. 

Lyrics in German: 
Als das Christkind war zur Welt gebrachtDanish (Dansk)
Als das Christkind war zur Welt gebracht,
Das uns von der Hölle gerettet,
Da lag's auf der Krippe bei finstrer Nacht,
Auf Stroh und Heu gebettet;
Doch über der Hütte glänzte der Stern,
Und der Ochse küßte den Fuß des Herrn.
Halleluja, Kind Jesus!

Ermanne dich, Seele, die krank und matt,
Vergiß die nagenden Schmerzen.
Ein Kind ward geboren in Davids Stadt
Zum Trost für alle Herzen.
O laßt uns wallen zum Kindlein hin,
Und Kinder werden in Geist und Sinn.
Halleluja, Kind Jesus!

​Here you can find the translation into English. 

If you like the song, just learn and record it and put it on youtube for us all to enjoy.