Du bist wie eine Blume , WAB 64

Du bist wie eine Blume (You are like a flower), WAB 64, is a song, which Anton Bruckner composed in 1861.

Bruckner composed the song on a text of Heinrich Heine on 5 December 1861. On request of his friend Alois Weinwurm, Bruckner composed the song for the opening concert of the Liedertafel Sängerbund.

The piece was performed 10 days later under Bruckner's baton in the Redoutensaal of Linz by four soloists: Hermine and Wilhelmine Ritter, Heinrich Knoll and Ferdinand Hummel. The piece became a favourite of Sängerbund.

The piece, of which the manuscript is stored in the archive of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, was first published in Band III/2, pp. 193–196 of the Göllerich/Auer biography. It is issued in Band XXIII/2, No. 14 of the Gesamtausgabe.

The song uses a text of Heinrich Heine's Buch der Lieder (Book of Songs).

Du bist wie eine Blume, So hold und schön und rein; Ich schau dich an, und Wehmut Schleicht mir ins Herz hinein. Mir ist, als ob ich die Hände Aufs Haupt dir legen sollt', Betend, dass Gott dich erhalte So rein und schön und hold.

You are like a flower, So lovely, fair and pure; I gaze at you and wistful Melancholy slips into my heart. It's as though I ought to place My hands upon your head And pray God to ever keep you So pure, fair, and lovely.

The 32-bar long work in F major is scored for SATB quartet.

There is no commercial recording of the full song.

Note