Biamonti 433 – “Wunsch” (Desire): “Noch einmal” (Once again), unfinished sketches for Matthisson’s song, 1804–1806
Biamonti 433 – “Wunsch” (Desire): “Noch einmal” (Once again), unfinished sketches for Matthisson’s song, 1804–1806
We provide the timeframes of the sketches for this composition, which Beethoven attempted to compose at least twice without ever completing it. One, according to Nottebohm (Zweite Beethoveniana, page 575), would date to 1804, when the maestro was working on Fidelio. The other, included among the sketches for Quartet Opus 59 No. 2, found in the sheets referenced in the following number, would belong to 1806.
Wunsch
(Friedrich von Matthisson)
Noch einmal möcht’ ich, eh’ in die Schattenwelt
Elysiums mein seliger Geist sich senkt,
Die Flur begrüssen, wo der Kindheit
Himmlische Träume mein Haupt umschwebten.
Der Strauch der Heimath, welcher des Hänflings Nest
Mit Kühlung deckte, säuselt doch lieblicher,
O Freund, als alle Lorbeerwälder
Ueber der Asche der Weltbezwinger.
Der Bach der Blumenwiese, wo ich als Kind
Violen pflückte, murmelt melodischer,
Durch Erlen, die mein Vater pflanzte,
Als die blandusische Silberquelle.
Der Hügel, wo der jauchzende Knabenreihn
Sich um den Stamm der blühenden Linde schwang,
Entzückt mich höher als der Alpen
Blendende Gipfel im Rosenschimmer.
Drum möcht’ ich einmal, eh’ in die Schattenwelt
Elysiums mein seliger Geist sich senkt,
Die Flur noch segnen, wo der Kindheit
Himmlische Träume mein Haupt umschwebten.
Dann mag des Todes lächelnder Genius
Die Fackel plötzlich löschen; ich eile froh
Zu Xenophons und Platons Weisheit
Und zu Anakreons Mirthenlaube.
Matthisson’s Wunsch is a deeply elegiac and reflective poem that expresses the poet’s yearning to revisit the landscapes of his childhood one final time before his soul departs for the shadowy realm of Elysium. Written in the late 18th century, the poem exemplifies the sentimental and idealizing tone characteristic of German Romanticism, particularly in its reverence for nature and its nostalgic gaze toward youth.
The poem opens with a solemn invocation: the speaker wishes to greet once more the meadows and fields where the “heavenly dreams” of childhood once hovered around his head. This desire is not merely geographical—it is spiritual and emotional, a longing to reconnect with the innocence and wonder of early life before embracing death.
Matthisson contrasts the humble beauty of familiar nature—a bush shading a linnet’s nest, a stream where he once picked violets, a hill where children played—with the grandeur of classical and heroic landscapes. He asserts that these modest scenes are more moving than the laurel forests above the ashes of world conquerors or the famed springs of antiquity. In doing so, he elevates personal memory and emotional resonance above historical glory and philosophical abstraction.
The poem’s structure is cyclical: the first stanza’s wish is repeated almost verbatim later, reinforcing the speaker’s deep emotional attachment to these places. This repetition mirrors the circular nature of memory and longing, as the poet returns again and again to the same images and desires.
In the final stanza, the speaker accepts death with serenity. He imagines the smiling genius of death extinguishing the torch of life, allowing his soul to joyfully ascend to the wisdom of Xenophon and Plato, and to the myrtle bower of Anacreon—symbols of philosophical enlightenment and poetic pleasure. This classical reference frames death not as an end, but as a transition to a higher realm of truth and beauty.
Overall, Wunsch is a poignant meditation on the passage of time, the sanctity of childhood, and the consolations of nature and memory. It blends pastoral imagery with philosophical depth, and its gentle tone makes it one of Matthisson’s most enduring and evocative works. Beethoven himself was drawn to its emotional richness, attempting to set it to music—though the sketches remained incomplete.
