It is tempting to ascribe some autobiographical significance to Beethoven’s song “Als die Geliebte sich Trennen Wollte” (“When the Beloved Deserted Him”). In 1806 Beethoven knew that nothing was to come of his love for Josephine Deym, and this song might reflect his pain.
The text to Beethoven’s “Als die Geliebte” originated with verses from a one-act musical drama by François Benoît Hoffman, and translated into German by Stephen von Bruening, an old friend of Beethoven’s from their Bonn days, who had helped revise the libretto for Leonore.
Beethoven’s song “Als die Beliebte sich Trennen Wollte” begins:
The last glimmer of hope is fading!
She broke all her vows with flighty abandon;
Then may the awareness that I was once too happy
Also vanish for ever, to give me some consolation.
#Beethoven250 Day 198
“Als die Geliebte sich Trennen Wollte” (WoO 132), 1806
A studio recording by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is always an excellent consolation when YouTube doesn’t offer any live performances.