Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen

Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen (lit. trans: tiny snowflake, white, tiny skirt) is a German christmas carol. The original version comes from Hedwig Haberkern (1837–1901), who published the song in her first book in 1869.[1]

Lyrics

Contemporary (German) version and its English translation

Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen,
wann kommst du geschneit?
Du wohnst in den Wolken,
dein Weg ist so weit.

Komm setz dich ans Fenster,
du lieblicher Stern,
malst Blumen und Blätter,
wir haben dich gern.

Schneeflöckchen, du deckst uns
die Blümelein zu,
dann schlafen sie sicher
in himmlischer Ruh’.

Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen,
komm zu uns ins Tal.
Dann bau’n wir den Schneemann
und werfen den Ball.

Tiny Snowflake, little whitedress,
when are you coming snowed?
You live in the clouds
your way is so far

Come sit at the window
you lovely star
paint flowers and leaves,
we like you.

Tiny Snowflake, you cover us
the flowers,
then they sleep safely
in heavenly peace.

Tiny Snowflake, white little skirt,
come to us in the valley.
Then we'll build the snowman
and throw the ball

    Compared to the original text, which consists of two stanzas, each with eight lines, the text is now usually reproduced in four four-line stanzas. Weißröckchen, a Silesian synonym for snowflake, does not appear in the original version of the text in the opening verse, only in the fourth to last line.

    Melody

    According to the poet's will the song should have been sung to the melody of the song We children, we have so much of joy (Wir Kinder, wir haben der Freuden so viel). The text of this song by Christian Adolph Overbeck was first published in the Musen-Almanach on the year 1777.[2] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart set the revised text in 1791 as a song for voice and piano Das Kinderspiel, KV 598. (See: Neue Mozart-Ausgabe).[3][4] Another setting had been published by Karl Christian Agthe in 1782.[5] It cannot therefore be said with absolute certainty whether Hedwig Haberkern wanted Mozart's melody for her snowflake song. Since the two known settings are art songs that are melodically and rhythmically more demanding than a simple children's song, it would also be conceivable that Hedwig Haberkern knew another, more folksong melody.

    The melody common today, the composer of which is not known, has been documented in song books since 1915.[6][7][8] However, in the first half of the 20th century, the song was spread across several different melodies. So it was sung on the melody of Im Märzen der Bauer[9] as well as on compositions by Johann André[9][10] and Kurt Schläger.[9] At the latest after the end of the Second World War, the melody known today prevailed. Occasionally - but only in post-war songbooks - the source is mentioned, that the song was brought by German colonists from Russia[11][12] or from Courland.[13]

    References
    1. Haberkern, Hedwig (1869). Tante Hedwig’s Geschichten für kleine Kinder. Ein Buch für erzählende Mütter, Kindergärtnerinnen und kleine Leser. Breslau: Eduard Trewendt.
    2. Voß, Johann Heinrich (1777). Poetische Blumenlese für das Jahr 1777. Hamburg: Bohn. pp. 51–54.
    3. "DME::NMA_KB_SYNOPSIS". dme.mozarteum.at. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
    4. "DME::NMA_KB_SYNOPSIS". dme.mozarteum.at. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
    5. Agthe, Carl Christian (1782). Lieder eines leichten und fließenden Gesangs für das Clavier. Ballenstedt. p. 22.
    6. Hirt, Ferdinand (1915). Liederbuch für Volksschulen - 1. Heft, Unterstufe. Breslau: Königliche Universitäts- und Verlagsbuchhandlung. p. 28.
    7. D.C. Först, W. Suhr (1915). Liederbuch für Niedersachsen - Heft 1 (4. Auflage 1922). Kiel: Lipsius und Tischer. p. 41.
    8. Heulers, Raimund (1917). Singbuch für höhere Mädchenschulen, 1. Teil. Nürnberg: Verlag der Friedrich Kornschen Buchhandlung. p. 95.
    9. Mang, Theo and Sunhilt (2007). Der Liederquell. Wilhelmshaven: Noetzel.
    10. Fromm, Else (1922). Lieder und Bewegungsspiele. (Pestalozzi-Fröbel-Haus l (Berliner Verein für Volkserziehung). 7. Auflage). Berlin und Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. p. 18.
    11. Liederbuch für Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig-Holsteinischer Heimatbund. 1965. p. 338.
    12. Wolf, Heiner (1964). Unser fröhlicher Gesell. Möseler, Wolfenbüttel. p. 351.
    13. Lieder zur Weihnacht - Sonderdruck für die Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Pflege deutschen Liedgutes. Kommissionsverlag Möseler / Wolfenbüttel.
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