Matthias Claudius (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the pen name of “Asmus”.
Life
Claudius was born at
Reinfeld, near
Lübeck, and studied at
Jena. He spent the greater part of his life in the town of
Wandsbeck, where he earned his first literary reputation by editing from 1771 to 1775, a newspaper called ''Der Wandsbecker Bote'' (The Wandsbeck Messenger) (''Wandsbeck'' until the year 1879 still written with "ck". Today only with "k".), in which he published a large number of prose essays and poems. They were written in pure and simple German, and appealed to the popular taste; in many there was a vein of extravagant humour or even burlesque, while others were full of quiet meditation and solemn sentiment. In his later days, perhaps through the influence of
Klopstock
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known work is the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah"). One of his major contributions to German literature was to open it up to exploration outsid ...
, with whom he had formed an intimate acquaintance, Claudius became strongly pietistic, and the graver side of his nature showed itself. In 1814 he moved to
Hamburg, to the house of his son-in-law, the publisher
Friedrich Christoph Perthes
Friedrich Christoph Perthes (21 April 1772 – 18 May 1843) was a German publisher. He was the nephew of Johan Georg Perthes.
Life
Perthes was born at Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. At the age of fifteen he became an apprentice in the servic ...
, where he died on 21 January 1815.
Work
Claudius's poem ''Death and the Maiden'' was used by composer
Franz Schubert in 1817 for one of his most celebrated
songs, which in turn became the basis for the 1824
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
of the same name.
Claudius's collected works were published under the title of ''Asmus omnia sua secum portans, oder Sämtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Boten'' (8 vols., 1775–1812; 13th edition, by C. Redich, 2 vols., 1902). His biography has been written by Wilhelm Herbst (4th ed., 1878). See also M. Schneidereit, ''M. Claudius, seine Weltanschauung und Lebensweisheit'' (1898).
Poems
*''Abendlied'' ("Evening Song"), aka "
Der Mond ist aufgegangen" ("The moon has risen")
*"Der Mensch lebt und bestehet",
set to music by Max Reger
*"Christiane"
*"Die Sternseherin Lise" (Lise the astrologer)
*"Die Liebe" (Love)
*"Der Tod (Death)
*"Ein Wiegenlied bei Mondschein zu singen" (A lullaby to sing in moonlight)
*"Täglich zu singen" (To be sung every day)
*"" (Song of war)
*"Der Frühling. Am ersten Maimorgen" (The Spring. On the first morning in May)
*"Der Säemann säet den Samen" (The sower sows the seeds), set to music by
Ernst Krenek (''Drei gemischte a-cappella-Chöre'',
Opus 22 )
*"Der Tod und das Mädchen" (The Death and the maiden),
set to music by Schubert
*"
Wir pflügen und wir streuen
"Wir pflügen und wir streuen" (We plough and sow) is a sacred song about thanksgiving for harvest, with text by Matthias Claudius. It was first published in 1783 as ''Das Bauernlied'' (The peasants' song). It became a hymn, with melodies by Johan ...
" (
We plough the fields and scatter - sung in Germany and England as a harvest festival hymn)
Honours
* Asteroid
7117 Claudius was named after him.
References
*
* Reinhard Görisch: ''Matthias Claudius oder Leben als Hauptberuf''. Marburg: Francke ²2014.
* ''Jahresschriften der Claudius-Gesellschaft'', Kiel: Stamp media 1992ff.
External links
*
*
Settings of Matthias Claudius' poetry in the Choral Public Domain Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius, Matthias
People from the Duchy of Holstein
German Lutherans
German poets
University of Jena alumni
1740 births
1815 deaths
German male poets
German-language poets