This project is now complete! All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/hermann-and-dorothea-by-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/
There are few modern poems of any country so perfect in their kind as the "Hermann and Dorothea" of Goethe. In clearness of characterization, in unity of tone, in the adjustment of background and foreground, in the conduct of the narrative, it conforms admirably to the strict canons of art; yet it preserves a freshness and spontaneity in its emotional appeal that are rare in works of so classical a perfection in form.
The basis of the poem is a historical incident. In the year 1731 the Archbishop of Salzburg drove out of his diocese a thousand Protestants, who took refuge in South Germany, and among whom was a girl who became the bride of the son of a rich burgher. The occasion of the girl's exile was changed by Goethe to more recent times, and in the poem she is represented as a German from the west bank of the Rhine fleeing from the turmoil caused by the French Revolution. The political element is not a mere background, but is woven into the plot with consummate skill, being used, at one point, for example, in the characterization of Dorothea, who before the time of her appearance in the poem has been deprived of her first betrothed by the guillotine; and, at another, in furnishing a telling contrast between the revolutionary uproar in France and the settled peace of the German village.
The characters of the father and the minister Goethe took over from the original incident, the mother he invented, and the apothecary he made to stand for a group of friends. But all of these persons, as well as the two lovers, are recreated, and this so skillfully that while they are made notably familiar to us as individuals, they are no less significant as permanent types of human nature. The hexameter measure which he employed, and which is retained in the present translation, he handled with such charm that it has since seemed the natural verse for the domestic idyl—witness the obvious imitation of this, as of other features of the poem, in Longfellow's "Evangeline."
Taken as a whole, with its beauty of form, its sentiment, tender yet restrained, and the compelling pathos of its story, "Hermann and Dorothea" appeals to a wider public than perhaps any other product of its author. ( Introduction of the book)
- Text source (only read from this text!): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1958
- Type of proof-listening required (Note: please read the PL FAQ): standard
IMPORTANT - soloist, please note: in order to limit the amount of languishing projects (and hence the amount of files on our hard-pressed server), we ask that you post an update at least once a month in your project thread, even if you haven't managed to record anything. If we don't hear from you for three months, your project may be opened up to a group project if a Book Coordinator is found. Files you have completed will be used in this project. If you haven't recorded anything yet, your project will be removed from the forum (contact any admin to see if it can be re-instated).
Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
Magic Window:
BC Admin - The reader will record the following at the beginning and end of each file:
No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
START of recording (Intro):- "Chapter [number] of Hermann and Dorothea. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
- If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]" - Say:
"Hermann and Dorothea, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Translated by Ellen Frothingham. [Chapter]"
For the second and all subsequent sections, you may optionally use the shortened form of this intro disclaimer:- "Chapter [number] of Hermann and Dorothea by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Translated by Ellen Frothingham. This LibriVox recording is in the Public Domain."
- If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]" - Only if applicable, say:
"[Chapter title]"
- At the end of the section, say:
"End of [Chapter]" - If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]" - At the end of the book, say (in addition):
"End of Hermann and Dorothea, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Translated by Ellen Frothingham."
There should be ~5 seconds silence at the end of the recording. - Example filename hermannanddorothea_#_goethe_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where # is the section number (e.g. hermannanddorothea_1_goethe_128kb.mp3)
Transfer of files (completed recordings)
Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.- Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
(If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin) - You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: TriciaG
- When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
- If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.
Any questions?
Please post below - Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
