Leonard in the german "prisma"

News about Leonard Cohen and his work, press, radio & TV programs etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
tina
Posts: 263
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Aachen, Germany

Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by tina »

Der ewige Verführer - Leonard Cohen auf Deutschland-Tour
(The eternal seducer - Leonard Cohen on Germany-Tour)


There is a two-pages article in the german "prisma" - here some abstracts:

Frauen, die zu Liedern wurden
Leonard Cohen: vier Konzerte in Deutschland

Leonard Cohen war nie das, was man eine Rampensau nennt, und jetzt, mit 78, wird er das auch nicht mehr werden. Aber wenn er in diesen Tagen zu vier Konzerten nach Deutschland kommt, wird das Publikum in den ausverkauften Hallen jedes Wort, jeden Vers mitsingen oder genüsslich aufsaugen, als ob es ein Stück des eigenen Lebens wäre.
Es mag mit Cohens alttestamentarischen Ton zusammenhängen - seine nasale Beerdigungsstimme, der vielfältige Gebrauch des Adjektivs "holy" -, dass seinen Songs etwas Weihvolles, um nicht zu sagen Geweihtes anhaftet. [...]
Leonard Cohen ist ein Typ, der zu Missverständissen Anlass gibt. In seinem nicht eben üppgigem Oeuvre - zwölf Alben in fünzig Jahren - geht es beinahe monothematisch um Liebe, Sex, Schuld und damit tatsächlich auch um Gott und göttliches Gesetz. [...]


I try to translate (only the first part - I still work on the rest):
Women who became songs
Leonard Cohen: for concerts in Germany

Leonard Cohen never has been a "stage tiger" (stage hog?), and now, with 78, he won't be it anymore. But when he comes to Germany those days to play the four concerts, the audience in the sold out halls will sing along or aspirate every word, every line with pleasure, as though it would be a part of their own life.
[to be continued ]


PS:For German - I don't know if it is a regional or a German wide thing - the "prisma" is a television-journal, which lies weekly in the newspaper
Last edited by tina on Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Brugge July 2008 // Oberhausen November 2008 // Cologne July 2009 // Ghent August 2012 // Mönchengladbach September 2012 // Oberhausen June 2013 // Brussels June 2013
HelenOE
Posts: 1008
Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:06 am

Re: Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by HelenOE »

I made an effort at this text with Google Translate and whatever is left of the German I studied in college. Corrections welcome.
Leonard Cohen was never what you call a stage hog, and now, at 78, he never will be. But when he comes these days to do four concerts in Germany, the audience in the sold-out venues will sing along or absorb with relish every word, every verse, as if it were a piece of their own life.
It may be due to Cohen's Old Testament sound - his funereal nasal voice, the various uses of the adjective "holy" - that something solemn, not to say sanctified, adheres to his songs. [...]
Leonard Cohen is a type that gives rise to misunderstanding. In his not-even-lavish oeuvre, - twelve albums in fifty years - it's almost monothematic about love, sex, guilt, and thus actually about God and divine law. [...]
User avatar
lizzytysh
Posts: 25503
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:57 pm
Location: Florida, U.S.A.

Re: Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by lizzytysh »

Thanks, Tina and Helen.
I like how just a couple paragraphs can say so much.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
User avatar
mnkyface
Posts: 1979
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:16 pm
Location: California

Re: Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by mnkyface »

Helen, that was an excellent translation on your part. I do German to English translation for a living and I am impressed with your "college German". :) The "es geht um" verb phrasing - in the last sentence - can be tricky.

Thanks for posting, Tina.

This was a welcome distraction from my current project: translation of a loooong survey about bathroom cleaning products. Wow, people sure do love that WC Ente (Toilet Duck!!) :roll:
"In this world of shallow, he is the abyss."~ YouTube commenter greg450318
________________________________________________________________
Lyon, July 2008 / Oakland x2, April 2009 / San Jose, November 2009 / Oakland, December 2010 / San Jose, November 2012 / Oakland, March 2013
User avatar
pittermann
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 1:03 am
Location: Mönchengladbach, Germany

Re: Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by pittermann »

In case you want to order a copy of that particular weekly TV-journal ( it is number 25) go to:
http://www.prisma-verlag.de/
then follow "zur Heftbestellung" and fill in the form
or write to:
prisma Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
40196 Düsseldorf
User avatar
tina
Posts: 263
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Aachen, Germany

Re: Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by tina »

HelenOE wrote:I made an effort at this text with Google Translate and whatever is left of the German I studied in college. Corrections welcome.
Thanks a lot for the translation, Helen, I couldn't have done it this way! Thank you!

pittermann wrote:In case you want to order a copy of that particular weekly TV-journal ( it is number 25) go to:
http://www.prisma-verlag.de/
then follow "zur Heftbestellung" and fill in the form
or write to:
prisma Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
40196 Düsseldorf
What a great hint! Thanks for sharing it, Pittermann.
Brugge July 2008 // Oberhausen November 2008 // Cologne July 2009 // Ghent August 2012 // Mönchengladbach September 2012 // Oberhausen June 2013 // Brussels June 2013
rmorgan
Posts: 114
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:01 pm

Re: Leonard in the german "prisma"

Post by rmorgan »

Thanks so much for sharing this commentary!
Quite how "love, sex, guilt, G-d and the Divine Law" can be conceived as "monothematic" is beyond me!
But still ... it's good to see the appreciation ... as LC prepares once more for us to take Berlin ... :)
Post Reply

Return to “News”