Abstract

Since the Middle Ages, students cultivated their own musical traditions, and in the seventeenth century, several printed collections of student songs appeared in the German-speaking world. The city of Leipzig in Saxony was both the site of a prestigious university and a center of musical creativity in Germany. The Saxon composer and church musician Adam Krieger (1634-1666) served as organist at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig from 1655. There, he founded a collegium musicum in the city, a private association of music lovers that also included numerous students. The collegium financed itself through concerts for wealthy families of the nobility and bourgeoisie, and the song heard here was part of the repertoire of the student ensemble.

Seventeenth-Century Student Song: Maidens Care only about Appearances (mid-17th century)

Source

He who knows our maidens
and is burnt by the fire
that they have often felt
in their bosoms -
he will find hearts
that are unfeeling one moment,
merciful the next,
but unembraceable always.
If you want to kiss them,
they'll know nothing about it!

Many a man would swear
that they're not easily won,
and yet you can kiss them
without any trouble;
and thus it is always
with these girls -
what they don't mean
will seem to be
their constant concern;
but that doesn't mean we should give up.

That's how contrary
such girls are,
who run from someone
and yet are drawn to him.
They always like
to act
even worse than young men,
and they often know
the most about kissing.

Source: Adam Krieger, "Die Jungfern sein nur auf den Schein," in Herrn Adam Kriegers neue Arien in 6 Zehen eingetheilet, Dresden, 1676. Recording: Student Music in 17th-Century Leipzig: Works by Adam Krieger, Johann Rosenmüller, Johann Pezel. Tenor: Nigel Rogers. Members of the Little Orchestra of London, Joshua Rifkin: harpsichord and director. Nonesuch (H-71204), 1968. Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/lp_student-music-in-17th-century-leipzig_adam-krieger-johann-rosenmller-johann-peze/disc1/02.01.+Die+jungfern+sein+nur+auf+den+Schein.mp3

Internet Archive

Recommended Citation

Seventeenth-Century Student Song: Maidens Care only about Appearances (mid-17th century), published in: German History in Documents and Images, <https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/from-the-reformations-to-the-thirty-years-war-1500-1648/ghdi:audio-5053> [March 27, 2025].