Das Ende des Festes

Da mit Sokrates die Freunde tranken
Und die Häupter auf die [Polster]1 sanken,
Kam ein Jüngling, kann ich mich entsinnen,
Mit zwei schlanken Flötenbläserinnen.
Aus den Kelchen schütten wir die Neigen.
Die gesprächesmüden Lippen schweigen.
Um die welken Kränze zieht ein Singen...
Still, des Todes Schlummerflöten klingen.

Translation(s): ENG FRE IRI

List of language codes

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Schibler: "Kissen"

Submitted by Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Authorship

• by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825 - 1898), "Das Ende des Festes" [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Armin Schibler (1920 - 1986), "Das Ende des Festes", op. 48 no. 15 (1956-8) [contralto and orchestra], from the oratorio Media in vita, no. 15, note: omitted from the revised version of Media in vita [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Das Ende des Festes", op. 60 no. 15 (1946) [medium voice and piano], from Das stille Leuchten: Liederfolge nach Gedichten von Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, no. 15, Wien: Universal Edition [
   text verified 1 time
  ]
• by Felix Wolfes (1892 - 1971), "Das Ende des Festes", 1963. [
   text not verified 
  ]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , title 1: "The end of the feast", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "La fin de la fête", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , title 1: "Deireadh an tSéire", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project, and I have been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated.      - Emily Ezust

The end of the feast

 When with Socrates the friends did drink
 and their heads began to sink onto the upholstery,
 a young man came - I can remember -
 with two slender flute-playing women.

 From our goblets we shake the dregs.
 Lips, tired from speaking, fall silent.
 About the wilted wreaths comes singing:
 silently, Death's slumber-flutes sound.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

Authorship

• Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

  Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

  Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
  from the LiederNet Archive -- http://www.lieder.net/

  For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
  
  
  (licenses at lieder dot net)
  
  
  

• a text in German (Deutsch) by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825 - 1898), "Das Ende des Festes" FRE IRI
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Armin Schibler, Othmar Schoeck, Felix Wolfes. Go to the text.

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.