Berggeist

Ein starker Geist hält seine weiße Hand
Weit über seine Berge ausgespannt.

Groß ist das Leuchten seines Angesichts,
Ich aber fürcht' ihn nicht: er tut mir nichts.

In schwarzen Schlüften hab' ich ihn gespürt,
Auf hohen Gipfeln sein Gewand berührt.

Ich hab ihn oft aus leisem Schlaf geweckt
Und zwischen Tod und Leben frech geneckt.

Und stundenlang, wenn ich im Herzen litt,
Ging er auf Gletscherwegen leise mit

Und legte gütig seine kühle Hand
Auf meine Stirne, bis ich Frieden fand.

Translation(s): ENG FRE

List of language codes

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 115.

Authorship

• by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Berggeist", written 1902, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III, in Von Wanderungen, in Hochgebirgswinter, no. 2, first published 1919 [ 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 Paul Baumann (b. 1887), "Berggeist", published <<1917. [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Berggeist", op. 99 no. 3 (1954), published 1957 [voice and piano], from Hochgebirgswinter, no. 3. [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

• ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Mountain spirit", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "L'esprit de la montagne", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website: 2014-06-12.
Last modified: 2018-08-08 13:15:33
Line count: 12
Word count: 81

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L'esprit de la montagne

Un puissant esprit tient sa main blanche
Ouverte bien au-dessus de sa montagne.

Grand est l'éclat de son visage
Mais je ne le crains pas : il ne me fait rien.

Je l'ai senti dans les gouffres noirs,
J'ai touché son habit sur les hauts sommets.

Je l'ai souvent réveillé d'un léger sommeil
Et impertinemment moqué entre la vie et la mort.

Et durant des heures, quand mon cœur souffrait,
Il m'accompagnait lentement sur le chemin des glaciers.

Et il posait sa main froide et compatissante
Sur mon front, jusqu'à ce que je trouve la paix.

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Authorship

• Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2017 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
  
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• a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Berggeist", written 1902, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III, in Von Wanderungen, in Hochgebirgswinter, no. 2, first published 1919 ENG
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Paul Baumann, Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen. Go to the text.

Text added to the website: 2017-01-09.
Last modified: 2017-02-16 14:15:08
Line count: 12
Word count: 96