Und schreit' ich in den Wald hinaus

Und schreit' ich in den Wald hinaus,
Da grüßen mich die Bäume.
Du liebes, freies Gotteshaus,
Du schließest mich mit Sturmgebraus
In deine kühlen Räume!

Da sink' ich an das laute Herz
Der Einsamkeit des Waldes --
Das größte Leid wird süßer Schmerz,
Auf Liederschwingen himmelwärts
Verklingt es und verhallt es.

Geheimes Flüstern hier und dort,
Verborgnes Quellenrauschen --
O Wald, o Wald, geweihter Ort,
Laß mich [der Liebe]1 reinstes Wort,
[An deiner Brust]2 belauschen!

Was leise mich umschwebt, umklingt, --
Ich will es treu bewahren,
Und was [in Klarheit mich durchdringt]3,
Will ich, vom Geist der Lieb' beschwingt,
In Liedern offenbaren!

Translation(s): ENG FRE

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: Clara Schumann switches the stanzas around (her setting begins "Geheimes Flüstern hier und dort".
¹ Schumann: "des Lebens"
² Schumann: "in Zweig und Blatt"
³ Schumann: "mir tief zum Herzen dringt"

Submitted by Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Authorship

• by Hermann Rollett (1819 - 1904), "Waldeszauber", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Friedliche Stimmen, first published 1846 [ 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 Clara Schumann, née Wieck (1819 - 1896), "Geheimes Flüstern hier und dort", op. 23 no. 3, published 1856, stanzas 3,1,4 [voice and piano], from Sechs Lieder, no. 3, Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [ sung text verified 1 time]

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

• ENG English (David Kenneth Smith) , title 1: "Soft, secret whispers here and there", copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Chuchotements secrets ici et là", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

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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

Soft, secret whispers here and there

And striding out into the wood,
I'm greeted by the saplings,
the dear and open house of God,
Embracing me with roaring storm
In your refreshing spaces!

[
.
.
.
.]

Soft, secret whispers here and there,
and springs with hidden murmurs,
o wood, o wood, o sacred spot,
o let me hear life's purest word
in ev'ry twig and leaflet!

What ever soars and sings 'round me,
I will preserve it truly,
what ever pierces deep my heart,
I will, by Love's own spirit borne,
by singing songs reveal it.

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.

Note: this is a translation of the stanzas used in Clara Schumann's setting. If you are viewing this as a single translation, you will need to re-order the stanzas to match her sung text. If you're viewing the aggregation of the translation of all the songs in the collection, they have already been reordered for you.

Authorship

• Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 1996 by David Kenneth Smith, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
  
  David Kenneth Smith. Contact:
  <dksmith (AT) geneva.edu>
  
  
  If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
  
  (licenses at lieder dot net)
  
  
  
  

• a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Rollett (1819 - 1904), "Waldeszauber", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Friedliche Stimmen, first published 1846 FRE
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Clara Schumann. Go to the text.

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