Der Entfernten

Wohl denk' ich allenthalben,
O du Entfernte, dein!
Früh, wenn die Wolken [falben]1,
Und spät im Sternenschein.
Im Grund des Morgengoldes,
Im rothen Abendlicht,
Umschwebst du mich, o holdes,
Geliebtes Traumgesicht!

Es folgt in alle Weite
Dein trautes Bild mir nach,
Es wallt mir stets zur Seite,
Im Träumen oder wach;
Wenn Lüfte sanft bestreifen
Der See beschilften Strand,
Umflüstern mich die Schleifen
Von seinem Busenband.

Ein Abglanz seines Schleyers
Scheint auf die Saat gewebt;
Sein Hauch, was des Gemäuers
Bewegten Eppich hebt;
Der Kleidung weiche Falten,
Geformt aus Glanz und Duft,
Entschwinden in den Spalten
Der öden Felsenkluft.

Wo rauschender und trüber
Der Strom Gebirge trennt,
Weht oft sein Laut herüber,
Den meine Seele kennt;
Wenn ich den Fels erklimme,
Den noch kein Fuß erreicht,
Lausch' ich nach jener Stimme,
Doch Kluft und Echo schweigt. 

Wo durch die Nacht der Fichten
Ein Dämm'rungsflimmer wallt,
Seh' ich dich zögernd flüchten,
Geliebte Luftgestalt!
Wenn sanft dir nachzulangen,
Der Sehnsucht Arm sich hebt,
Ist dein Phantom zergangen,
Wie Thaugedüft verschwebt.

Translation(s): CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE SPA

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Confirmed with Gedichte von J. G. von Salis. Neueste Auflage. Wien 1815. Bey B. Ph. Bauer, pages 85-86.

Authorship

• by Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis (1762 - 1834), "Der Entfernten", written 1789 [ author's text checked 2 times]

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

• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Entfernten", D. 331 (c1816), published 1866, first performed 1863, stanzas 1-2 [vocal quartet for 2 tenors and 2 basses], first setting [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Entfernten", D. 350 (1816?), published 1885 [voice, piano], second setting [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "A la que és lluny", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan de verre afwezige", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "To the distant beloved", copyright ©
• ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "To someone far away", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À la lointaine", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• SPA Spanish (Español) (Daniel Faure) , "A la amada distante", copyright © 2007, (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

To the distant beloved

Wherever I am, I think
about you, my distant beloved!
In the morning when the clouds grow pale,
and late at night in the starlight,
at the beginning of golden dawn
and in the red light of evening,
you hover before me, o sweet,
most beloved dream-image!

Everywhere I go, 
your dear image follows me;
it always floats to my side
when I'm dreaming or awake;
When breezes gently brush
the shore of the reedy ocean,
I hear the whispered rustling
of your bodice.










Where noisier and darker,
the river parts the mountains,
its sound often comes over to me
and my soul knows it;
when I climb the cliff
that no foot has ever reached before,
I listen for that voice
but nothing echoes from the gulf below.

Where through the night the pines
gleam with a dusky glimmer,
I see you fleeing hesitantly,
beloved, airy figure!
When I reach out gently for you,
my arms lifted in yearning,
your phantom melts
and is wafted away like dewy mist.

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.
  
  
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• a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis (1762 - 1834), "Der Entfernten", written 1789 CAT DUT FRE SPA
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Franz Peter Schubert. Go to the text.

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