LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,111)
  • Text Authors (19,486)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,114)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

×

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by August Schnezler (1809 - 1853)
Translation © by Lawrence Snyder

Im Mummelsee, im dunklen See
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG ITA
Im Mummelsee, im [dunklen]1 See,
Da blüh'n der Lilien viele,
Sie wiegen sich, sie biegen sich,
Dem losen Wind zum Spiele;
Doch wenn die Nacht herniedersinkt,
Der volle Mond am Himmel blinkt,
Entsteigen sie dem Bade
Als Jungfern am Gestade.

Es bläst der Wind, es saust das Rohr
Die Melodie zum Tanze,
Die Lilienmädchen schlingen sich,
Als wie zu einem Kranze;
Und schweben leis' umher im Kreis,
Gesichter weiss, Gewänder weiß
Bis ihre bleichen Wangen
Mit zarter Röte prangen.

Es braust der Sturm, es pfeift das Rohr,
Es rauscht im Tannenwalde,
Die Wolken zieh'n am Monde hin,
Die Schatten auf der Halde;
Und auf und ab, durch's nasse Gras
Dreht sich der Reigen ohne Mass,
Und immer lauter schwellen
An's Ufer an die Wellen.

Da hebt ein Arm sich aus der Flut,
Die Riesenfaust geballet
Ein triefend Haupt dann, schilfbekränzt
Vom langen Bart umwallet,
Und eine Donnerstimme schallt,
Daß im Gebirg' as widerhallt:
»Zurück in eure Wogen,
Ihr Lilien ungezogen!«

Da stockt der Tanz, die Mädchen schrein,
Und werden immer blässer:
»Der Vater ruft, hu, Morgenluft!
Zurück in das Gewässer!«
Die Nebel steigen aus dem Tal,
Es dämmert schon der Morgenstrahl,
Und Lilien schwanken wieder
Im Wasser auf und nieder.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Brüll: "dunkeln"; further changes may exist not noted above.

Text Authorship:

  • by August Schnezler (1809 - 1853) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

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

  • by Ignaz Brüll (1846 - 1907), "Vom Mummelsee", op. 63 (Fünf Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, published 1891 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ], Wien, Doblinger [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Der Mummelsee", op. 116 no. 3 (1849?) [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Joseph (Gabriel) Rheinberger (1839 - 1901), "Mummelsee", op. 95 (Zwei Gesänge) no. 1, published 1876 [ SATB chorus and piano ], Leipzig, Forberg [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • ENG English (Lawrence Snyder) , "The water-lily lake", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Mummelsee", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Lawrence Snyder

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 201

The water‑lily lake
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
In Mummelsee, in the dark lake,
There bloom many lilies.
They rock, they bend and bow,
Play for the capricious wind.
But when the night descends
And the full moon shines in the heavens
They climb out of water
As maidens on the shore.

The wind blows, it pipes on the reed
The dance melody,
The lilymaidens entwine themselves
Into a ring like a wreath
And hover lightly around in a circle
Faces pale, limbs white,
Until their pale cheeks
Are decorated with sweet Roses.

The storm rages, the reeds pipe 
The fir trees rustle
The moon throws shadows
Of the clouds on the hillsides.
And to and fro, through the damp grass
The Roundelay moves without measure
And ever louder swell
The waves upon the shore.

Then an arm rises out of the flood;
A giant clenched fist,
Then a dripping head,  reed crowned,
Surrounded by a long beard,
And a loud voice trumpets
So that it echoes in the mountains:
Back in your flood 
You ill-mannered lilies."

The dance halts, the maidens cry out
And become yet paler:
Father calls, lo, morning breeze!
Back into the waters!"
The mist climbs out of the valley,
The morning light already dawns,
And lilies sway again
Back and forth in the water.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Lawrence Snyder, (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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by August Schnezler (1809 - 1853)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 211

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has 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 help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris