Gentle sounds of the soul | Gentle sounds of the soul, inspired by the breath of love

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by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Leise Töne der Brust, geweckt vom Odem...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT CAT DUT ENG FRE

1.
Leise Töne der Brust, geweckt vom Odem der Liebe,
  Hauchet zitternd hinaus, ob sich euch [öffen']¹ ein Ohr,
Oeffn' ein liebendes Herz, und wenn sich keines euch öffnet, 
  Trag' ein Nachtwind euch seufzend in meines zurück.

2.
Liebe hab' ich gefunden, und Liebe hab' ich verloren;
  [Neue]² Liebe, mein Herz, blickest du suchend umher. 
Ach! ist einmal das Leben hinab in die Grüfte gestiegen,
  Seinen Schatten allein senden die Götter herauf.

3.
Leise schlummertest du mir einst am Busen, so leise,
  Daß dich mit flüsterndem Hauch weckte der nahende Kuß.
Ach, so schlummert nun leise mir, Liebste, dein Bild im Busen;
  Wie sich reget ein Hauch, schauet es wachend mich an.

4.
Daß du wärest gestorben! so könnt' ich mit Augen der Sehnsucht 
  Droben suchen dein Bild, das ich hienieden verlor.
Doch nun lebst du der Welt, und bist dem Herzen gestorben; 
  Wie ich dich sehe so nah, fühl' ich so ferne dich doch.

5.
Ruhn sie? rufet das Horn des Wächters drüben aus Westen, 
  Und aus Osten das Horn rufet entgegen: Sie ruhn!
Hörst du, zagendes Herz, die flüsternden Stimmen der Engel? 
  Lösche die Lampe getrost, hülle in Frieden dich ein.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Brahms • J. Brahms • J. Brahms • J. Rufinatscha

J. Brahms sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Brahms sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Brahms sets stanza 5 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Rufinatscha sets stanzas 1-4

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gesammelte Gedichte von Friedrich Rückert. Zweiter Band. Erlangen. Verlag von Carl Heyder. 1836, page 285.

¹ Brahms: "öff'ne" (Peters Edition) and "öffen" (Breitkopf und Härtel); later editions of Rückert have "öffn' "
² Rufinatscha: "Meine" (error?)

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "Nachtwache", appears in Wanderung, in 1. Erster Bezirk. Italienische Gedichte, in Distichen, no. 8 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Nachtwache I", op. 104 (Fünf Gesänge) no. 1 (1888?), published 1888, stanza 1 [ saatbb chorus ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Leise Töne der Brust", op. 113 no. 10 (1859-63), stanza 1 [ 4 female voices ], from 13 Kanons für Frauenstimmen, no. 10, Leipzig, Peters [sung text checked 1 time]
by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Nachtwache II", op. 104 (Fünf Gesänge) no. 2 (1888?), published 1888, stanza 5 [ saatbb chorus ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
by Berthold Damcke (1812 - 1875), "Nachtwache", op. 19 no. 2, published 1844 [ vocal quartet for male voices ], Hannover, Nagel [sung text not yet checked]
by Johann Rufinatscha (1812 - 1893), "Nachtwache", stanzas 1-4 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Claus-Christian Schuster [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 195

Gentle sounds of the soul

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Gentle sounds of the soul, inspired by the breath of love,
blow tremblingly forth, if you open an ear,
open a loving heart; and if none opens to you,
let the night wind carry you sighing back to me.
















Are they resting? the horn of the watchman calls from the west,
and from the east the horn calls a reply: they rest.
Do you hear, apprehensive heart, the whispering voices of angels?
Extinguish the lamp confidently, and cover yourself in peace.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2004 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
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "Nachtwache", appears in Wanderung, in 1. Erster Bezirk. Italienische Gedichte, in Distichen, no. 8
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2004-04-28
Line count: 8
Word count: 81