An die Sterne

Sterne,
In des Himmels Ferne!
Die mit Strahlen bessrer Welt
Ihr die Erdendämmrung hellt;
Schau'n nicht Geisteraugen
Von euch erdenwärts,
Daß sie Frieden hauchen
Ins umwölkte Herz?

Sterne,
In des Himmels Ferne!
Träumt sich auch in jenem Raum
Eines Lebens flücht'ger Traum ?
Hebt Entzücken, Wonne,
Trauer, Wehmut, Schmerz,
Jenseit unsrer Sonne
Auch ein fühlend Herz?

Sterne,
In des Himmels Ferne!
Winkt ihr nicht schon Himmelsruh'
Mir aus euren Fernen zu?
Wird nicht einst dem Müden
Auf den goldnen Au'n
Ungetrübter Frieden
In die Seele tau'n?

Sterne,
In des Himmels Ferne,
Bis mein Geist den Fittich hebt
Und zu eurem Frieden schwebt,
Hang' an euch mein Sehnen
Hoffend, glaubevoll!
O, ihr holden, schönen,
Könnt ihr täuschen wohl?

Translation(s): DUT ENG ENG FRE

List of language codes

Submitted by Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Authorship

• by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "An die Sterne" [ 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 Ignaz Brüll (1846 - 1907), "An die Sterne", op. 19 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 1, published 1876 [voice and piano], Wien, Gutmann [ sung text not verified ]
• by Robert Kahn (1865 - 1951), "An die Sterne", op. 59 (Vier Männerchöre) no. 1 (1912). [men's chorus a cappella] [ sung text not verified ]
• by Karl Martin Reinthaler (1822 - 1896), "An die Sterne", op. 22 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6, published 1866 [voice and piano], Bremen, Cranz [ sung text verified 1 time]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "An die Sterne", op. posth. 141 no. 1 (1849), published 1858 [double SATB chorus and piano], from Vier doppelchörige Gesänge, no. 1, Leipzig, Kistner [ sung text verified 1 time]

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

• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan de sterren", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "To the stars", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Irmela Florig-Rowland) , "To the stars", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Gérard Thomas) , "Des étoiles", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

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To the stars

Stars
in the distant heavens!
Who with your rays of a better world
Brighten the earthly twilight.
Don't your spirit eyes 
Look down upon the earth
In order to instill peace
In the clouded heart?

Stars
in the distant heavens!
In your realm does one also dream
A life's fleeting dream?
Do delight, bliss,
Sadness, melancholy, pain
Beyond our sun
Also elevate a feeling heart?

Stars 
in the distant heavens!
Waving from your distant places,
Do you not already bestow on me heaven's rest?
Will not one day
On the golden meadows
Unalloyed peace 
Fall like dew into the tired soul?

Stars 
in the distant heavens!
Until my soul takes wings
And ascends to your peace,
My yearnings cling to you
Hopefully, trustingly!
Oh, you fair, beautiful ones,
Could you possibly deceive?

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 © 2005 by Irmela Florig-Rowland, (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.
  
  Irmela Florig-Rowland. Contact:
  <iflorig (AT) earthlink (DOT) net>
  
  
  If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
  
  (licenses at lieder dot net)
  
  
  
  

• a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rückert (1788 - 1866), "An die Sterne" DUT FRE
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Ignaz Brüll, Robert Kahn, Karl Martin Reinthaler, Robert Schumann. Go to the text.

Text added to the website: 2006-04-06.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:02:18
Line count: 32
Word count: 132