So laßt mich scheinen, bis ich werde

So laßt mich scheinen, bis ich werde,
Zieht mir das weiße Kleid nicht aus!
Ich eile von der [schönen]1 Erde
Hinab in jenes [feste]2 Haus.

Dort ruh' ich eine kleine Stille,
Dann öffnet sich der frische Blick;
Ich lasse dann die reine Hülle,
Den Gürtel und den Kranz zurück.

Und jene [himmlischen]3 Gestalten
Sie fragen nicht nach Mann und Weib,
Und keine Kleider, keine Falten
Umgeben den verklärten Leib.

Zwar lebt' ich ohne Sorg und Mühe,
Doch fühlt' ich tiefen Schmerz genung.
Vor Kummer altert' ich zu frühe;
Macht mich auf ewig wieder jung.

Translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA ITA POR

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Goethe's Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand. Zweyter Band. Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. 1827, page 119; and with Goethe's Werke. Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand. Zwanzigster Band. Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cotta'schen Buchhandlung. 1828, page 159.

First published in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. Ein Roman. Herausgegeben von Goethe. Vierter Band. Berlin. Bei Johann Friedrich Unger. 1796, pages 259-260. The poem appears in Book 8, Chapter 2 of Goethe's novel.

Authorship

• by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Mignon", written 1796, appears in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, first published 1796 [ 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 Michael Brough (b. 1960), "So lasst mich scheinen", op. 12 (Vierzehn Lieder) no. 9 (1997-8). [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "So lasst mich scheinen" [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich (1850 - 1900), "Lied des Mignon (So laßt mich scheinen)", H. 134 no. 6 (1871), published 1893, first performed 1914, from Aus Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahren, no. 6. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by David Horne (b. 1970), "Lied der Mignon", 1997 [voice and piano], confirmed with a concert programme booklet [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Gustav Jansen [not F. G. Jansen] , "Mignon", published 1863 [voice and piano], from Musikalisches Göthe-Album. Eine Sammlung Göthescher Lieder, no. 10, Berlin, Mendel [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Joseph Klein (1802 - 1862), "Mignon", published 1836 [voice and piano], from Sechs Gedichte aus Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahren, von Goethe, no. 6. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Leopold Lenz (1803 - 1862), "So laßt mich scheinen", op. 12 no. 3, published 1832 [low soprano or baritone and piano], from Mignon der Harfner und Philine ein Cyclus von acht Gesaengen aus "Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre", no. 3. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Arnold Mendelssohn (1855 - 1933), "So lasst mich scheinen" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Georg Patzcker , "Mignon", published 1888 [voice and piano], from Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 3, Halle, Karmrodt [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Mignons letzter Gesang", published 1796. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Bernard Reichel (1901 - 1992), "So lasst mich scheinen", published 198-? [voice and piano], from Lieder-Gedichte von Goethe, no. 3, Monthey : Cantate Domino [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829 - 1894), "Mignon", op. 91 no. 12, from Die Gedichte und das Requiem fur Mignon aus Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre", no. 12. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Franz Rudolph , "So laßt mich scheinen", op. 2 no. 1, published 1899 [voice and piano], from Mignon-Lieder von Goethe für 1 Singstimme und Pianoforte, no. 1, Innsbruck, Gross [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, née Malvina Garrigues (1825 - 1904), "So lasst mich scheinen", published 1880 [voice and piano], from Mignon's vier Lieder von Goethe, für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 4, Berlin, Bote & Bock [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Mignon. 1. Weise", D. 469 (1816), published 1897 [voice, piano], first setting. note: two short fragments [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Mignon II", D. 727 (1821), published 1850 [voice, piano], second setting [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Lied der Mignon", op. 62 (Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister) no. 3, D. 877 no. 3 (1826), published 1827 [voice, piano], from Gesänge aus Wilhelm Meister, no. 3, third setting [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "So laßt mich scheinen", op. 98a no. 9 (1849), published 1851 [soprano and piano], from Lieder und Gesänge aus dem "Wilhelm Meister" von Goethe, no. 9, Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Eduard Ritter von Welz (1854 - ?), "So lasst mich scheinen", op. 4 (Drei Lieder der Mignon aus Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister" für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1886 [voice and piano], Liegnitz, Kaulfuss [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903), "Mignon III", published 1891 [voice and piano], from Goethe-Lieder, no. 7, Mainz, Schott [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Erich Zeisl (1905 - 1959), "Dieselbe", 1938 [soprano and piano], unpublished [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Laat mij zo lijken tot ik zijn zal", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "So let me seem", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Lasciatemi apparire così", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Così lasciate che io appaia, finché non mi trasformi", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• POR Portuguese (Português) (Ana Vargas) , "Deixe-me aparecer, até que eu seja", copyright © 2006, (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

So let me seem

So let me seem, until I become so;
don't take the white dress away from me!
From the beautiful earth I hasten
down into that solid house.

There I will repose a moment in peace,
until I open my eyes afresh;
then I will leave behind the spotless garment,
the girdle and the wreath.

And those spirits of heaven
do not ask whether one is `man' or `woman',
and no clothes, no robes
will cover my transfigured body.

Although I have lived without trouble and toil,
I have still felt deep pain.
Through sorrow I have aged too soon;
Make me forever young again!

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 Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Mignon", written 1796, appears in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, first published 1796 CAT DUT FRE ITA ITA POR
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Michael Brough, John Woods Duke, Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich, David Horne, Gustav Jansen [not F. G. Jansen], Joseph Klein, Leopold Lenz, Arnold Mendelssohn, Georg Patzcker, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Bernard Reichel, Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein, Franz Rudolph, Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Franz Peter Schubert, Robert Schumann, Eduard Ritter von Welz, Hugo Wolf, Erich Zeisl. Go to the text.

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