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Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain; der Mond läuft mit, sie schaun hinein. Der Mond läuft über hohe Eichen, kein Wölkchen trübt das Himmelslicht, in das die schwarzen Zacken reichen. Die Stimme eines Weibes spricht: Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von dir, ich geh in Sünde neben dir. Ich hab mich schwer an mir vergangen; ich glaubte nicht mehr an ein Glück und hatte doch ein schwer Verlangen nach [Lebensfrucht]1, nach Mutterglück und Pflicht – da hab ich mich erfrecht, da ließ ich schaudernd mein Geschlecht von einem fremden Mann umfangen und hab mich noch dafür gesegnet. Nun hat das Leben sich gerächt, nun bin ich dir, o dir begegnet. Sie geht mit ungelenkem Schritt, sie schaut empor, der Mond läuft mit; ihr dunkler Blick ertrinkt in Licht. Die Stimme eines Mannes spricht: Das Kind, das du empfangen hast, sei deiner Seele keine Last, o sieh, wie klar das Weltall schimmert! Es ist ein Glanz um Alles her, du treibst mit mir auf kaltem Meer, doch eine eigne Wärme flimmert von dir in mich, von mir in dich; die wird das fremde Kind verklären, du wirst es mir, von mir gebären, du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht, du hast mich selbst zum Kind gemacht. Er faßt sie um die starken Hüften, ihr Atem [mischt]2 sich in den Lüften, zwei Menschen gehn durch hohe, helle Nacht.
Confirmed with Richard Dehmel, Weib und Welt, Verlag von Schuster u. Loeffler, Berlin, 1896, p. 49.
1 Schoenberg: "Lebensinhalt"2 Schoenberg: "küsst"
Authorship:
- by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Verklärte Nacht", appears in Weib und Welt [author's text checked 1 time 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 Oskar Fried (1871 - 1941), "Verklärte Nacht", op. 9 (1901) [ mezzo-soprano, tenor, and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg (1874 - 1951), "Verklärte Nacht", op. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , "Transfigured night", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Nuit transfigurée", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Notte trasfigurata", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Barbara Rufer , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 228
Two people pass through the cold and barren wood; The moon races along, as they regard it. The moon races above towering oaks; no clouds veil the light of heaven into which their black limbs reach. A woman's voice speaks: I'm carrying a child, and it isn't yours, I walk in sin here beside you. I've brought deep harm upon myself. I no longer believed in a happy future and yet had a deep desire for a complete life, for the joy of motherhood and its responsibilities. Then I was foolhardy; I allowed, shivering, my virtue to be taken by a stranger; and even gloried in it. Now life has taken its revenge: Now you, oh you, have I met. She walks awkwardly; Looks upward, the moon races along. Her dark expression is drowned in light. A man's voice speaks: The child you have conceived, let it not be a burden to your soul. Look, how brightly the universe glitters! There is a radiance surrounding everything. You are adrift with me upon a cold sea; Yet a singular warmth flickers from you into me, and from me into you. It will transfigure this unknown child; You will bear it for me, as if it were from me. You have caused a radiance within me, You have made me, myself, a child again. He grasps her fully around the waist, Their breaths kiss each other in the breeze. Two people pass through the lofty, luminous night.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Verklärte Nacht", appears in Weib und Welt
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-07
Line count: 36
Word count: 245