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Sei mir gegrüsst mein schmeichelndes Clavier! Was keine Sprache richtig [nennt]1, die Krankheit tief in mir [die nie]2 mein Mund bekennt [die]3 klag ich dir! Dich o Clavier erfand ein Menschenfreund, ein Mann der traurig war, wie ich. Er hat, wie ich, geweint! Voll Kummer schuf er dich für sich [und]4 mich. Und Heil sei ihm, Vertauter meiner Brust Heil sei dem Mann, der dich erfand! Hat ihn, der Schmerz und Lust an deine Saiten band, kein Stein [genandt?]5
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 von Paradis: "denkt"
2 Kraus: "die mir"; von Paradis: "was nie"
3 von Paradis: "dies"
4 von Paradis: "und auch für"
5 Kraus, von Paradis: "genannt"
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Timotheus Hermes (1738 - 1821), no title, appears in Sophiens Reise von Memel nach Sachsen [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 Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792), "An das Klavier", VB 94 (1783) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maria Theresia von Paradis (1759 - 1824), "An das Klavier", 1784-6, from Zwölf Lieder auf ihrer Reise in Musik gesetzt, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johann Xaver Sterkel (1750 - 1817), "An das Clavier" [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-07-03
Line count: 15
Word count: 86
Greetings to you, my affectionate piano! What no language can [utter]1 correctly, The sickness deep within me [That my lips never confess]2, I lament to you! You, oh piano, were invented by a friend of mankind, A man who was sad, as I am. Like me, he wept! Full of sorrow he created you For himself [and]3 for me. And praise be to him, confidant of my bosom, Praise to the man who invented you! He who bound pain and joy To your strings, is his name Not engraved upon any stone?
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesTranslation of title "An das Klavier" = "To the piano"
1 von Paradis: "think"
2 Kraus: "that my lips confess to me"
3 von Paradis: "and also for"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Timotheus Hermes (1738 - 1821), no title, appears in Sophiens Reise von Memel nach Sachsen
This text was added to the website: 2016-05-18
Line count: 15
Word count: 97