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Vollkommen ist die Stille dieses goldenen Tags. Unter alten Eichen Erscheinst du, Elis, ein Ruhender mit runden Augen. Ihre Bläue spiegelt den Schlummer der Liebenden. An deinem Mund Verstummten ihre rosigen Seufzer. Am Abend zog der Fischer die schweren Netze ein. Ein guter Hirt Führt seine Herde am Waldsaum hin. O! wie gerecht sind, Elis, alle deine Tage. Leise sinkt An kahlen Mauern des Ölbaums blaue Stille, Erstirbt eines Greisen dunkler Gesang. Ein goldener Kahn Schaukelt, Elis, dein Herz am einsamen Himmel.
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Confirmed with Deutsche Lyrik seit Liliencron, herausgegeben von Hans Bethge, Leipzig: Hesse & Becker Verlag, 1921, pp. 254-255.
Text Authorship:
- by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), no title, appears in Sebastian im Traum, in Sebastian im Traum, in Elis, no. 1 [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 Jacques G. Goosen (b. 1952), "Elis 1", 1976, from Georg-Trakl-Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Elis (1. Fassung)", 1996, first performed 1996 [ tenor and piano ], from Trakl-Lieder II : Schweigen und Kindheit, no. 3, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "An den Knaben Elis von F. [!] Trakl. Ruhig", op. 18 no. 2 (1925-1930) [ alto, clarinet, and strings ], from Gesang vom Tode, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Elis 1", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Laura Stanfield Prichard [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-15
Line count: 15
Word count: 82
Immaculate is the stillness of this golden day. Under ancient oak trees you appear, Elis, reposing one and round your eyes. Their blueness mirrors the lovers’ slumber. On your lips her rosy sighs grew mute. In the evening the fisherman hauled in the heavy nets. A caring shepherd leads his flock along the forest edge. O! How righteous, Elis, are all your days. Softly sinks along bleak walls the olive tree’s blue stillness; an old man’s dark song dies away, A golden boat, Elis, cradles your heart in the lonesome sky.
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Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 by Bertram Kottmann, (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.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), no title, appears in Sebastian im Traum, in Sebastian im Traum, in Elis, no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2016-06-26
Line count: 15
Word count: 91