We of the invisible church do not find it

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by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wir von der unsichtbaren Kirche haben

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Wir von der unsichtbaren Kirche haben
nicht Not, die lauten Namen uns zu nennen,
Geschicke uns zu künden vieles redend,
-- und ist Geschick denn, was sich künden läßt? --
Ein Wink der Augen nur, ein Zug der Lippen,
er hat die Kraft und wölbt die schlanken Bogen
geschmeidig -- fest vom Menschen hin zum Menschen,
welchen die Seelen zage erst betreten,
doch lächelnd und dann immer schneller schreiten
und eilen dann und stürzen immer schneller,
um auf des Bogens höchstgewölbter Mitte
in Armen sich zu finden, selig stumm.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Nachgelassene Schriften von Walter Calé. Mit einem Vorwort von Fritz Mauthner, herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Arthur Brückmann, Dritte Auflage, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1910, page 94

Text Authorship:

by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904), no title, appears in Nachgelassene Schriften, in Gesänge (1902-1903) [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 Julius Weismann (1879 - 1950), "Wir von der unsichtbaren Kirche", op. 81 (Neun Lieder) no. 3 (1917/21) [ voice and piano ] [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

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2016-07-27
Line count: 12
Word count: 86

We of the invisible church do not find...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

We of the invisible church do not find it
necessary to tell loud names to ourselves,
to herald fates with much talk,
-- and is it even fate, that which lets itself be heralded? --
A mere sign from one's eyes, a twitch of the lips,
that has the strength and draws the slender curves
smoothly -- firmly from one person to another,
which the souls first enter with trepidation,
yet smiling and then ever more quickly stride
and hasten then and plunge ever more rapidly,
upon the centre of the apex of the arch
to find themselves in each other's arms, blissfully mute.

About the headline (FAQ)

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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904), no title, appears in Nachgelassene Schriften, in Gesänge (1902-1903)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-07-27
Line count: 12
Word count: 101