An oppressive darkness has descended | An oppressive darkness has descended, oh sister

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by Walter Calé (1881 - 1904)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ein schweres Dunkel sank herab, o...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Ein schweres Dunkel sank herab, o Schwester,
auf allen Wegen liegen große Schatten,
so gib mir deine Hand doch, liebe Schwester,
ich sehe keine Wege in den Schatten.
 
O reiche mir die Hand: ich werde finden,
im ganzen Dunkel find' ich deine Hände,
weil deine frommen Hände immer leuchten,
sie leuchten wie ein weißes Licht, o Schwester.
 
So gib mir deine Hand doch, wo ich rufe,
mir ist nicht froh im Herzen, liebe Schwester.
Mein ganzes Herz ist mir nicht froh, o Schwester,
du redest nicht? und bist du denn gegangen?
du bist doch nicht gegangen, liebe Schwester?

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 99

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), "Ein schweres Dunkel sank herab", op. 70 (Sieben Lieder) no. 5 (1917/8) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "An oppressive darkness has descended", 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: 2016-08-15
Line count: 13
Word count: 98

An oppressive darkness has descended

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

An oppressive darkness has descended, oh sister,
great shadows lie upon all pathways,
therefore give me your hand, dear sister,
I cannot see my way in the shadows.
 
Oh stretch your hand out to me:  I shall find,
in all the darkness I shall find your hands,
because your saintly hands always gleam,
they gleam like a white light, oh sister.
 
Therefore give me your hand when I call,
I have no happiness in my heart, dear sister.
My whole heart is not happy, oh sister;
you do not speak? and have you then departed?
Surely you have not departed, dear sister?

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: 2016-08-15
Line count: 13
Word count: 102