by Vilhelm Krag (1871 - 1933)
Translation Singable translation by Aubertine Woodward Moore (1841 - 1929), as Auber Forestier
Det er nat så vide over vei og vang
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål)
Our translations: FRE
Det er nat så vide over vei og vang, det er stillt i veiret, men dog er [det]1 klang som fra månestrålers fineste strenge. Hvor underligt at sidde så ene og forladt! Gad vidst, om [det ei]2 er slig majlys en nat alverne danser over enge? Det er nat så vide over vei og vang. Jeg hører der bæve gjennem luften en sang, men tonerne kan jeg ikke finde. Det er drømme som kommer, og drømme som går, drømme fra ivinter og drømme fra ivår, og [vemod]3, som vugger mig isinde. Og [vemod]3, som vugger sig så vide over land, [vemod]3 indtil verdens den yderste rand, og længsler, som flokkes og trænges. Det hulker i skoge og det græder i krat. Å Gud, hvor det er tungt slig majlys en nat, at sidde her så ensom og længes!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Sinding: "der"
2 Sinding: "ei det"
3 Sinding: "vermod"
Text Authorship:
- by Vilhelm Krag (1871 - 1933), "Majnat", appears in Digte, first published 1891 [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 Agathe Ursula Backer-Grøndahl (1847 - 1907), "Mainat", op. 29 (Ti sange) no. 8, published 1892 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christian Sinding (1856 - 1941), "Majnat", op. 22 no. 3 [ voice and piano ], from Fem Galmandssange = Fünf Verrücktenlieder, no. 3, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Henzen (1850 - 1910) , "Mainacht" ; composed by Christian Sinding.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Aubertine Woodward Moore) , "A May night"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Nuit de mai", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 145
A May night
Language: English after the Norwegian (Bokmål)
It is night, and darkness falls over land and lea, Hushed is ev’ry zephyr, yet sounds float to me From the moonbeams finest strings, as ‘twere straying. How wond’rous ‘tis to sit here alone, forsaken quite! Who knows if ‘twere not such a May moonlight night Elves o’er the green went dancing, playing? It is night, and darkness falls over land and lea, A song, quiv’ring thro’ the air, comes floating to me; It’s tones I would grasp, yet find them never. They are dreams that now come and now go, I hear ring, Dreams that tell of winter and dreams that tell of spring, And sadness that haunteth me forever. Aye, sadness, vibrating, floating over sea and land, Gloom extending far tow’rd earth’s uttermost rand, And yearnings that round me are thronging. I hear the forest moaning, weeping outright. Ah! mournful ‘tis, indeed, this May moonlight night, To sit here all alone with my longing.
From the Sinding score.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Aubertine Woodward Moore (1841 - 1929), as Auber Forestier, "A May night" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Norwegian (Bokmål) by Vilhelm Krag (1871 - 1933), "Majnat", appears in Digte, first published 1891
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2020-09-22
Line count: 18
Word count: 156