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Wenn tauber Schmerz die Seele nagt, Und öder Nebel sie umfängt, Und bangend sie nach Troste fragt, Und stets in sich zurück sich drängt: Musik mit einem Himmelsschall Hebt sie empor vom Nebelthal. Wenn unser Herz in Freude schwimmt, Und sich in Freude bald verliehrt; Musik das Herz voll Taumel nimmt, Und sanft in sich zurück es führt. Verschmelzt es sanft in Lieb' und Pein Und läßt's vor Gott im Himmel seyn. Im Himmel labt der Töne Trank Den Durst der Pilger dieser Zeit; Im Himmel kränzet Lobgesang Mit Kränzen der Unsterblichkeit; Die Sterne dort im Jubelgang Frohlocken Einen Lobgesang. O Himmelsgab' ! O Labetrank ! Dem matten Waller dieser Zeit, Geschenk, das aus der Höhe sank, Zu lindern unser Erdenleid, Sey, wenn mein Schifflein sich verirrt, Mir, was der Stern dem Schiffer wird.
Confirmed with Johann Gottfried von Herder’s sämmtliche Werke. Zur schönen Literatur und Kunst, Siebenter Theil, Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, Gesammelt, geordnet, zum Theil übersetzt durch Johann Gottfried von Herder, Neu herausgegeben durch Johann von Müller, Erste Abtheilung, Stuttgart und Tübingen: in der J.G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1828, pages 105-106.
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", appears in Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, in 3. Das dritte Buch. Nordwestliche Lieder [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Richard Edwards (1523? - 1566), "A Song to the Lute in Musicke", appears in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, from an old quarto manuscript in the Cotton Library [Vesp. A. 25], intitled, "Divers things of Henry VIII's time" with some corrections from The Paradise of Dainty Devises, 1596.
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Friedrich Wilhelm Rust (1739 - 1796), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", published 1784 [ voice and piano ], from Oden und Lieder aus den besten deutschen Dichtern, Erste Sammlung, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Xaver Sterkel (1750 - 1817), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", StWV 54 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Deutsche Lieder mit Begleitung des Forte-Piano - 3. Sammlung, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Zöllner (1854 - 1941), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", op. 10 (Vier Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1882 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The power of music", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2010-12-01
Line count: 24
Word count: 132
When mute pain gnaws at the soul, And desolate mist shrouds it, And it anxiously asks for comfort, And always thrusts itself back into itself: Music with a heavenly resonance Lifts it up out of the vale of mist. When our heart is suffused with joy, And soon loses itself in happiness; Music takes hold of the transported heart And gently lead it back into itself, Gently melts it in love and suffering And lets it appear before God in Heaven. In Heaven, the drink of tones Refreshes the thirsty pilgrim of these [earthly] times; In Heaven, songs of praise twine Wreaths of immortality [about the pilgrim]; The stars there in their jubilant paths Rejoice in a single song of praise. Oh heavenly gift, oh refreshing drink For the weary wanderer of this time, A gift that descended from on high To assuage our earthly sorrow: When my little craft is lost, be to me That which a star is to a sailor.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2020 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 Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", appears in Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, in 3. Das dritte Buch. Nordwestliche Lieder
Based on:
- a text in English by Richard Edwards (1523? - 1566), "A Song to the Lute in Musicke", appears in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, from an old quarto manuscript in the Cotton Library [Vesp. A. 25], intitled, "Divers things of Henry VIII's time" with some corrections from The Paradise of Dainty Devises, 1596.
This text was added to the website: 2020-05-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 163