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by Vilhelm Krag (1871 - 1933)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Hvad er det for Sølvglans
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål) 
Our translations:  FRE
Hvad er det for Sølvglans,
som flagrer og svinger i Maanedis?
Hvad er det for Brusen
af mægtige Vinger mod Nattebris?
For høie, deilige Kvinderøster
de klinger over Havet fra Vester til Øster
en Klage af Sjæle, som ingen aner.
Hys, Hys, det er Madonnas Svaner.
 
Hver Nytaarsnat vandrer Guds hellige Mor
langs Vei og Sti.
Og ikke en Dør paa den vide Jord
gaar hun forbi.
En Kvinde, som endnu er ren i Sind,
Guds Mor vil føre i Stjerneskin
med spidse Vinger I Svanefølge
paa Nathimlens Maanebølge.
 
Hver Nytaarsnat vandrer Guds hellige Mor
til evig Tid.
Men ingen Menneskesjæl på Jord
er skjær og hvid,
Og derfor klager de deilige Røster,
saa sårt over Havet fra Vester til Øster,
en Klage af Sjæle, som ingen aner.
Hys, Hys, det er Madonnas Svaner.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   A. Backer-Grøndahl 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Vilhelm Krag (1871 - 1933), no title, appears in Sange fra Syden: Reiseindtryk og stemninger, in Middelhav, in Middelhavsnat, no. 3, first published 1893 [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), "Madonnas Svaner", op. 31 (Ti Sange til Digte af Vilhelm Krag) no. 1, published 1894 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 2 times]

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2007-10-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 134

Quel est cet éclat argenté
Language: French (Français)  after the Norwegian (Bokmål) 
Quel est cet éclat argenté
qui flotte et virevolte dans la vague lumière de la lune ?
Quel est ce bruissement
d’ailes puissantes dans la brise nocturne ?
Des voix de femmes, hautes et délicieuses,
sonnent au-dessus de la mer, d’ouest en est,
une plainte des âmes que personne ne préssentait.
Chut, chut, ce sont les cygnes de la madone.

Chaque nuit du nouvel an, la sainte mère de Dieu
parcourt chemins et sentiers.
Et il n’est pas une seule porte sur cette vaste Terre
qu’elle ne franchisse.
Une femme dont l’esprit est encore pur,
la mère de Dieu l’emmènera à la lueur des étoiles,
avec des ailes pointues, avec un cortège de cygnes,
sur la vague lunaire du ciel nocturne.

Chaque nuit du nouvel an, la sainte mère de Dieu
erre pour l’éternité.
Mais aucune âme humaine sur Terre
n’est pure et blanche,
Et c’est pourquoi ces voix délicieuses se lamentent,
si douloureusement au-dessus de la mer, d’ouest en est,
une plainte des âmes que personne ne devine.
Chut, chut, ce sont les cygnes de la madone.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Madonnas Svaner" = "Les cygnes de la madonne"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Norwegian (Bokmål) to French (Français) copyright © 2026 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Norwegian (Bokmål) by Vilhelm Krag (1871 - 1933), no title, appears in Sange fra Syden: Reiseindtryk og stemninger, in Middelhav, in Middelhavsnat, no. 3, first published 1893
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2026-09-28
Line count: 24
Word count: 176

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