Ein starker Geist hält seine weiße Hand Weit über seine Berge ausgespannt. Groß ist das Leuchten seines Angesichts, Ich aber fürcht' ihn nicht: er tut mir nichts. In schwarzen Schlüften hab' ich ihn gespürt, Auf hohen Gipfeln sein Gewand berührt. Ich hab ihn oft aus leisem Schlaf geweckt Und zwischen Tod und Leben frech geneckt. Und stundenlang, wenn ich im Herzen litt, Ging er auf Gletscherwegen leise mit Und legte gütig seine kühle Hand Auf meine Stirne, bis ich Frieden fand.
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Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 115.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Berggeist", written 1902, appears in Neue deutsche Lyriker III , in Von Wanderungen, in Hochgebirgswinter, no. 2, first published 1919 [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 Paul Baumann (b. 1887), "Berggeist", published <<1917 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Yrjö Henrik Kilpinen (1892 - 1959), "Berggeist", op. 99 no. 3 (1954), published 1957 [ voice and piano ], from Hochgebirgswinter, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "L’esperit de les muntanyes", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Mountain spirit", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "L'esprit de la montagne", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 81