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Schau, unsre Tage sind so eng und bang das Nachtgemach; wir langen alle ungelenk den roten Rosen nach. Du musst uns milde sein, Marie, wir blühn aus deinem Blut, und du allein kannst wissen, wie so weh die Sehnsucht tut; du hast ja dieses Mädchenweh der Seele selbst erkannt: sie fühlt sich an wie Weihnachtsschnee, und steht doch ganz in Brand . . .
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Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Werke, kommentierte Ausgabe in vier Bänden, Band 1 Gedichte 1895 bis 1910, herausgegeben von Manfred Engel und Ulrich Fülleborn, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1996, pages 95-96.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Frühe Gedichte, in Mir zur Feier, in Gebete der Mädchen zu Maria, no. 3 [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 Eduard Erdmann (1896 - 1958), "Schau unsere Tage sind so eng", op. 7 (Fünf Lieder) no. 1 (1916-18), first performed 1916 [ voice and piano ], Ries & Erler Berlin 1921 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hermann Franz Graener (1872 - 1944), "Mädchengebet", op. 102 (Fünf Lieder) no. 2, published 1936 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carita von Horst (1864 - 1935), "Marienlied", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Lieder, no. 4, Berlin: Ed. Bote & G. Bock, also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Józef Koffler (1896 - 1944), "Gebet", op. 1 (Two Songs) no. 2 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Julius Marx (1897 - 1985), "Schau, unsre Tage sind so eng", op. 2 no. 1 (1948) [ soprano and string orchestra ], from Gebete der Mädchen zur Maria; ein Lieder-Zyklus nach Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 1, Bärenreiter, Kassel [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Hilda von Siller (1861 - 1945) ; composed by Carita von Horst.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Song to the Virgin Mary", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-10
Line count: 12
Word count: 64
See, our days are so tightly circumscribed, and anxious is our night chamber; awkwardly we all reach for the red roses. Thou must be gentle with us, Mary, we bloom forth from Thy blood, and only Thou canst know how very painful yearning is; for you yourself knew this maidenly pain of the soul: [the soul] feels like the snow of Christmas, and yet it is completely in flames . . .
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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Frühe Gedichte, in Mir zur Feier, in Gebete der Mädchen zu Maria, no. 3
This text was added to the website: 2020-11-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 72