Cold autumn is capable of gagging the day

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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Kalter Herbst vermag den Tag zu knebeln

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Kalter Herbst vermag den Tag zu knebeln,
seine tausend Jubelstimmen schweigen;
hoch vom Domturm wimmern gar so eigen
Sterbeglocken in Novembernebeln.

Auf den nassen Dächern liegt verschlafen
weißes Dunstlicht; und mit kalten Händen
greift der Sturm in des Kamines Wänden
eines Totenkarmens Schlußoktaven.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Sämtliche Werke, Band I, Leipzig : Insel-Verlag, 1955, p.17

Text Authorship:

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Novembertag", appears in Erste Gedichte, in Larenopfer [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 Wilhelm Rettich (1892 - 1988), "Novembertag", op. 128 no. 11 [ voice and piano ], from Monate im Lied, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jörg Ernst Weigand (b. 1940), "Kalter Herbst", published 2023 [ voice and piano ], from Traumtage, p.machinery [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2023-08-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 43

Cold autumn is capable of gagging the...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Cold autumn is capable of gagging the day,
its thousand voices of rejoicing fall silent;
from high upon the cathedral tower the death knells
whimper so peculiarly in the November mists.

Upon the wet rooftops, hazy white light
lies sleepily; and with cold hands
the storm plucks the final octaves
Of a death incantation in the walls of the chimney.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Der Novembertag" = "The November day"
"Kalter Herbst" = "Cold autumn"
"Novembertag" = "November day"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2024 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 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Novembertag", appears in Erste Gedichte, in Larenopfer
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2024-11-01
Line count: 8
Word count: 60