by Gustav Falke (1853 - 1916)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Allgegenwärtig
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG
  Wenn die Winde sacht 
Um dein Fenster gehn, 
Stimmen in der Nacht 
Von den Hügeln weh'n,

  Hoher Firnenkranz, 
Um den See gereiht, 
Seinen reinen Glanz 
Deinen Tagen leiht,

  Oder still und mild
Wie ein fromm Gebet,
Deiner Heimat Bild
Durch dein Träumen geht --

  Spürst den Atemzug 
Meiner Liebe du? 
Sehnsucht lenkt den Flug 
Deinem Herzen zu.

  Und kein Lüftchen schwebt 
Über Berg und Thal,
Drin ein Hauch nicht lebt
Ihrer Lust und Qual. 

  Tausendfach ins All
Breitet sie sich aus,
Rollt im Donnerhall
Nächtens um dein Haus. 

  Wenn im Flammenschein 
Aus dem Schlaf du schrickst, 
Und die Kammer dein 
Ganz voll Licht erblickst,

  Liebe ist's, die wacht, 
Sehnsucht, die so brennt
Und laut in der Nacht 
Deinen Namen nennt.

Confirmed with Gustav Falke, Mit dem Leben. Neue Gedichte, Hamburg: Alfred Janssen, 1899, pages 93-94.


Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Omnipresent", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-04-04
Line count: 32
Word count: 120

Omnipresent
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
  When the winds gently
Blow about your window,
[When] voices in the night
Waft over from the hills,

  [When] A lofty wreath of firn
Gathered round the lake,
Lends its pure radiance
To your days,

  Or [when] quietly and mildly
Like a pious prayer,
The image of your homeland
Passes through your dreaming --

  Do you feel the breath
Of my love?
Yearning directs its flight
Toward your heart.

  And no breeze wafts
Over mountain and valley,
In which there does not reside 
A breath of [my love's] joy and agony.

  A thousandfold into the universe
It spreads,
In the sounding of thunder
It resounds around your house at night.

  When in the radiance of flames
You are startled out of sleep,
And see that your chamber
Is completely full of light,

  It is love that is keeping watch,
Yearning that burns so,
And loudly in the night
Calls your name.

Translator's note to stanza 2, line 1: "firn" is a type of granular snow.


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 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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This text was added to the website: 2021-04-04
Line count: 32
Word count: 151