Masken! Masken ! Daß man Eros blende
Language: German (Deutsch)
Masken! Masken ! Daß man Eros blende.
Wer erträgt sein strahlendes Gesicht,
wenn er wie die Sommersonnenwende
frühlingliches Vorspiel unterbricht.
Wie es unversehens im Geplauder
anders wird und ernsthaft ... Etwas schrie ...
Und er wirft den namenlosen Schauder
wie ein Tempelinnres über sie.
O verloren, plötzlich, o verloren!
Göttliche umarmen schnell .
Leben wand sich, Schicksal ward geboren.
Und im Innern weint ein Quell.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Gedichte, Leipzig : Insel-Verlag, 1927, 430
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):
- by Krzysztof Baculewski (b. 1950), "Die Liebe?" [ mixed chorus ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Eros", 2010 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Am Rande der Nacht II, no. 5, Editions Pierre Neuray [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Eros", 2009 [ soprano and piano trio ], from Wer du auch seist, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Eros", 2007 [ chorus and orchestra ], from Am Rande der Nacht I, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Kaiserswerth (1955 - 1992), "Eros", 1982 [ voice and guitar ], from Gesänge für Liebende, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Knaak (b. 1958), "Aria", 2019 [ soprano, violins, continuo ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Knaak (b. 1958), "Eros", 2019 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Meyer Tormin (1911 - 1988), "Eros" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oliver Trötschel (b. 1961), "Eros", op. 28 no. 1, first performed 1998 [ soprano and piano ], from Zwei Gesänge nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Ernst Erwin Walther (1920 - 1995), "Eros", 1961-1963, published 2012, copyright © 2012 [ voice and string quintet ], from Lieder, no. 4, Stuttgart : IKURO Edition [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2026, (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: 2023-08-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 62
Masks! Masks! That one might deceive...
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Masks! Masks! That one might deceive Eros.
Who can bear his radiant face,
When he, like the midsummer sun,
Interrupts the prelude of spring.
How unexpectedly amid the chatter
Things change and become serious... Something cries…
And he casts over them a nameless tremor
Like the interior of a temple.
Oh, lost – suddenly – oh lost!
Divine beings quickly embrace.
Life wrapped about itself, Fate was born.
And, within, a spring weeps.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Aria" = "Aria"
"Die Liebe?" = "Love?"
"Eros" = "Eros"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 by Michael P Rosewall, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 73
