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En hiver, la mort meurtrière entre dans les maisons ; elle cherche la sœur, le père, et leur joue du violon. Mais quand la terre remue sous la bêche du printemps, la mort court dans les rues et salue les passants.
C. Gottwald sets stanza 1
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, in 44. Printemps, no. 6 [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 Clytus Gottwald (1925 - 2023), no title, copyright © 2002, stanza 1 [ chorus ], from Des pas sur la neige, no. 1, Carus-Verlag, note: Based on: Debussy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "En hiver", 1939 [ mixed chorus ], from Six Chansons, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Léon Orthel (1905 - 1985), "En hiver", op. 61 no. 3 (1972), published 1972 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sept mélodies, no. 3, Amsterdam, Ed. Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Guy Sacre (b. 1948), "En hiver, la mort", 1980, published 2018 [ medium voice and piano ], from Deux poèmes français de Rilke, no. 1, Lyon, Éditions Symétrie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Zafred (1922 - 1987), "En hiver, la mort meurtrière", 1954, published 1954 [ female voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 3, Milano : G. Ricordi & C. [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2001, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 40
In Winter, murderous Death comes into the houses, seeks out sister and father and plays to them on the fiddle. But when the earth turns under Springtime's spade Death runs through the streets and greets the passers-by.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"En hiver" = "In Winter"
"En hiver, la mort" = "In Winter, Death"
"En hiver, la mort meurtrière" = "In WInter, murderous Death"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2001 by Grant Hicks, (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 French (Français) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, in 44. Printemps, no. 6
This text was added to the website: 2025-05-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 37