English translations of Two Songs, opus 1

by Józef Koffler (1896 - 1944)

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1. Helle Nacht  [sung text not yet checked]
by Józef Koffler (1896 - 1944), "Helle Nacht", op. 1 (Two Songs) no. 1 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Weich küßt die Zweige
der weiße Mond.
Ein Flüstern wohnt
im Laub, als neige,
als schweige sich der Hain zur Ruh:
Geliebte du --

Der Weiher [ruht]1, und
die Weide schimmert.
Ihr Schatten flimmert
in seiner Flut, und
der Wind weint in den Bäumen:
wir träumen -- [träumen]2 --

Die [Weiten]3 leuchten
Beruhigung.
Die Niederung
hebt bleich den feuchten
Schleier hin zum Himmelssaum:
o hin -- o Traum -- --

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Confirmed with Richard Dehmel, Gesammelte Werke in drei Bänden, Zweiter Band, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1913, pages 30-31

1 Grimm: "ruft"
2 Grimm, Reger: "wir träumen"; Zeisl: "vom Glück"
3 Grimm: "Welten"

by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920)
1. Bright night
Language: English 
Softly the white moon 
kisses the branches.
A whispering dwells
in the foliage, as if the grove
were inclining, were silencing itself to rest:
Beloved thou --

The pond [rests]1, and
the willow shimmers.
Its shadow flickers 
in [the pond’s] waters, and
the wind weeps in the trees:
we dream -- [dream]2 --

The [vast expanses]3 shine
a calming.
The shallow valley
palely lifts its damp
veil toward the border of heaven:
oh to be there -- oh dream -- --

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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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1 Grimm: "calls"
2 Grimm, Reger: "we dream"
3 Grimm: "worlds"


This text was added to the website: 2017-10-17
Line count: 18
Word count: 79

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
2. Gebet  [sung text not yet checked]
by Józef Koffler (1896 - 1944), "Gebet", op. 1 (Two Songs) no. 2 [ voice and piano ]
Language: German (Deutsch) 
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.


by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
2. Song to the Virgin Mary
Language: English 
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.
    Contact: 

Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2020-11-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 72

Translation © by Sharon Krebs