English translations of Vier deutsche Lieder, opus 5

by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880)

1. Nähe des Geliebten
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Nähe des Geliebten", op. 5 (Vier deutsche Lieder) no. 1, published 1834 [ voice and piano ], note: first published without an opus number; designated in 1867 as opus 5; München: Falter und Sohn
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Ich denke dein, wenn mir der Sonne Schimmer
Vom Meere strahlt;
Ich denke dein, wenn sich des Mondes Flimmer
In Quellen mahlt.

Ich sehe dich, wenn auf dem fernen Wege
Der Staub sich hebt;
In tiefer Nacht, wenn auf dem schmalen Stege
Der Wandrer bebt.

Ich höre dich, wenn dort mit dumpfem Rauschen
Die Welle steigt.
Im dunklen Haine geh' ich oft um zu lauschen,
Wenn alles schweigt.

Ich bin bei dir, du seyst auch noch so ferne,
Du bist mir nah!
Die Sonne sinkt, bald leuchten mir die Sterne.
O wärst du da!

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Note: Wilhelmj's score has a typo in stanza 1, line 3: word 5 is "dich" instead of "sich".

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
1.
Language: English 
I think of you when the sunlight shimmers,
beaming from the sea1;
I think of you when the moon's gleam
paints the streams.

I see you when, on distant roads,
the dust rises up;
in deep night, when on the narrow bridge
a traveler quivers.

I hear you when there, with a muffled roar,
the waves rise.
In the still grove I go often to listen,
when everything is silent.

I am with you, even if you are so far away.
You are near me!
The sun sinks, and soon the stars will shine for me.
O, if only you were here!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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Translation of title "Nähe des Geliebten" = "Near the beloved"

1 in Beethoven's version, "seas"


This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 103

Translation © by Emily Ezust
2. Lied
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Lied", op. 5 (Vier deutsche Lieder) no. 2, published 1834, stanzas 1-6 [ voice and piano ], note: first published without an opus number; designated in 1867 as opus 5; München: Falter und Sohn ; republished (but only stanzas 1, 2, 5, and 6 of the poem) in Franz Hauser's Gesanglehre, Leipzig & Brüssel: Breitkopf & Härtel, [1866], pages 146-147.
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Auf dem frischen Rasen-Sitze,
Hier am kleinen Wasserfall,
Hör' ich von des Thurmes Spitze,
Frommes Glöcklein, deinen Schall.

Tönst, o Glöcklein, nennst ihn lauter,
Dem mein Herz entgegenbebt,
Ihn, der freundlicher, vertrauter
Hier im Grünen mich umschwebt.

Leise murmeln es die Bäche,
Daß er Flur und Aue liebt,
Daß die Rose, die ich breche,
Mir ein guter Vater giebt;

Daß er aus der zarten Hülle
Selbst die goldnen Früchte winkt,
Und durch ihn des Lebens Fülle
Jede neue Knospe dringt.

Schalle, Glöcklein! Ach, was bliebe
Jenem Himmel, diesem Grün?
Ach! kein Leben, keine Liebe,
Keine Freude, sonder ihn!

Morgens, wenn auf Busch und Pflanze
Kühler Thau die Perlen sät,
Stimmen froh im Sonnenglanze,
Vöglein mit in mein Gebet.

 ...

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by Johann Georg Jacobi (1740 - 1814)
2. Song
Language: English 
Upon the fresh, grassy seat
Here by the little waterfall,
I hear from the top of the tower,
Devout little bell, your ringing.

You ring out, little bell, [you] proclaim Him as pure,
Him, whom my heart greets with trembling,
He, who more amiably and more closely
Hovers around me here in the greenery.

The streams quietly murmur
That He loves the fields and meadows,
That the rose that I pick
Is given to me by a good father,

That He himself from the delicate casing
Beckons forth the golden fruits,
And that through Him each new blossom
Drinks the fullness of life.

Ring out, little bell; ah, what would remain
To that heaven, to this greenery[?]
Ah, there is no life, no love,
No happiness without Him.

In the morning when cool dew
Strews pearls upon bushes and plants,
In the sunshine, little birds
Join happily into my prayer.

[ ... ]

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 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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Modified 2012-08-17 - translation of stanzas not set by Lang.
Note for stanza 4, line 4, word 1: if the word "dringt" here is a shortened form of "durchdringt", then the translation can be "is permeated by" instead of "Drinks".



This text was added to the website: 2006-11-10
Line count: 44
Word count: 265

Translation © by Sharon Krebs
3. Glückliche Fahrt
 (Sung text)
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Glückliche Fahrt", op. 5 (Vier deutsche Lieder) no. 3, published 1834 [ voice and piano ], note: first published without an opus number; designated in 1867 as opus 5; München: Falter und Sohn
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Die Nebel zerreißen,
Der Himmel ist helle
Und Aeolus löset
Das ängstliche Band. 
Es säuseln die Winde,
Es rührt sich der Schiffer. 
Geschwinde! Geschwinde! 
Es theilt sich die Welle,
Es naht sich die Ferne,
Schon seh' ich das Land!

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Note: Goethe's "Meeres Stille" and "Glückliche Fahrt" constitute a pair of poems belonging together.

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
3. Prosperous voyage
Language: English 
The mist is pulled aside,
The sky lights up,
And Aeolus undoes
The ties of fear.

There, the winds rustle,
There, the sailor moves on.

Hurry! Hurry!
The waves are breaking.
The distant becomes nearby,
Already, I see the land!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2005 by Karel Vereycken, (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: 2005-05-08
Line count: 10
Word count: 40

Translation © by Karel Vereycken
4. Geistertanz
by Josephine Lang (1815 - 1880), "Geistertanz", op. 5 (Vier deutsche Lieder) no. 4, published 1834, stanzas 1-5,7 [ voice and piano ], note: first published without an opus number; designated in 1867 as opus 5; München: Falter und Sohn
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Die bretterne Kammer
   Der Todten erbebt,
Wenn zwölfmal den Hammer
   Die Mitternacht hebt.

Rasch tanzen um Gräber
   Und morsches Gebein
Wir luftigen Schweber
   Den sausenden Reihn.

Was winseln die Hunde
   Beim schlafenden Herrn?
Sie wittern die Runde
   Der Geister so fern.

Die Raben entflattern
   Der wüsten Abtei,
Und fliehn vor den Gattern
   Des Kirchhofs vorbei.

Wir gaukeln, und scherzen
   Hinab und empor,
Gleich irrenden Kerzen
   Im dunstigen Moor.

 ... 

Tief bargst du im düstern
   Gemach unser Weh;
Wir Glücklichen flüstern
   Dir fröhlich: Ade!

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by Friedrich von Matthisson (1761 - 1831)
4. Dance of the spirits
Language: English 
The wooden chamber
   Of the dead quakes
When midnight lifts the clock’s hammer
   Twelve times.

We dance rapidly around graves
   And mouldering bones,
We airy hovering ones
   Dance our whirling roundelay.

Why do the dogs whine
   Beside their sleeping masters?
They sense the circle
   Of dancing spirits [from afar]1.

The ravens fly out from
   The desolate abbey,
And flee past the fences
   Of the churchyard.

We [lark about, we]2 jest
   Going downward and upward
Like errant candles
   In the misty moor.

[ ... ]

Deep within the gloomy chamber
   You concealed our pain;
We happy ones joyfully
   Whisper to you: Adieu!

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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Translated titles:
"Der Geistertanz" = "The dance of the spirits"
"Geistertanz" = "Dance of the spirits"

Translation of the epigraph: 

We are dust and shadows.
              Horace.

1 Lang: "so far away"
2 Lang, Schubert: "lark about and"


This text was added to the website: 2017-02-22
Line count: 28
Word count: 119

Translation © by Sharon Krebs