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Wesendonck Songs

Song Cycle by Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)

Original language: Wesendonck-Lieder

1. Der Engel [sung text checked 1 time]

In der Kindheit frühen Tagen 
Hört ich oft von Engeln sagen,
Die des Himmels hehre Wonne
Tauschen mit der Erdensonne,

Daß, wo bang ein Herz in Sorgen
Schmachtet vor der Welt verborgen,
Daß, wo still es will verbluten,
Und vergehn in Tränenfluten,

Daß, wo brünstig sein Gebet
Einzig um Erlösung fleht,
Da der Engel niederschwebt,
Und es sanft gen Himmel hebt.

Ja, es stieg auch mir ein Engel nieder,
Und auf leuchtendem Gefieder
Führt er, ferne jedem Schmerz,
Meinen Geist nun himmelwärts!

Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "L'àngel", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The angel", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "L'ange", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "L'angelo", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "L' angelo"
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Engelen", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Engelen", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Danilova) , "Ангел", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , "El ángel", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

1. The angel

In childhood's early days,
I often heard them speak of angels
Who would exchange Heaven's sublime bliss
For the Earth's sun

So that, when an anxious heart in dread
Is full of longing, hidden from the world;
So that, when it wishes silently to bleed
And melt away in a trickle of tears;

So that, when its prayer ardently
Pleads only for release,
Then the angel floats down
And gently lifts it to Heaven.

Yes, an angel has come down to me,
And on glittering wings
It leads, far away from every pain,
My soul now heavenward!

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Go to the single-text view

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 97

Translation © by Emily Ezust

2. Stehe still! [sung text checked 1 time]

Sausendes, brausendes Rad der Zeit,
Messer du der Ewigkeit;
Leuchtende Sphären im weiten All,
Die ihr umringt den Weltenball;
Urewige Schöpfung, halte doch ein,
Genug des Werdens, laß mich sein!

Halte an dich, zeugende Kraft,
Urgedanke, der ewig schafft!
Hemmet den Atem, stillet den Drang,
Schweiget nur eine Sekunde lang!
Schwellende Pulse, fesselt den Schlag;
Ende, des Wollens ew'ger Tag!
Daß in selig süßem Vergessen
Ich mög alle Wonnen ermessen!

Wenn Aug' in Auge wonnig trinken,
Seele ganz in Seele versinken;
Wesen in Wesen sich wiederfindet,
Und alles Hoffens Ende sich kündet,
Die Lippe verstummt in staunendem Schweigen,
Keinen Wunsch mehr will das Innre zeugen:
Erkennt der Mensch des Ew'gen Spur,
Und löst dein Rätsel, heil'ge Natur!

Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Go to the single-text view

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Resta tranquil!", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Be quiet!", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Reste tranquille !", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Arrestati!", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "Fermati!"
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Stå stille!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Stå stille!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Danilova) , "Остановись", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , "¡Detente!", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

2. Be quiet!

Roaring and rushing wheel of time,
You are the measurer of Eternity;
Shining spheres in the wide universe,
You who surround the world globe,
Eternal creation, halt!
Enough development, let me be!

Cease, generative powers,
The primal thoughts which you are ever creating!
Slow your breathing, still your urge
Silently, only for a second long!
Swelling pulses, fetter your beating,
End, o eternal day of willing!
That in blessed, sweet forgetfulness,
I may measure all my bliss!

When one eye another drinks in bliss,
And one soul into another sinks,
One nature in another finds itself again,
And when each hope's fulfillment is finished,
When the lips are mute in astounded silence,
And no wish more does the heart invent,
Then man recognizes the sign of Eternity,
And solves your riddle, holy Nature!

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Go to the single-text view

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 133

Translation © by Emily Ezust

3. Im Treibhaus [sung text checked 1 time]

Hochgewölbte Blätterkronen,
Baldachine von Smaragd,
Kinder ihr aus fernen Zonen,
Saget mir, warum ihr klagt?

Schweigend neiget ihr die Zweige,
Malet Zeichen in die Luft,
Und der Leiden stummer Zeuge
Steiget aufwärts, süßer Duft.

Weit in sehnendem Verlangen
Breitet ihr die Arme aus,
Und umschlinget wahnbefangen
Öder Leere nicht'gen Graus.

Wohl, ich weiß es, arme Pflanze;
Ein Geschicke teilen wir,
Ob umstrahlt von Licht und Glanze,
Unsre Heimat ist nicht hier!

Und wie froh die Sonne scheidet
Von des Tages leerem Schein,
Hüllet der, der wahrhaft leidet,
Sich in Schweigens Dunkel ein.

Stille wird's, ein säuselnd Weben
Füllet bang den dunklen Raum:
Schwere Tropfen seh ich schweben
An der Blätter grünem Saum.

Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Go to the single-text view

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Dins l'hivernacle", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "In the hothouse", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Dans la serre", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Nella serra", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "Nella serra"
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "I drivhuset", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "I drivhuset", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Danilova) , "В теплице", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , "En el invernadero", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
TUR Turkish (Türkçe) (Lacin Modiri) , "Sera'da", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

3. In the hothouse

High-vaulted crowns of leaves,
Canopies of emerald,
You children of distant zones,
Tell me, why do you lament?

Silently you bend your branches,
Draw signs in the air,
And the mute witness to your anguish -
A sweet fragrance - rises.

In desirous longing, wide
You open your arms,
And embrace through insane predilection
The desolate, empty, horrible void.

I know well, poor plants,
A fate that we share,
Though we bathe in light and radiance,
Our homeland is not here!

And how gladly the sun departs
From the empty gleam of the day,
He veils himself, he who suffers truly,
In the darkness of silence.

It becomes quiet, a whispered stirring
Fills uneasily the dark room:
Heavy drops I see hovering
On the green edge of the leaves.

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Go to the single-text view

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 129

Translation © by Emily Ezust

4. Schmerzen [sung text checked 1 time]

Sonne, weinest jeden Abend
Dir die schönen Augen rot,
Wenn im Meeresspiegel badend
Dich erreicht der frühe Tod;

Doch erstehst in alter Pracht,
Glorie der düstren Welt,
Du am Morgen neu erwacht,
Wie ein stolzer Siegesheld!

Ach, wie sollte ich da klagen,
Wie, mein Herz, so schwer dich sehn,
Muß die Sonne selbst verzagen,
Muß die Sonne untergehn?

Und gebieret Tod nur Leben,
Geben Schmerzen Wonne nur:
O wie dank ich, daß gegeben
Solche Schmerzen mir Natur!

Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Go to the single-text view

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Dolors", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Anguish", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Douleurs", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Dolori", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "Dolori"
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Smerter", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Sorg", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Русский) (Elena Danilova) , "Муки", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , "Pesares", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

4. Anguish

Sun, each evening you weep
Your pretty eyes red,
When, bathing in the mirror of the sea
You are seized by early death.

Yet you rise in all your splendor,
Glory of the gloomy world,
Newly awakening in the morning
Like a proud, victorious hero!

Ah, why should I then lament,
Why, my heart, are you so heavy,
If the sun itself must despair,
If the sun must set?

And if Death gives rise only to Life,
And pain gives way only to bliss,
O how thankful I am, that
Nature gives me such anguish!

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Go to the single-text view

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 95

5. Träume [sung text checked 1 time]

Sag, welch wunderbare Träume
Halten meinen Sinn umfangen,
Daß sie nicht wie leere Schäume
Sind in ödes Nichts vergangen?

Träume, die in jeder Stunde,
Jedem Tage schöner blühn,
Und mit ihrer Himmelskunde
Selig durchs Gemüte ziehn!

Träume, die wie hehre Strahlen
In die Seele sich versenken,
Dort ein ewig Bild zu malen:
Allvergessen, Eingedenken!

Träume, wie wenn Frühlingssonne
Aus dem Schnee die Blüten küßt,
Daß zu nie geahnter Wonne
Sie der neue Tag begrüßt,

Daß sie wachsen, daß sie blühen,
Träumend spenden ihren Duft,
Sanft an deiner Brust verglühen,
Und dann sinken in die Gruft.

Authorship:

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Go to the single-text view

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

ITA Italian (Italiano) (Arrigo Enrico Boito) , "Sogni"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

5. Dreams

Tell me, what kind of wondrous dreams
are embracing my senses,
that have not, like sea-foam,
vanished into desolate Nothingness?

Dreams, that with each passing hour,
each passing day, bloom fairer,
and with their heavenly tidings
roam blissfully through my heart! 

Dreams which, like holy rays of light
sink into the soul,
there to paint an eternal image:
forgiving all, thinking of only One.

Dreams which, when the Spring sun
kisses the blossoms from the snow,
so that into unsuspected bliss
they greet the new day,

so that they grow, so that they bloom,
and dreaming, bestow their fragrance,
these dreams gently glow and fade on your breast,
and then sink into the grave.

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828 - 1902)

Go to the single-text view

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 114

Total word count: 568