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Liegt irgendwo im weiten Meer Ein selig, weltverloren Land, Still ziehn die Wolken drüber her, Und leise ebbt die Fluth am Strand. Uralte Bäume [grünen]1 dort Und wölben sich zum dichten Hain, In den drang nie ein Menschenwort, Nie eines Menschen Blick hinein. Aus purpurroten Kelchen steigt Ein seltsam süßer, müder Hauch, Versonnen sich der Himmel neigt Und reglos träumen Busch und Strauch. Am Ufer schaukelt sich ein Kahn, Die Wellen plätschern [sacht]2 am Kiel. Wen holt er ab auf weiter Bahn, Wen trägt er her zum selgen Ziel? Ach, [daß]3 der Kahn mich holen müßt' [Aus]4 dieser bangen, bangen Zeit, Daß ich den Weg zu finden wüßt Zur Insel der Vergessenheit.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Anna Ritter, Gedichte, Einundzwanzigste Auflage, Stuttgart und Berlin: J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, 1905, pages 136-137.
1 Thuille: "blühen"2 Thuille: "leis"
3 Thuille: "wenn"
4 Thuille: "In"
Text Authorship:
- by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921), "Die Insel der Vergessenheit", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Vermischte Gedichte, no. 43 [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 Gerardus Hubertus Galenus von Brucken Fock (1859 - 1935), "Die Insel der Vergangenheit [sic]", op. 18 (14 Lieder für Sopran und Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1907 [ voice and piano ], Amsterdam: De Nieuwe Muziekhandel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Mathilda Faisst (1872 - 1948), "Die Insel der Vergessenheit", op. 8 (Zwei Lieder für hohe und mittlere Stimme) no. 1, published 1904 [ high voice and piano ], Karlsruhe, Doert [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (1861 - 1907), "Die Insel der Vergessenheit", op. 27 (4 Lieder) no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The Isle of Oblivion", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "L'île de l'oubli", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-04-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 116
Somewhere in the wide ocean [There is] a blessed Land, lost to the world, Clouds pass over it silently And the tide laps softly at its shore. Ancient trees [flourish]1 there And arch to form a thick grove, Into which never penetrated a human word, Nor a human gaze. From crimson-red calyces there rises A curiously sweet, languid breath, The heavens incline themselves pensively And, motionless, bushes and shrubs dream. At the shore a boat is rocking, The waves lap [gently]2 along its keel. Whom does it fetch on its wide journey, Whom does it carry to the blessed destination? Ah, [that]3 the boat were to fetch me [From out of]4 these anxious, anxious times, That I might know how to find the way To the isle of oblivion!
1 Thuille: "bloom"
2 Thuille: "quietly"
3 Thuille: "if"
4 Thuille: "In"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2012 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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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Anna (Nuhn) Ritter (1865 - 1921), "Die Insel der Vergessenheit", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Vermischte Gedichte, no. 43
This text was added to the website: 2012-07-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 133