Revelation and Doom | Strange are the nightly paths of Man

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by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Offenbarung und Untergang

(Sung text for setting by J. Stuten)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE ITA

 ... 

Mit silbernen Sohlen stieg ich die dornigen 
Stufen hinab, und ich trat ins kalkgetünchte Gemach. 
Stille brannte ein Leuchter darin und ich verbarg 
in purpurnen Linnen schweigend das Haupt; und es 
warf die Erde einen kindlichen Leichnam aus, ein 
mondenes Gebilde, das langsam aus meinem Schatten 
trat, mit zerbrochenen Armen steinerne Stürze 
hinabsank, flockiger Schnee.

Note: the text above is taken from stanza 7 of the original text.

Note: this is a prose text; the line breaks are arbitrary.

Composition:

Jan Stuten

In memoriam Georg Trakl

Text Authorship:

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Offenbarung und Untergang", appears in Offenbarung und Untergang

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "Revelation and Doom ", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Avec des semelles d'argent je descends les marches", dernier paragraphe de 'Révélation et déclin', copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Disvelamento e rovina", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Harry Joelson

This text was added to the website: 2007-07-29
Line count: 103
Word count: 768

Revelation and Doom

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Stuten)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 ... 

With silver soles I descended the thorny steps 
and entered the whitewashed chamber. 
Calmly a candlestick burned inside and silently 
I buried my head in purple linen; and 
the earth gave off a childlike corpse, a 
moony shape that slowly stepped out of my shadow, 
sank with broken arms down from stony lintels, 
fluffy snow.

Note: the text above is taken from stanza 7 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Offenbarung und Untergang", appears in Offenbarung und Untergang
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This text was added to the website: 2017-01-18
Line count: 103
Word count: 836