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Groß ist der Herr! Die Himmel ohne Zahl
Sind Säle seiner Burg;
Sein Wagen Sturm und donnerndes Gewölk',
Und Blitze sein Gespann.
Die Morgenröth' ist nur ein Wiederschein
Von seines Kleides Saum;
Und gegen seinen Glanz ist Dämmerung
Der Sonne flammend Licht.
Er schaut mit gnäd'gem Blick zur Erd' herab:
Sie grünet, blüht und lacht.
Er schilt: es fähret Feur von Felsen auf,
Und Erd' und Himmel bebt.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.
Note: This is the original version of the poem, recovered from Kleist's manuscript by Wilhelm Körte. Kleist's poems published earlier were edited by Karl Wilhelm Ramler and contain several changes from Ramler's hand; see below.
Composition:
- Set to music by Wilhelm Reinhard Berger (1861 - 1911), "Gross ist der Herr", op. 54 (Vier geistliche Lieder und Gesänge für gemischten Chor) no. 3, published 1894, stanzas 1-3 [ SSATBB chorus a cappella ], Berlin, Bote & Bock
Text Authorship:
- sometimes misattributed to Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (1719 - 1803)
- by Ewald Christian von Kleist (1715 - 1759), "Hymne", written 1758, first published 1759
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "God in de natuur", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Great is the Lord! The heavens without number", copyright ©
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Dieu dans la nature", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Thierry Morice , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 68
Word count: 403
The Lord is great! The countless heavens
Are rooms in his castle;
His chariot is a storm and thundering clouds,
And it is pulled by lightning.
The red glow of dawn is simply a reflection
Of the hem of his clothing;
And compared to his brightness
The flaming light of the sun is twilight.
He looks down on the earth with a gracious glance:
It turns green, it blossoms and laughs.
He frowns: fire emerges from the rocks,
And the sea and sky quake.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 by Malcolm Wren, (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) misattributed to Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (1719 - 1803) and by Ewald Christian von Kleist (1715 - 1759), "Hymne", written 1758, first published 1759
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This text was added to the website: 2019-08-22
Line count: 68
Word count: 476