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Du Dunkelheit, aus der ich stamme, ich liebe dich mehr als die Flamme, welche die Welt begrenzt, indem sie glänzt für irgend einen Kreis, aus dem heraus kein Wesen von ihr weiß. Aber die Dunkelheit hält alles an sich: Gestalten und Flammen, Tiere und mich, wie sie's errafft, Menschen und Mächte. -- Und es kann sein: eine große Kraft rührt sich in meiner Nachbarschaft. Ich glaube an Nächte.
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Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Gedichte, Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997, pages 204-205.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 11, first published 1905 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Hans Erich Apostel (1901 - 1972), "Du Dunkelheit, aus der ich stamme", op. 6 (Vier Lieder) no. 4, published 1937 [ voice and piano ], Wien: Universal-Edition, Nr. 10917 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by André Casanova (1919 - 2009), "Du Dunkelheit", op. 32 ( poèmes de R. M. Rilke) no. 2, copyright © 1969 [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Helmut Degen (1911 - 1995), "Du Dunkelheit, aus der ich stamme", from cantata Große Kantate, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thorsten Encke (b. 1966), "Szene II (Schimären-Schatten)", first performed 2009 [ alto, violin, double bass, percussion ], Auftrag des Schlagzeugers Stefan Rapp für seine Konzertreihe Back to the Roots [sung text not yet checked]
- by Svein Hundsnes (b. 1951), "Du Dunkelheit", 1991, first performed 1991 [ baritone and instrumental ensemble ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 2, NB noter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Giacomo Manzoni (b. 1932), "Du Dunkelheit", 1998 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by François Serrette (1927 - 1999), "Du Dunkelheit...", 1956 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kresimir Sipusch (1930 - 2014), "Du Dunkelheit" [ voice and piano ], from Vier Rilke Lieder, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Robert Bly (b. 1926) , "You darkness, that I come from", appears in Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, first published 1981, copyright © by Harper and Row, (re)printed on this website with kind permission ; composed by Mark Abel, Robert Benford Lepley.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anita Barrows , copyright © and by Joanna Macy , copyright © ; composed by Lachlan Skipworth.
- Also set in English, a translation by Annette LeSiege (1947 - 2012) , copyright © ; composed by Annette LeSiege.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Toi, obscurité", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 67
You darkness, that I come from,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circIe of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.
But the darkness pulls in everything:
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them! --
powers and people --
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.
I have faith in nights.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Bly (b. 1926), "You darkness, that I come from", appears in Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, first published 1981, copyright © by Harper and Row, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 11, first published 1905
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mark Abel (b. 1948), "You darkness, that I come from", 2004, published 2004 [ soprano and piano ], from Five Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 4, Oceangoing Music (ASCAP) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Benford Lepley , "You Darkness That I Come From" [ mixed chorus ], from Visions within, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-18
Line count: 13
Word count: 73