Herzen, die gen Himmel sich erheben,
Thränen, die dem Auge still entbeben,
Seufzer, die den Lippen leis' entfliehn,
Wangen, die mit Andachtsglut sich malen,
Trunck'ne Blicke, die Entzückung stralen,
Danken dir, o Heilverkünderin!

Laura! Laura! horchend diesen Tönen,
Müssen Engelseelen sich verschönen,
Heilige den Himmel offen sehn,
Schwermuthsvolle Zweifler sanfter klagen,
Kalte Frevler an die Brust sich schlagen
Und wie Seraph Abbadona1 flehn!

Mit den Tönen des Triumphgesanges
Trank ich Vorgefühl des Ueberganges
Von der Grabnacht zum Verklärungsglanz!
Als vernähm' ich Engelmelodien
Wähnt' ich dir, o Erde, zu entfliehen,
Sah' schon unter mir der Sterne Tanz!

Schon umathmete mich [Himmelsmilde]2,
Schon begrüßt' ich jauchzend die Gefilde,
Wo des Lebens Strom durch Palmen fleußt!
Glänzend von der nähern Gottheit Strale,
Wandelte durch Paradiesesthale
Wonneschauernd mein entschwebter Geist!

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Friedrich Matthisson, Mannheim in der neuen Hof- und akademischen Buchhandlung, 1787, pages 17-18, and with Gedichte von Friedrich von Matthisson. Erster Theil. Tübingen, bei Cotta, 1811, pages 11-12.

First published in Musen-Almanach für 1785, herausgegeben von Voß und Goeking, Hamburg, bey Carl Ernst Bohn, pages 92-93.

The poem differs, particularly in the fourth stanza, in the editions as of 1811.

Note: The title of the poem refers to C. H. Graun's then-famous setting of Klopstock’s poem Auferstehungslied [The Resurrection Song]. (Note provided by Laura Prichard).

¹ The seraph Abbadona is a name in Klopstock's poem of the "penitent devil". (Note provided by Laura Prichard.) The poem is titled "Der Messias" (The Messiah) and probably would have been as familiar to contemporaries as the Auferstehungslied. (Note provided by Melanie Trumbull.)
² Schubert: "des Himmels Milde"

Authorship

• by Friedrich von Matthisson (1761 - 1831), "An Laura, als sie Klopstocks Auferstehungslied sang", written 1783, appears in Am Dessauer Philanthropin (1781-1784), first published 1785 [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 Friedrich Wilhelm Rust (1739 - 1796), "An Laura", published 1796 [ voice and piano ], from Oden und Lieder aus den besten deutschen Dichtern, Zweite Sammlung, no. 5, Leipzig: Bei Georg August Grieshammer [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "An Laura, als sie Klopstocks Auferstehungslied sang", D 115 (1814), published 1840 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Johann Xaver Sterkel (1750 - 1817), "An Laura, als sie Klopstocks Auferstehungslied sang", 1796 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Lieder nach Gedichten von Matthisson, no. 8, Mannheim München Düsseldorf, Johann Michael Götz, No. 581 [sung text not yet checked]

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

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan Laura, toen zij Klopstocks Opstandingslied zong¹", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "To Laura, when she sang Klopstock's song of resurrection", copyright ©
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À Laura, quand elle chantait l'ode à la résurrection de Klopstock", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "A Laura, che cantava "Ode alla resurrezione" di Klopstock", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Richard Morris , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 126

 Hearts that are lifted to heaven,
 tears that quiver silently out of our eyes,
 sighs that flee gently from our lips,
 cheeks that flush with the ardor of worship,
 intoxicated glances that radiate delight -
 for all of these, I thank you, O messenger of glory!
 
 Laura! Laura! Listening to these sounds,
 the souls of angels must grow lovelier,
 seeing the saints of heaven open;
 the melancholy doubter softly lament,
 the cold criminals beat their breasts,
 and plead like the seraph Abbadona!
 
 With the sounds of triumphal song,
 I drank the anticipation of transition
 from the night burial to the radiance of transfiguration!
 As if I could hear angelic melodies,
 I had a delusion that you, O Earth, were fleeing,
 and I could see the stars dancing beneath me already!
 
 Already, the mildness of Heaven breathed around me;
 already I joyfully greeted the fields
 where the river of life flows between palms;
 rays of light beaming from the aura of divinity,
 my spirit wandered through the valley of paradise,
 wondrously transported!