Nocturne (Mayrhofer, set by Franz Wilhelm Abt, Franz Peter Schubert) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

Some of the following material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. Printing copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator is also illegal.

You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

For more information, contact us at:

Before writing, please read the instructions below the translations (under Authorship). Always include the names of the translators in your email if you wish to reprint something!

by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Nachtstück

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA SPA

[Wann]¹ über Berge sich der Nebel breitet,
Und Luna mit Gewölken kämpft,
So nimmt der Alte seine [Harf']², und schreitet,
Und singt waldeinwärts und gedämpft:
      "Du heil'ge Nacht!
      Bald ist's vollbracht.
      Bald schlaf ich ihn
      Den langen Schlummer,
      Der mich erlöst 
      Von [jedem]³ Kummer."
   Die grünen Bäume rauschen dann,
   Schlaf süß du guter alter Mann;
   Die Gräser lispeln wankend fort,
   Wir decken seinen Ruheort;
   Und mancher [traute]⁴ Vogel ruft,
   O [laßt]⁵ ihn ruh'n in Rasengruft! -

Der Alte horcht, der Alte schweigt -
Der Tod hat sich zu ihm geneigt.

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Johann Mayrhofer. Wien. Bey Friedrich Volke. 1824, page 12.

¹ Schubert: "Wenn"
² Schubert: "Harfe"
³ Schubert: "allem"
⁴ Schubert: "liebe"
⁵ Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe): "laß"

Authorship

by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Nachtstück" [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 Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "Nachtstück", op. 148 no. 1 [ ttbb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Nachtstück", op. 36 (Zwei Lieder) no. 2, D 672 (1819), published 1825 [ voice, piano ], Cappi und Comp., VN 60, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Nocturn", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Nachtstuk", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Nocturne", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Nocturne", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Pupillo) (Claretta Manara) , "Notturno", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , "Nocturno", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2017-08-14 10:47:59
Line count: 18
Word count: 90

Nocturne

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When over the mountains mist is spread,
and Luna battles against the clouds,
then the old man takes his harp and strides
toward the forest, singing in a subdued voice:

"You holy night:
soon it will be over,
soon I shall sleep the long sleep
that will free me from every torment."

The green trees then murmur:
"Sleep sweetly, you good, old man..."
The grasses whisper as they wave:
"We will cover his place of rest..."

And many a lovely bird calls:
"O let him rest in his grassy tomb!"
The old man hears, the old man is silent;
[for] Death has [now] leaned toward him.

Authorship

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Nachtstück"

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:01:41
Line count: 16
Word count: 106