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Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit, Drin lacht dein [Antlitz]1 sonnenlicht In tiefer süßer Einsamkeit, Wo leise Well' an Well' sich bricht. Ist's Nacht, ist's Tag? Ich weiß es nicht, Lacht doch auf mich so lieb und lind Dein [sonnenlichtes]2 [Angesicht]3 Und selig bin ich wie ein Kind.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte und Sprüche von Friedrich Nietzsche,Leipzig: Druck und Verlag von C.G. Naumann, 1901, page 23.
1 Orff: "Auge"2 Thomas: "sonnenhelles"
3 Orff: "Augenlicht"
Authorship:
- by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), appears in Lieder, no. 1 [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 Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit", 1919 [high voice and piano], from Zwei Lieder für hohe Stimme, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
- by Kurt Thomas (1904 - 1973), "Mein Herz ist wie ein See so weit", op. 9 no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
- by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Heiter", 1901-4, from Acht frühe Lieder, no. 6. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , title 1: "Munter", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Bonheur", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , title 1: "El meu cor és tan gran com un llac", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Michael P. Rosewall) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 50
My heart is like a sea so broad, In which the sunlight of your face laughs In deep, sweet solitude, Where wave breaks softly upon wave, Is it night? Is it day? I cannot tell; Smiling upon me so sweetly and soothingly, your sunlit face. And I am as blissful as a child.
About the headline (FAQ)
This is a translation of Webern's version.Translation of title "Heiter" = "Serene"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Michael P Rosewall, (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) by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), appears in Lieder, no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2015-08-24
Line count: 8
Word count: 53