by Mikhail Yur'yevich Lermontov (1814 - 1841)
Translation by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)
По небу полуночи ангел летел
Language: Russian (Русский)
По небу полуночи ангел летел, И тихую песню он пел; И месяц, и звёзды, и тучи толпой Внимали той песне святой. Он пел о блаженстве безгрешных духов Под кущами райских садов; О боге великом он пел, и хвала Его непритворна была. Он душу младую в объятиях нёс Для мира печали и слёз; И звук его песни в душе молодой Остался -- без слов, но живой. И долго на свете томилась она, Желанием чудным полна, И [звуков]1 небес заменить не могли Ей скучные песни земли.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with М. Ю. Лермонтов, Сочинения Том 1; Москва Издательство "Правда", 1988 (M. Yu. Lermontov: Works, Volume 1; Moscow; "Truth" Publishers)
See also Tolstoy's poem Горними тихо летела душа небесами.
1 Gretchaninov: "pesen"Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsText Authorship:
- by Mikhail Yur'yevich Lermontov (1814 - 1841), "Ангел", first published 1831 [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 Leslie Crabtree (b. 1941), "Ангел", 2009 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georgy Vasilyevich Got (1861 - 1917), "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aleksandr Tikhonovich Gretchaninov (1864 - 1956), "По небу полуночи ангел летел", op. 114 no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Yuly Antonovich Kapri (1831 - 1918), "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nikolai Mikhailovich Ladukhin (1860 - 1918), "Ангел", 1894 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (1880 - 1951), "Ангел", op. 1bis [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eduard Frantsevich Nápravník (1839 - 1916), "Ангел", op. 63 no. 1 (1898) [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Ангел", op. 15 no. 6 (1895), published 1895 [ women's chorus (or children's chorus) and piano ], from Шесть хоров для женских или детских голосов (Shest' khorov dlja zhenskikh ili detskikh golosov) = Six choruses for women's or children's voices, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 - 1908), "По небу полуночи", op. 40 (Четыре романса (Chetyre romansa)) no. 2 (1897), also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829 - 1894), "Ангел", op. 48 no. 1 (1852) [ duet for alto and soprano with piano ], from Двенадцать дуэтов (Dvenadcat' du`etov) = Twelve duets, no. 1, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexander Nikolayevich Serov (1820 - 1871), "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "Ангел", op. 153 no. 2 (2007), published 2008 [ voice and cello ], from Odinokij strannik, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Vladimir Timofeyevich Sokolov (1830 - 1890), "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maximilian Oseyevich Steinberg (1883 - 1946), "Ангел", 1900 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nikolay Mikhailovich Strelnikov (1888 - 1939), "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aleksandr Yegorovich Varlamov (1801 - 1848), "Ангел", 1843 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by F. A. Zaikin , "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Visily Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (1845 - 1910), "Ангел" [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by G. Jorissenne ; composed by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Catulle Mendès (1841 - 1909) , "L'ange et l'âme", appears in Petits poèmes russes, in 5. Lermontov, no. 3, Paris, G. Charpentier et E. Fasquelle, first published 1893 ; composed by Camille Erlanger.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), [adaptation] ; composed by Paul Frommer, Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Eduard Erdmann.
- Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Manuel M. Ponce.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Dmitri Smirnov) , "The angel", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Martha Gilbert Dickinson Bianchi) , "The angel", appears in Russian Lyrics, first published 1916
- ENG English (Sergey Rybin) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "L'ange"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt) , "Der Engel"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 84
Der Engel
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Russian (Русский)
Es schwebte den mächtigen Himmel entlang Ein Engel und wunderbar sang -- Mond, Sterne und Wolken in schimmernden Höh'n Sie lauschten dem heilgen Getön. Er sang von der Wonne, dem himmlischen Heil Das sündlosen Geistern zu Theil -- Vom Ruhme des ewigen Gottes erklang Sein weihevoll hehrer Gesang. Die Seele trug er eines Kindes im Arm Zur Erde voll Thränen und Harm, -- Und es prägt' sein Gesang unvergänglich und rein Der kindlichen Seele sich ein. Und lange wohl währte ihr irdischer Lauf, Doch wundersam zog sie's hinauf, Und nimmer ersetzt' ihr ein ird'scher Gesang Den ersten, den heiligen Klang.
Confirmed with Illustrirtes Familieenbuch zur Unterhaltung und Belehrung häuslicher Kreise, Sechster Jahrgang, Fünftes Heft, page 174
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892), "Der Engel" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Mikhail Yur'yevich Lermontov (1814 - 1841), "Ангел", first published 1831
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-01-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 97