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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Die Reichen und Glücklichen haben gut...
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  FRE
Die Reichen und Glücklichen haben gut schweigen,
niemand will wissen was sie sind.
Aber die Dürftigen müssen sich zeigen,
müssen sagen: ich bin blind
oder: ich bin im Begriff es zu werden
oder: es geht mir nicht gut auf Erden
oder: ich habe ein krankes Kind
oder: da bin ich zusammengefügt...
 
Und vielleicht, daß das gar nicht genügt.
 
Und weil alle sonst, wie an Dingen,
an ihnen vorbeigehn, müssen sie singen.
 
Und da hört man noch guten Gesang.
 
Freilich die Menschen sind seltsam; sie hören
lieber Kastraten in Knabenchören.
 
Aber Gott selber kommt und bleibt lang
wenn ihn diese Beschnittenen stören.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Das Buch der Bilder von Rainer Maria Rilke, Leipzig, Iminsel-Verlag, 1920, page 133.


Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Titelblatt", appears in Das Buch der Bilder, in Die Stimmen: Neun Blätter mit einem Titelblatt, no. 1, first published 1906 [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 Raffi Armenian (b. 1942), "Titelblatt", 1976 [ mixed chorus, brass quintet and percussion ], from Drei gedichte von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Antal Doráti (1906 - 1988), "Titelblatt", 1975, orchestrated 1978 [ bass and piano or orchestra ], from Die Stimmen, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Karl Heinz Höne (1924 - 2008), "Die Reichen und Glücklichen" [ 4 soli and piano ], from Die Stimmen, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Albert Ernest Flemming , "Title page", appears in Rainer Maria Rilke: Selected Poems, first published 1986, copyright © ; composed by Stephen Paulus.
    • Go to the text.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Page de titre", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2012-06-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 101

Page de titre
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Les riches et les fortunés font bien de se taire,
nul ne saura ce qu'ils sont.
Mais les indigents doivent se montrer,
doivent dire : je suis aveugle,
ou : c'est cela que je pense devenir,
ou : rien n'est bon pour moi sur terre,
ou : j'ai un enfant malade,
ou: maintenant je suis adapté …

Et peut-être n'est-ce même pas suffisant.

Et d'ailleurs, puisque tout le monde
passe devant eux comme devant des choses, doivent-ils chanter.

Et alors on entend de beaux chants.

Vraiment, les hommes sont étranges ;
ils préfèrent écouter des castrats dans des chœurs d'enfants.

Mais Dieu lui-même vient et reste longtemps
lorsque ces décharnés le dérangent.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Pierre Mathé, (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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Titelblatt", appears in Das Buch der Bilder, in Die Stimmen: Neun Blätter mit einem Titelblatt, no. 1, first published 1906
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-02-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 107

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