by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
Nature, the gentlest mother
Language: English
Our translations: CAT FRE GER ITA
Nature, the gentlest mother
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest, -
Her admonition mild
In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.
How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon, -
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down
Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.
When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky,
With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "The gentlest mother", published 1971 [ soprano and alto soli, SSA chorus, and piano ], from Nature [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Nature, the gentlest mother", published 1944 [ voice and piano ], from Songs from Emily Dickinson: Nature Time and Space - Volume 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), "Nature, the gentlest mother", 1949-50 [ mezzo-soprano, piano ], from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Natura, la mare més gentil ", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Nature, mère la plus gentille", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 103
Natura, la mare més gentil
Language: Catalan (Català) after the English
Natura, la mare més gentil,
per a cap infant impacient,
el més feble o el més entremaliat,
blanes les seves amonestacions.
En el bosc i en el tossal
l’escolta el viatger,
aturant l’esquirol bellugadís
o l’ocell massa impulsiu.
Que plaent és la seva conversa
en una tarda d’estiu,
la seva mansió, el seu aplec;
i quan el sol s’amaga
la seva veu entre les bancades
incita la tímida pregària
del grill més menut,
de la flor més humil.
Quan tots els infants dormen
ella s’enretira just el temps
que cal per encendre els seus llums;
llavors, abalançant-se des del cel,
amb infinit afecte
i encara més infinita cura,
amb el seu dit d’or als llavis,
demana silenci arreu.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2016 by Salvador Pila, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2016-03-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 118
