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Aus wie vielen Elementen Soll ein echtes Lied sich nähren, Daß es Laien gern empfinden, Meister es mit Freuden hören? Liebe sei vor allen Dingen Unser Thema, wenn wir singen; Kann sie gar das Lied durchdringen, [Wird's um desto besser]1 klingen. Dann muß Klang der Gläser tönen Und Rubin des Weins erglänzen: Denn für Liebende, für Trinker [Winkt man mit den schönsten]2 Kränzen. Waffenklang wird auch gefodert, Daß auch die Drommete schmettre; Daß, wenn Glück zu Flammen lodert, [Sich im Sieg der]3 Held vergöttre. Dann zuletzt ist unerläßlich, Daß der Dichter manches hasse; Was unleidlich ist und häßlich, [Nicht wie Schönes leben]4 lasse. Weiß der Sänger, dieser Viere Urgewalt'gen Stoff zu mischen, [Hafis gleich wird er die]5 Völker Ewig freuen und erfrischen.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Zelter: "Desto besser wird es"
2 Zelter: "Warten immergüne"
3 Zelter: "Siegreich unsern"
4 Zelter: "Leben nicht wie Schönes"
5 Zelter: "Wird er aller Lande"
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Elemente", written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 1. Buch des Sängers -- Moganni Nameh [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 Karl Friedrich Zelter (1758 - 1832), "Liederstoff", 1815, published 1826 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], from Tafel-Lieder für Männerstimmen: Für die Liedertafel zu Berlin, von Carl Fried. Zelter. Heft V, no. 1, Berlin, T. Trautwein [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Elements", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Éléments", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-23
Line count: 24
Word count: 127
From how many elements Should a sincere song be built up, So that laymen will feel pleasure [when hearing it, and] Masters will hear it with joy? Love, before all other things, shall be Our subject, when we sing; If it can permeate the whole song, It’ll sound even better. Then the clink of glasses must sound And the ruby color of the wine must gleam: Because for lovers, for drinkers, One beckons with the most beautiful rims. The sound of weapons is also in demand [in songs], And also, the trumpet should blare out; So that when happiness flares up into flames, The hero will be deified in victory. Then finally, it is obligatory For the poet to include many hated things; Something intolerable and ugly Should not be allowed to live as though it were beautiful. If the singer knows, [using] these four elements, How to mix this all-powerful material, Like Hafez, he will cause the people To rejoice and be rejuvenated forever.
Translator's notes:
Stanza 3, line 4: "rims" - literally "wreaths" or "rings", but here referring poetically to the rims of the wine glasses.
Stanza 4, line 2: "trumpet" - first appears in German writing as "dromette" in 1470, and in Martin Luther 1522 translation Isaiah 18:3 as "drommete"; modern spelling is Trompete(n)
Stanza 6, line 3: Hafez was an influential and much-memorized Persian poet (living c1326-c1390) whose ghazals and proverbs consider love, faith, and exposing hypocrisy.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Elemente", written 1814, appears in West-östlicher Divan, in 1. Buch des Sängers -- Moganni Nameh
This text was added to the website: 2016-04-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 165