Spiritual twilight (first version) | A deer silently passes away

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by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Am Hügel (Geistliche Dämmerung, 1. Fassung)

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Still vergeht am Saum des Waldes
Ein dunkles Wild
Am Hügel endet leise der Abendwind,
 
Bälde verstummt die Klage der Amsel
Und die Flöten des Herbstes
Schweigen im Rohr.
 
Mit silbernen Dornen
Schlägt uns der Frost,
Sterbende  wir  über Gräber geneigt
 
Oben löst sich blaues Gewölk;
Aus schwarzem Verfall Treten
Gottes strahlende Engel

Text Authorship:

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Am Hügel (Geistliche Dämmerung, 1. Fassung)" [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 Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Am Hügel (Geistliche Dämmerung, 1. Fassung)", 1996, first performed 1996 [tenor and piano], from Trakl-Lieder II : Schweigen und Kindheit, no. 6, Mainz, Schott [ sung text not verified ]

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

ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "Spiritual twilight (first version)", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Sur la colline (crépuscule spirituel, Version 1)", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2012-03-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 53

Spiritual twilight (first version)

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A deer silently passes away
at the edge of the forest.
At the hill the evening breeze softly expires.

Soon the blackbird’s lament will fall silent
and autumn’s pipes
hush in the reeds.

Frost scourges us
with silver thorns,
us, who are dying, bent over graves.

Above, blue clouds dissolve;
out of black downfall
God’s lucent angels emerge.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), "Am Hügel (Geistliche Dämmerung, 1. Fassung)"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-06-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 58