by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Musik des Weltalls und Musik der Meister
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): ENG SAN
Musik des Weltalls und Musik der Meister
Sind wir bereit in Ehrfurcht anzuhören,
Zu reiner Feier die verehrten Geister
Begnadeter Zeiten zu beschwören.
 
Wir lassen vom Geheimnis uns erheben
Der magischen Formelschrift, in deren Bann
Das Uferlose, Stürmende, das Leben
Zu klaren Gleichnissen gerann.
 
Sternbildern gleich ertönen sie kristallen,
In ihrem Dienst ward unserm Leben Sinn,
Und keiner kann aus ihren Kreisen fallen
Als nach der heiligen Mitte hin.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, pages 338.


Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SAN Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्) (Holger Christian Teipel-Jahr) , "काचमणिक्रीडा", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 69

To the music of the universe and the...
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
To the music of the universe and the music of the masters
We are prepared to listen with respect,
To invoke the honoured spirits
Of blessed times to a pure celebration.
 
We let ourselves be elevated by the secret
Of the magical formula, into the spell of which
The boundless, the stormy, life [itself]
Solidified to translucent allegories.
 
Like constellations they ring with crystalline sounds,
In their service our life gained meaning,
And no one can fall from their orbits
Except into the holy centre.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translated titles:
"Das Glasperlenspiel" = "The glass bead game"
"Vorspruch" = "Prologue"

Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2016 by Sharon Krebs, (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.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-11-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 85