Little white dove | A little white dove flew

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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

Translation © by Sophia Gibeau

Täublein weiß

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG

Es flog ein Täublein weiße
vom Himmel herab
in engelischem Kleide
zu einer Jungfrau zart;
es grüßet sie so hübsch und säuberlich,
ihr Seel war hochgezieret,
gesegnet ward ihr Leib.
Kyrieleison.

Der Himmel ward erschlossen
durch Gottes Schlüssel klar,
Maria ist der Garten,
da er gewachsen war,
der Heilig Geist den Garten besser hat,
gar schön ist er gezieret
mit göttlicher Majestät.
Kyrieleison.

So hat der Ruf ein Ende
wohl hie zu dieser Stund,
so wolln wir Gott nur bitten
aus unsres Herzens Grund,
dass er uns allen wolle gnädig sein,
er woll uns auch behüten
vor der heißen Hölle Pein.
Kyrieleison.

Authorship:

from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [author's text not yet checked 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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Täublein weiß", WoO. 34 (Vierzehn deutsche Volkslieder) no. 5, published 1865 [ SATB chorus ], from Deutsche Volkslieder für gemischten Chor, no. 5, Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La coloma blanca", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Een wit duifje", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Sophia Gibeau) , "Little white dove", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2005-08-25
Line count: 24
Word count: 102

Little white dove

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A little white dove flew 
down from the sky 
to a tender young virgin 
in angelic dress; 
it greeted her so pleasantly 
that her soul sparkled, 
blessed was her love.
Lord have mercy.

Heaven was locked 
with God’s key, 
Mary is the garden 
in which he grew, 
and the holy spirit 
enriched the garden 
with his majesty.
Lord have mercy.

Now that the song is over, 
we must pray to God 
from the bottom of our hearts 
to have mercy on us 
and protect us all 
from the eternal agony of hell.
Lord have mercy.

Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by Sophia Gibeau, (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:

a text in German (Deutsch) from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

This text was added to the website: 2017-06-10
Line count: 23
Word count: 95