Sterbensmatt
Language: German (Deutsch)
Available translation(s): ENG
Sterbensmatt
Harrt am Baum das letzte Blatt;
Mitleidsvoll der Andern Lust und Weh
Decket längst der tiefe, tiefe Schnee.
Voller Pein
Blieb zurück es ganz allein;
Und es seufzt: O könnt' auch ich doch ruhn,
Ach, was soll ich einsam hier noch thun!
Rings um mich
Still die Welt so schauerlich!
Und mich mahnt der Wintersonne Glanz
Nur noch mehr, wie ich verlassen ganz!
Todeshauch!
Komm, gedenke meiner auch!
Lebe wohl, du holdes Frühlingswehn,
Mag ein neu Geschlecht den Lenz denn sehn!
Und vom Baum
Sinkt das Blatt als wie im Traum,
Leise wie ein letzter Odemzug, --
Bald verweht's der Sturm in wildem Flug.
H. Schletterer sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Die poetische Nationalliteratur der deutschen Schweiz. Dritter Band, Glarus: J. Vogel, 1867. Page 284.
Confirmed with Liederbuch von Friedrich Oser, 1842-1874, mit einem biographischen Verzeichnis der Componisten, Basel: Benno Schwabe, Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1875, page 140.
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 Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824 - 1910), "Winter", op. 80 (Fünf Lieder) no. 5 (1865) [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Michael Schletterer (1824 - 1893), "Das letzte Blatt", op. 30 no. 33, published 1867, stanzas 1-2,4-5, in Praktischer Unterricht im Chorgesange, in Schul-Lieder-Anhang, Nordsingen: C. H. Beck'schen Buchhandlung [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2017-05-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 105
Weary unto death
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch)
Weary unto death
The last leaf abides upon the tree;
The joy and sorrow of the others has long
Been compassionately covered by the deep, deep snow.
Full of torment
It has stayed behind all alone;
And it sighs: Oh could I only rest too,
Ah, what shall I do here yet in solitude!
Round about me
The world is so spookily silent!
And I am only the more reminded by the radiance
Of the winter sun how utterly forsaken I am!
Breath of death!
Come, remember me as well!
Farewell, you lovely spring breezes,
May a new generation see spring then!
And from the tree
The leaf sinks as if in a dream,
Quietly like a final breath, --
Soon the storm blows it away in wild flight.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Das letzte Blatt" = "The last leaf"
"Winter" = "Winter"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2017-07-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 129