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Seelenlos liegt dereinst da, von keinem Gedenken berührt, keinem sehnenden Wunsch zurückgerufen, wer hier nicht gesegnet war vom Rosengeiste der Musen; ruhmlos fliegt er nieder in Hades Haus und irrt mit dem Schwarme der blicklosen Toten blicklos dort unten um. Doch nimmer klingt ein Klagelied zu Recht im Haus, darin die Musen gelten, nicht geziemt uns dies. Um Schönes kreist mein Sinnen stets, unwandelbar. So wird man mein gedenken noch in später Zeit.
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Authorship:
- by Rudolf Bach (1901 - 1957) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hermann Reutter (1900 - 1985), "Seelenlos liegt dereinst da", op. 57 no. 4, published 1948 [ medium voice (female voice), viola, and piano ], from Fünf antike Oden nach Gedichten von Sappho, no. 4, Edition Schott 3674 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: John Glenn Paton [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2017-08-03
Line count: 13
Word count: 73
Soon he will lie there, soulless, not stirred by any thought, not called back by any burning wish, he who was not blessed in this life by the rose-spirit of the Muses. Unpraised, he flies down to the realm of Hades and wanders around among the swarm of the sightless dead, also sightless down there. But it is never right to sound out a song of mourning in the house in which the Muses are honored– that is not fitting for us. My thinking is always dwelling on the Beautiful, steadfastly. That is how people will remember me still in distant time.
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Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 by John Glenn Paton, (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) by Rudolf Bach (1901 - 1957)
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2017-08-03
Line count: 13
Word count: 102