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Die Zeit der vielen Falter ist gekommen, Im späten Phloxduft taumelt sacht ihr Tanz. Sie kommen schweigend aus dem Blau geschwommen, Der Admiral, der Fuchs, der Schwalbenschwanz, Der Kaisermantel und Perlmutterfalter, Der scheue Taubenschwanz, der rote Bär, Der Trauermantel und der Distelfalter. Kostbar an Farben, Pelz- und samtbesetzt, Juwelenschillernd schweben sie einher, Prächtig und traurig, schweigsam und benommen, Aus untergegangner Märchenwelt gekommen, Fremdlinge hier, noch honigtaubenetzt Aus paradiesischen, arkadischen Auen, Kurzlebige Gäste aus dem Morgenland, Das wir im Traum, verlorene Heimat, schauen Und dessen Geisterbotschaft wir vertrauen Als eines edleren Daseins holden Pfand. Sinnbilder alles Schönen und Vergänglichen, Des Allzuzarten und des Überschwenglichen, Schwermütige und goldgeschmückte Gäste An des betagten sommerkönigs Feste!
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
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 322-323.
Text Authorship:
- by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Schmetterlinge im Spätsommer", written 1933 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Julius Klaas (1888 - 1965), "Schmetterlinge im Spätsommer", op. 5 no. 3, published 1939 [ high voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder nach Dichtungen von Hermann Hesse, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Butterflies in late summer", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-05-16
Line count: 21
Word count: 112
The time of the multitude of butterflies has come; Their dance whirls gently in the late-summer scent of phlox. Silently they float hither from the blue, The admiral, the small tortoiseshell, the old world swallowtail, The silver-washed fritillary and Queen of Spain, The shy hummingbird hawk-moth, the tiger moth, The mourning cloak and the painted lady. Sumptuously coloured, bordered with fur and velvet, Glittering like jewels, they waft hither, Resplendent and melancholy, taciturn and torpid, Having come from a lost fairy-tale world, Strangers here, still bedewed with honey From paradisiacal, Arcadian meadows, Short-lived guests from the Orient, Which we see in a dream, our lost homeland, And whose spirit message we trust As the lovely pledge of a more noble existence. Allegory of all that is beautiful and transient, Of that which is all too delicate and that which is lavish, Mournful and gold-bedecked guests At the elderly Summer-King’s festival!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 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:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Schmetterlinge im Spätsommer", written 1933
This text was added to the website: 2018-03-31
Line count: 21
Word count: 150