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by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845)
Translation © by Salvador Pila

Hörst du von den Nachtigallen
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE
Hörst du von den Nachtigallen
Die Gebüsche wiederhallen?
Sieh, es kam der holde Mai.
Jedes buhlt um seine Traute,
Schmelzend sagen alle Laute,
Welche Wonn' im Lieben sey.

Andre, die im Käfig leben,
Hinter ihren Gitterstäben,
Hören draußen den Gesang;
Möchten in die Freyheit eilen,
Frühlingslust und Liebe theilen:
Ach! da hemmt sie enger Zwang.

Und [es]1 drängt sich in die Kehle
Aus der gramzerrißnen Seele
Schmetternd ihres Lieds Gewalt,
Wo es, statt im Wehn der Haine
Mitzuwallen, [von]2 der Steine
Hartem Bau zurücke prallt.

So, im Erdenthal gefangen,
Hört [des]3 Menschen Geist mit Bangen
[Hoher Brüder Harmonie]4;
[Strebt]5 umsonst zu Himmelsheitern
Dieses Daseyn zu erweitern,
Und das nennt er Poesie.

Aber scheint er ihre Rhythmen
Jubelhymnen auch zu widmen,
Wie aus lebenstrunkner Brust:
Dennoch fühlen's zarte Herzen,
Aus der Wurzel tiefer Schmerzen
Stammt die Blüthe seiner Lust.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with August Wilhelm Schlegels poetische Werke. Erster Theil. Heidelberg bey Mohr und Zimmer 1811, pages 264-265; and with A. W. Schlegel's poetische Werke. Zweyter Theil. Neueste Auflage. Wien 1816. Bey B. Ph. Bauer, pages 31-32 (with the title Die gefangenen Sänger).

1 Schubert: "nun"
2 Schubert: "an"
3 Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe): "der"
4 Schubert: "Hehrer Brüder Melodie"
5 Schubert: "Sucht"

Text Authorship:

  • by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), "Die gefangnen Sänger", written 1810, first published 1811 [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die gefangenen Sänger", D 712 (1821), published 1842 [ voice, piano ], A. Diabelli & Co., VN 7411 Wien (Nachlaß-Lieferung 33) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De gevangen zangers", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (T. P. (Peter) Perrin) , "The imprisoned singers", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Les chanteurs captifs", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 143

Sents com els rossinyols
Language: Catalan (Català)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Sents com els rossinyols
fan ressonar el boscatge?
Guaita, el maig encisador ha arribat.
Tots festegen la seva estimada,
melodiosos, tots els sons expressen
quin delit hi ha en l’amor.

Altres que viuen en gàbies,
darrere llurs reixats,
senten a fora els cants;
voldrien córrer vers la llibertat
per compartir el goig de la primavera i l’amor:
però ai! L’estret constrenyiment els ho impedeix.

I, empès a llurs gorges,
des de les ànimes esquinçades per la pena,
esclata la força de llurs cants,
on, en lloc d’onejar en l’oreig del bosc,
xoca i ressona contra
la dura paret de pedra.

Així, captiu en la vall de la terra,
l’esperit de l’home escolta amb angoixa
les nobles harmonies dels seus germans;
malda endebades vers la serenor del cel
per eixamplar aquesta existència
i això ho anomena poesia.

Però encara que sembli dedicar
els seus versos a la celebració de la joia,
com sorgint d’un pit ebri de vida:
els cors tendres perceben tanmateix
que de les arrels del dolor profund
és d’on brosta la flor del seu goig.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Die gefangenen Sänger" = "Els cantaires captius"
"Die gefangnen Sänger" = "Els cantaires captius"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2018 by Salvador Pila, (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:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845), "Die gefangnen Sänger", written 1810, first published 1811
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2018-10-14
Line count: 30
Word count: 177

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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