A gentle glockenspiel rings in Elis' breast

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Ein sanftes Glockenspiel tönt in Elis'...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE ITA

Ein sanftes Glockenspiel tönt in Elis' Brust
Am Abend,
Da sein Haupt ins schwarze Kissen sinkt.
 
Ein blaues Wild
Blutet leise im Dornengestrüpp.
 
Ein brauner Baum steht abgeschieden da;
Seine blauen Früchte fielen von ihm.
 
Zeichen und Sterne
Versinken leise im Abendweiher.
 
Hinter dem Hügel ist es Winter geworden.
 
Blaue Tauben
Trinken nachts den eisigen Schweiß,
Der von Elis' kristallener Stirne rinnt.
 
Immer tönt
An schwarzen Mauern Gottes einsamer Wind.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Deutsche Lyrik seit Liliencron, herausgegeben von Hans Bethge, Leipzig: Hesse & Becker Verlag, 1921, p 255.

Text Authorship:

by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), no title, appears in Sebastian im Traum, in Sebastian im Traum, in Elis, no. 2 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Jacques G. Goosen (b. 1952), "Elis 2", 1976, from Georg-Trakl-Lieder, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Elis 2", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-08-15
Line count: 15
Word count: 70

A gentle glockenspiel rings in Elis'...

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

A gentle glockenspiel rings in Elis' breast 
in the evening, 
when his head sinks into the black pillow.

 
A blue deer 
softly bleeds in the thorn bush. 

A brown tree stands there in isolation; 
its blue fruits have fallen from it. 

Signs and stars 
silently sink in the evening pond. 

Beyond the hill it has turned winter. 

At night blue doves 
drink the icy sweat 
that runs from Elis' crystal brow. 

Forever
God's lonely wind wails along black walls.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Elis 2" = "Elis 2"

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2018 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Georg Trakl (1887 - 1914), no title, appears in Sebastian im Traum, in Sebastian im Traum, in Elis, no. 2
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-11-20
Line count: 15
Word count: 79