Impromptu | Només qui coneix l’amor pot comprendre l’anhel

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by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (1768 - 1823)

Translation © by Salvador Pila

Nur wer die Liebe kennt, versteht das...

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG FRE

Nur wer die Liebe kennt, versteht das Sehnen,
An dem Geliebten ewig fest zu hangen,
Und Lebensmuth aus seinem Aug' zu trinken;
Er kennt das schmerzlich selige Verlangen,
Dahin zu schmelzen in ein Meer von Thränen,
Und aufgelöst in Liebe zu versinken! -
Wie mir die Bilder winken,
Die alten! - Ach, sie nahen, um zu fliehen! -
Was hilft das Thal mit seinen grünen Gluthen,
Die Strahlen, die so golden niederfluthen,
Ich seh' nur Geister mich zum Abgrund ziehen! -
Wozu soll ich die goldnen Blüthen pflücken,
Kann ich doch nimmer das Geliebte schmücken.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Die Harfe. Herausgegeben von Friedrich Kind. Zweites Bändchen. Leipzig bei Georg Joachim Göschen 1815, page 362. Beneath the poem: "Am 9. August 1806."

Text Authorship:

by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (1768 - 1823), "Impromptu", subtitle: "in Tharand's Ruinen geschrieben", written 1806, first published 1815 [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Nur wer die Liebe kennt, versteht das Sehnen", D 513A (1817?), published 1974 [ voice, piano ], incomplete sketch, breaks off after line 6; edited by Reinhard van Hoorickx [sung text checked 1 time]

Another version of this text exists in the database.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Impromptu", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , subtitle: "Written in the ruins of Tharandt", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2019, (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: 2017-08-10
Line count: 13
Word count: 91

Impromptu

Language: Catalan (Català) after the German (Deutsch)

Només qui coneix l’amor pot comprendre l’anhel
per restar eternament amb la persona estimada
i libar dels seus ulls el coratge de viure;
ell coneix el dolorós, sagrat afany
per fondre’s en un mar de llàgrimes,
i enfonsar-se i dissoldre’s en l’amor.
Com em fan senyals encara aquelles imatges,
les antigues! – Ai, s’apropen per després fugir!
De què serveix la vall amb el seu verd fulgor,
els raigs que vessen avall tan daurats,
jo veig tan sols esperits que m’arrosseguen a l’abisme!
Per què hauria de collir les daurades flors
si amb elles no podré mai ornar la meva estimada?

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2019 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 Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (1768 - 1823), "Impromptu", subtitle: "in Tharand's Ruinen geschrieben", written 1806, first published 1815
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-02-02
Line count: 13
Word count: 101