Trostlied | Bang nach Musik, seufzt mein vereinsamt Herz

Translation by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960)

To Musicke bent is my retyred minde

Language: English

To Musicke bent is my retyred minde,
And faine would I some song of pleasure sing ;
But in vaine ioys no comfort now I finde,
From heau'nly thoughts all true delight doth spring.
Thy power, O God, thy mercies, to record,
Will sweeten eu'ry note and eu'ry word.

All earthly pompe or beauty to expresse,
Is but to carue in snow, on waues to write.
Celestiall things, though men conceiue them lesse,
Yet fullest are they in themselues of light :
Such beames they yeeld as know no meanes to dye,
Such heate they cast as lifts the Spirit high.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Dyson

Text Authorship:

by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) [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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "To Musicke bent is my retyred minde", published c1613, from Two Bookes of Ayres - The First Booke, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

This text (or a part of it) is used in a work

by George Dyson (1883 - 1964), "Rise, O my soul", 1945-9, from Quo Vadis: a Cycle of Poems, no. 2

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

GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Trostlied", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-11-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 99

Trostlied

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Bang nach Musik, seufzt mein vereinsamt Herz
Und gern, zur Labsal, säng ich mir ein Lied;
Doch nirgends Trost, in Klage nicht noch Scherz:
Der Himmel ist´s, zu dem mein Sehnen flieht.
	Herr, Deine Pracht ist´s, Deine Gnad´ und Macht,
	Die goldensüß aus Ton und Wort mir lacht.

Beschreib ich Erdenprunk, der Schönheit Schein,
Schreib ich in Wasser, schneide Schrift in Schnee.
Des Himmels Licht, nur trübe fällt´s herein;
Ein Hauch nur dessen, was ich künftig seh:
	Ein Meer von Glanz, drin Ewigkeit gedeiht;
	Der, der sie ahnt, lebt in Glückseligkeit.

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Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 107.

Text Authorship:

by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), "Trostlied", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

[ None yet in the database ]

Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel

This text was added to the website: 2021-02-24
Line count: 12
Word count: 91