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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.

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by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)
Translation © by Alfonso Sebastián

Ach, könnt' ich, könnte vergessen Sie!
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the French (Français) 
Our translations:  CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA SPA
Ach, [könnt' ich, könnte]1 vergessen Sie!
  Ihr [schönes, liebes, liebliches]2 Wesen,
Den Blick, die freundliche Lippe, die!
  Vielleicht ich möchte genesen!
Doch ach! mein Herz, mein Herz kann es nie!
Und doch ist's Wahnsinn, zu hoffen Sie!
    [Und um sie schweben, 
    Gibt Muth und Leben,
    Zu weichen nie! --]3
Und [denn]4, wie kann ich vergessen Sie,
  Ihr [schönes, liebes, liebliches]2 Wesen,
Den Blick, die freundliche Lippe, die!
  Viel lieber nimmer genesen!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   J. D'Alquen •   F. Hensel •   O. Raif 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Johann Gottfried v. Herders Sämmtliche Werke, Zur schönen Literatur und Kunst, Dritter Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag, 1852, pages 193-194.

1 D'Alquen: "könnt' ich, könnt' ich"; Raif: "könnte, könnt' ich"
2 Raif: "schönes, liebliches"
3 omitted by Raif
4 D'Alquen: "doch"; Hensel, Raif: "dann"

Text Authorship:

  • by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Ein Sonnet", subtitle: "Aus dem 13ten Jahrhundert" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Thibaut Ier de Navarre (1201 - 1253), "Chanson"
    • 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):

  • by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Ein Sonett", op. 14 (Acht Lieder und Romanzen) no. 4 (1858), published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Johann Peter Cornelius D'Alquen (1795 - 1863), "Minnelied", op. posth. 3 (8 Lieder) no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Leonard Johann Heinrich) Albert Fuchs (1858 - 1910), "Altfranzösisches Sonett", op. 31 (Fünfzehn Lieder für 1 mittlere Singstimme mit Pianoforte), Heft 2 no. 7, published 1899 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Moritz Hauptmann (1792 - 1868), "Sonnet aus dem 13. Jahrhundert", op. 19 (Zwölf Gesänge) no. 10, published 1848 [ voice and piano ], Offenbach, André [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Sonnet aus dem 13. Jhdt.", H-U 152 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Mathilde von Kralik (1857 - 1944), "Sonett", published 1899 [ voice and piano ], from Jugend-Lieder, no. 6, Wien : Albert J. Gutmann [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Oskar Raif (1847 - 1899), "Altfranzösisches Sonnet", op. 8 (Zwei Lieder) no. 1, published 1877 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Barth [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Benedikt Randhartinger (1802 - 1893), "Nimmer genesen" [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Karl Friedrich Zelter (1758 - 1832), "Sonett aus dem 13. Jahrhundert", 1802 [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Een sonnet", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Oh, could I only forget her", copyright ©
  • ENG English [singable] (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "A sonnet"
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sonnet", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Un sonetto", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfonso Sebastián) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-09
Line count: 13
Word count: 77

¡Ay, si pudiera olvidar
Language: Spanish (Español)  after the German (Deutsch) 
¡Ay, si pudiera olvidar
  su hermoso, amado, encantador ser
y la mirada, el labio amable,
  quizá pudiera sanar!
Mas, ¡ay, mi corazón nunca es capaz!
¡Y sin embargo, es desvarío esperarla!
    ¡Y estar suspenso de ella
    infunde valor y vida
    para nunca flaquear!
Y así, ¿cómo puedo olvidar
  su hermoso, amado, encantador ser
y la mirada, el labio amable?
  ¡Mejor no sanar nunca!

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles
"Ein Sonett" = "Un soneto"
"Sonnet aus dem 13. Jahrhundert" = "Un soneto del siglo XIII"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to Spanish (Español) copyright © 2021 by Alfonso Sebastián, (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 Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Ein Sonnet", subtitle: "Aus dem 13ten Jahrhundert"
    • Go to the text page.

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Thibaut Ier de Navarre (1201 - 1253), "Chanson"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2021-04-04
Line count: 13
Word count: 63

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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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