Messages from heaven | The breath of God blows gently

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by Johann Peter Silbert (1772?/7? - 1844)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Himmelsfunken

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE

Der Odem Gottes weht!
Still wird die Sehnsucht wach;
Das trunkne Herz vergeht
In wundersüßem Ach!

Wie löst sich äthermild
Der Erde schweres Band,
Die heil'ge Thräne quillt,
Ach! nach des Himmels Land.

Wie mächtig hebt das Herz
Sich zu den blauen Höh'n!
Was macht vor süßem Schmerz
Es ach! so zart vergehn? -

O süßer Hochgenuß!
Mild, wie des Himmels Thau,
Winkt Gottes Feyergruß
Hoch aus dem stillen Blau!

Und das verwaiste Herz
Vernimmt den stillen Ruf,
Und sehnt sich heimathwärts
Zum Vater, der es schuf!

Confirmed with Die heilige Lyra. Von Johannes Petrus Silbert. Wien, 1819. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß, pages 214-215.

Text Authorship:

by Johann Peter Silbert (1772?/7? - 1844), "Himmelsfunken", first published 1819 [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), "Himmelsfunken", D 651 (1819), published 1831 [ voice, piano ], A.Diabelli & Co., VN 3707, Wien (Nachlaß-Lieferung 10) [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Espurnes del cel", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Vonken uit de hemel", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Messages from heaven", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Message céleste", 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: 20
Word count: 86

Messages from heaven

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The breath of God blows gently,
and silently, longing awakens;
the intoxicated heart faints
in wonderfully sweet agony.

How it dissolves in the mild air -
the heavy bonds of earthly life!
Sacred tears flow,
alas! for that heavenly land.

How powerfully does the heart lift itself
toward those blue heights!
But alas! why, with such sweet pain,
does it so tenderly faint? -

O sweet bliss!
Mildly, like the dew of heaven,
does God's solemn greeting beckon
from high in the still blue!

And the orphaned heart
hears the quiet call,
and longs to return home
to the Father who created it!

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Peter Silbert (1772?/7? - 1844), "Himmelsfunken", first published 1819
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 101