Wie ergreift uns der Vogelschrei.... Irgendein einmal erschaffenes Schreien. Aber die Kinder schon, spielend im Freien, schreien an veirklichen Schreien vorbei. Schreien den Zufall. In Zwischenräume dieses, des Weltraums, (in welchen der heile Vogelschrei eingeht, wie Menschen in Träume —) treiben sie ihre, des Kreischens, Keile. Wehe, wo sind wir? Immer noch freier, wie die losgerissenen Drachen jagen wir halbhoch, mit Rändern von Lachen, [windig zerfetzten. —]1 Ordne die Schreier, singender Gott! [dass sie rauschend erwachen,]1 tragend als Strömung das Haupt und die Leier.
H. Birtwistle sets line 12-13
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Sonette an Orpheus, Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1923
1 omitted by Birtwistle.Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 2, no. 26 [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 Harrison Birtwistle, Sir (1934 - 2022), "Elegy 23, Sonnet II, 26", 2003-04, first performed 2004, line 12-13 [ oboe, harp and countertenor ], from Orpheus elegies, no. 21, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Edler (1912 - 1986), "Sonett 26 b (Sprecher, Solo und Chor)", op. 59 no. 14 [ tenor, speaker, chorus and orchestra ], from Sonette an Orpheus, no. 14 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943) , copyright © ; composed by Eric Moe.
- Also set in English, a translation by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963) , "How it thrills us" ; composed by Libby Larsen.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-08-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 86
How deeply the cry of a bird can move us [ ... ]
About the headline (FAQ)
This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.Text Authorship:
- by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943), copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 2, no. 26
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Eric Moe (b. 1954), "How deeply the cry of a bird can move us", 1997 [ soprano, oboe, string quartet and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963) , "How it thrills us" ; composed by Libby Larsen.
This text was added to the website: 2023-12-14
Line count: 14
Word count: 106