The May evening (Voss, set by (Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

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.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Johann Heinrich Voss (1751 - 1826)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Der Maiabend

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): DUT ENG FRE

Umweht von Maiduft, unter des Blütenbaums 
Helldunkel [sahn]¹ wir Abendgewölk verglüh'n,
  Des vollen Mond's Aufgang erwartend,
    Und Filomelengesäng' im Thalbusch.

Lau war die Dämmrung, traulicher scherzten wir
Mit nachgeahmter Fröhlichkeit. Bald verstummt
  In holdem Tiefsinn, saß das Mägdlein,
    [Stammelte:]² wollen wir gehn? und ging nicht.

Die Hand in meiner zitterte. Bleib, o bleib!
Kaum athmend lallt' ich's. Wonne! da fügten wir,
  Nach manchem Freundschaftskuss, den Brautkuss,
    Nicht Filomela noch Mond bemerkend.

F. Mendelssohn-Hensel sets stanzas 1-2

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Sämtliche Gedichte von Johann Heinrich Voß, Th. 3. Oden und Elegien, Königsberg: Friedrich Nicolovius 1802, page 83f.

¹ Mendelssohn-Hensel: "sehn"
² Mendelssohn-Hensel: "flüsterte"

Authorship

by Johann Heinrich Voss (1751 - 1826), "Der Maiabend", appears in Oden und Lieder [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 Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Der Maiabend", op. posth. 9 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5 (1827?), published 1850, stanzas 1-2 [voice and piano], Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel [ sung text verified 1 time]

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

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , title 1: "The May evening", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Le soir de Mai", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , title 1: "De Meiavond", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 71

The May evening

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Fanned by the scents of May, beneath the light shade of the blossoming tree,
we see the evening clouds dying away
and await the rising of the full moon
and Philomel's song in the valley bush.
 
Mild was the twilight; we jested familiarly
with mimicking jollity, but soon we fell silent.
Deep in lovely thought sat the maiden,
and we whispered, should we go? but we did not leave.

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 -- https://www.lieder.net/
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.

Based on

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Heinrich Voss (1751 - 1826), "Der Maiabend", appears in Oden und Lieder

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 69