As with the most intimate pleasure | As with the most intimate pleasure

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by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) and by Marianne von Willemer (1784 - 1860)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Wie mit innigstem Behagen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Wie mit innigstem Behagen,
Lied, empfind' ich deinen Sinn,
Liebevoll du scheinst zu sagen,
Daß ich ihm zur Seite bin;

Daß er ewig mein gedenket,
Seiner Liebe Seligkeit,
Immerdar der Fernen schenket,
Die ein Leben ihm geweiht.

Ja, mein Herz es ist der Spiegel,
Freund, worin du dich erblickt,
Diese Brust, wo deine Siegel
[Kuß auf Kuss]¹ hereingedrückt.

Süßes Dichten, lautre Wahrheit,
Fesselt mich in Sympathie,
Rein verkörpert Liebesklarheit
Im Gewand der Poesie!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Hensel

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Note: the third strophe is by Goethe; the rest is by Willemer

¹ Hensel: "Blick auf Blick"

Text Authorship:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Marianne von Willemer (1784 - 1860) [author's text not yet checked 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 Louis Ehlert (1825 - 1884), "West-östlich", op. 16 no. 5, published 1852 [ voice and piano ], from 5 Lieder aus dem Morgenland, no. 5, Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Suleika", H-U 210 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Volker David Kirchner (b. 1942), "Suleika", 1985, first performed 1988 [ medium voice, horn, violin, violoncello, and piano ], from Drei Lieder nach Texten aus "West-östlicher Divan", no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791 - 1864), "Suleika", 1838 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Lied der Suleika", op. 25 no. 9 (1840), published 1840 [ voice and piano ], from Myrten, no. 9, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Carlo Vitali , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 74

As with the most intimate pleasure

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

As with the most intimate pleasure,
o song, I feel your sense;
lovingly you seem to say,
that I am always beside him;

That he thinks of me always,
and bestows the bliss of his love
evermore on the distant one
who has dedicated her life to him.

Yes, my heart is a mirror,
my friend, in which you see yourself;
this breast, where your seal
you pressed, kiss after kiss.

Sweet poems, clear truth
bind me in sympathy --
purely embody the clarity of love
in the garb of poetry!

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 Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) and by Marianne von Willemer (1784 - 1860)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 90