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.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Wie bist du schön, du tiefer, blauer See! Es zagt der laue West, dich anzuhauchen, Und nur der Wasserlilie reiner Schnee Wagt aus dem keuschen Busen dir zu tauchen. Hier wirft kein Fischer seine Angelschnur, Kein Kahn wird je durch deine Fluten gleiten! Gleich einer Dithyrambe der Natur Rauscht nur der Wald durch diese Einsamkeiten! Wildrosen streun dir Weihrauch, ihr Arom Die schlanken Tannen, die dich rings umragen, Und die, wie Säulen einen mächt'gen Dom, Ob sich des Himmels blau' Gewölbe tragen. Einst kannt ich eine Seele, ernst, voll Ruh, Die sich der Welt verschloß mit sieben Siegeln, Die, rein und tief, geschaffen schien wie du, Nur um den Himmel in sich abzuspiegeln.
Confirmed with Heinrich Leuthold, Gedichte, Frauenfeld, Druck und Verlag von Huber & Co., 1914, pages 22-23.
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Leuthold (1827 - 1879), "Der Waldsee" [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 Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Der Waldsee", op. 15 (Sechs Lieder für mittlere und höhere Stimme und Klavier) no. 1 (1907) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957), "Der Waldsee", op. 57 no. 20 (1944) [ high voice and piano ], from Der Sänger: Liederfolge nach Gedichten und Strophen von Heinrich Leuthold, no. 20, Wien: Universal Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Wilhelm Reinhard Berger, Robert Kahn, Richard Poebing, Richard Stöhr.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The forest lake", copyright ©
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Jakob Kellner
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 113
How fair you are, you deep blue lake! The mild west wind hesitates to breathe on you, and only the pure snow of the water-lily dares emerge from your chaste bosom. Here no fisherman casts his fishnets, no boat will ever glide through your waters! Like a dithyramb of nature, only the wood rustles in these lonely parts! Wild roses spread for you their incense and the slender firs their scent; they rear up about you and like the pillars of a mighty cathedral support the blue vault of the skies. Once I knew a soul, serious and tranquil, who locked herself away from the world with seven seals; who, pure and profound, seemed to have been created, like you, only to reflect Heaven in herself.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust, (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.
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Leuthold (1827 - 1879), "Der Waldsee"
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 127