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by Hans Bethge (1876 - 1946)
Translation © by Emily Ezust

An einem Abend, da die Blumen dufteten
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the Chinese (中文) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
An einem Abend, da die Blumen dufteten
Und alle Blätter an den Bäumen, trug der Wind mir
Das Lied einer entfernten Flöte zu. Da schnitt
Ich einen Weidenzweig vom Strauche, und
Mein Lied flog, Antwort gebend, durch die blühende Nacht.

Seit jenem Abend hören, wenn die Erde schläft,
Die Vögel ein Gespräch in ihrer Sprache.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Musikwissenschaft zwischen Kunst, Ästhetik und Experiment: Festschrift Helga de la Motte-Haber zum 60. Geburtstag, Reinhard Kopiez, herausgegeber, Königshausen & Neumann, 1998, page 267.


Text Authorship:

  • by Hans Bethge (1876 - 1946), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", appears in Die chinesische Flöte [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Chinese (中文) by Li-Tai-Po (701 - 762), "春夜洛城闻笛"
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Hans Altmann (1904 - 1961), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 24 no. 1, published c1963 [ voice and piano ], from 7 Lieder aus Die chinesische Flöte, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Gottfried von Einem (1918 - 1996), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 8 no. 1 [ medium voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder aus dem Chinesischen, no. 1, Boosey & Hawks / Bote & Bock [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Maria Herz (1878 - 1950), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte" [ voice and piano ], from Lieder aus der chinesischen Flöte, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Artur Immisch (1902 - 1949), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", 1924 [ voice and piano ], from Sieben Lieder aus Die Chinesische Flöte von Hans Bethge, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Sigurd von Koch (1879 - 1919), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", 1916 [ voice and piano ], from Die geheimnisvolle Flöte, no. 5, Stockholm: Elkan & Schildknecht, Emil Carclius [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Leonard Pieter Joseph Michielsen (1872 - 1944), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", from Sechs Gesänge chinesischer Lyrik, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - 2020), "Die geheimnisvolle flöte", 2007-2018 [ baritone and orchestra ], from symphony Chinesische Lieder, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Julius Röntgen (1855 - 1932), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 66 no. 8 (1916), published 1917 [ voice and piano ], from Chinesische Lieder, no. 8, Copenhagen: Wilhelm Hansen [sung text not yet checked]
  • by James Martin Simon (1880 - 1944), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 10 no. 1, from Drei Lieder aus der Chinesischen Flöte, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Johan Gustaf) Emil Sjögren (1853 - 1918), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 54 (Wenn nur ein Traum och Die geheimnisvolle Flöte) no. 2 (1911), published 1911 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Ernst Toch (1887 - 1964), "An einem Abend, da die Blumen dufteten", op. 29 no. 2, published 1921, first performed 1924 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Die chinesische Flöte, no. 2, Mainz : Schott [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (1903 - 1969), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", 1921, from Lieder der Frühe, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 12 (Vier Lieder für Singstimme und Klavier) no. 2 (1917) [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Egon Joseph Wellesz (1885 - 1974), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", op. 15 no. 1 (1913), first performed 1966 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder aus der Fremde (nach dem Chinesischen von Hans Bethge), no. 1, Wien: Doblinger [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Georg Wolfsohn (1881 - 1955), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", published 1922 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder aus der Chinesischen Flöte des Hans Bethge, no. 2, Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Jules Bernard Schürmann (1873 - 1927) , from Chineesche verzen, first published 1916 ; composed by Marie Cornélie Cathérine Reynvaan.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Samuel Hans Adler.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Shigeyoshi Obata (1888 - 1971) , "On hearing the flute at Lo-Cheng one spring night", appears in Li Po, the Chinese poet, done into English verse ; composed by Phyllis Campbell.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Finnish (Suomi), a translation by Eino Tikkanen ; composed by Sulho Veikko Juhani Ranta.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955) , "Les deux flûtes" [an adaptation] ; composed by René Bernier, Therèse Brenet, Marius-François Gaillard, Pierre Paubon, Manuel M. Ponce, Rosalie Marie Wertheim.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Judith Gautier (1845 - 1917) , "La flûte mystérieuse", appears in Le livre de jade, 1867 edition, in 7. Les poëtes, no. 4, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1867 ; composed by Gabriel-André Fabre.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Alfred Henschke (1890 - 1928) ; composed by Emil Anner, Helmut Barbe, Kurt Brüggemann, Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, Wilhelm Rettich, Helmut Riethmüller.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920) , "Die ferne Laute" ; composed by Josef Schelb.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Max Fleischer (1880 - 1941) , "Geheimnisvolles Zwiegespräch zweier Flöten", appears in Der Porzellanpavillon: Nachdichtungen Chinesischer Lyrik von Max Fleisher, first published 1927 ; composed by Philipp Schoeller.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Max Geilinger (1884 - 1948) , "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte" ; composed by Benno Ammann.
    • Go to the text.

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

  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The mysterious flute", copyright ©
  • ENG English [singable] (Mabelle Shapleigh) , "The Mysterious Flute"
  • FRE French (Français) [singable] (Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi) , "La Flûte mystérieuse"
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La flûte mystérieuse", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-09
Line count: 7
Word count: 55

The mysterious flute
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
One evening, when flowers were wafting their scents
and all the leaves were on the trees, the wind brought to me
the song of a far-off flute. Immediately I cut
a branch from the willow, and
my song flew to give answer through the blossoming night.
Ever since that evening, when the earth is sleeping,
the birds hear conversations in their language.

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.
    licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Hans Bethge (1876 - 1946), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", appears in Die chinesische Flöte [an adaptation]
    • Go to the text page.

Based on:

  • a text in Chinese (中文) by Li-Tai-Po (701 - 762), "春夜洛城闻笛"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-09
Line count: 7
Word count: 62

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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