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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.
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"
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 (7 Lieder aus "Die chinesische Flöte") no. 1, published c1963 [ voice and piano ] [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 Léonard 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 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]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Jules Schürmann (1873 - 1927) , from Chineesche verzen, first published 1916 ; composed by M. C. C. Reynvaan.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955) , "Les deux flûtes" [an adaptation] ; composed by Manuel M. Ponce, Rosalie Marie Wertheim.
- 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.
- 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.
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
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 -- https://www.lieder.net/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 Hans Bethge (1876 - 1946), "Die geheimnisvolle Flöte", appears in Die chinesische Flöte [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Li-Tai-Po (701 - 762), "春夜洛城闻笛"
This text was added to the website: 2003-12-09
Line count: 7
Word count: 62