Wie ergreift uns der Vogelschrei.... Irgendein einmal erschaffenes Schreien. Aber die Kinder schon, spielend im Freien, schreien an veirklichen Schreien vorbei. Schreien den Zufall. In Zwischenräume dieses, des Weltraums, (in welchen der heile Vogelschrei eingeht, wie Menschen in Träume —) treiben sie ihre, des Kreischens, Keile. Wehe, wo sind wir? Immer noch freier, wie die losgerissenen Drachen jagen wir halbhoch, mit Rändern von Lachen, [windig zerfetzten. —]1 Ordne die Schreier, singender Gott! [dass sie rauschend erwachen,]1 tragend als Strömung das Haupt und die Leier.
H. Birtwistle sets line 12-13
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Sonette an Orpheus, Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1923
1 omitted by Birtwistle.Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 2, no. 26 [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 Harrison Birtwistle, Sir (1934 - 2022), "Elegy 23, Sonnet II, 26", 2003-04, first performed 2004, line 12-13 [ oboe, harp and countertenor ], from Orpheus elegies, no. 21, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Edler (1912 - 1986), "Sonett 26 b (Sprecher, Solo und Chor)", op. 59 no. 14 [ tenor, speaker, chorus and orchestra ], from Sonette an Orpheus, no. 14 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943) , copyright © ; composed by Eric Moe.
- Also set in English, a translation by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963) , "How it thrills us" ; composed by Libby Larsen.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-08-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 86
How it thrills us, the bird’s clear cry. . . Any cry that was always there. Children, playing in the open air, children already go crying by real cries. Cry chance in. Through crevasses in that same space whereinto, as dreaming men into dreams, the pure bird-cry passes they drive their splintering wedge of screaming. Where are we? Freer and freer, we gyre only half up, kites breaking loose, with our frills of laughter flaking away in the wind. — Make the criers a choir, singing god! that resurgently waking may bear on its waters the head and the lyre.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Possibility of Being: A Selection of Poems, New Directions, 1977, p.101
Text Authorship:
- by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963), "How it thrills us" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 2, no. 26
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "How it thrills us", 1990, published 1990 [ mixed chorus ], Boston, Mass. : E.C.Schirmer Music Company [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-09-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 100