by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946)
Die Einsamkeit ist wie ein Regen
Language: German (Deutsch)
Die Einsamkeit ist wie ein Regen. Sie steigt vom Meer den Abenden entgegen; von Ebenen, die fern sind und entlegen, geht sie zum Himmel, der sie immer hat. Und erst vom Himmel fällt sie auf die Stadt. Regnet hernieder in den Zwitterstunden, wenn sich nach Morgen wenden alle Gassen und wenn die Leiber, welche nichts gefunden, enttäuscht und traurig von einander lassen; und wenn die Menschen, die einander hassen, in einem Bett zusammen schlafen müssen: dann geht die Einsamkeit mit den Flüssen...
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Das Buch der Bilder, Insel-Verlag, 1922, p.41
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Einsamkeit", written 1902, appears in Das Buch der Bilder [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 Natalie Bayada-Snoeren , "Einsamkeit" [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Rilke, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Martynas Bialobžeskis (b. 1976), "Visit Of An Old Lady: Rilke Theme" [ electronics ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmund Konstantin Wilhelm von Borck (1906 - 1944), "Einsamkeit", op. 23 (Drei Lieder) no. 3 [ alto, viola, piano ], Köln: Tonger Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean-Paul Byloo (b. 1949), "Einsamkeit", 1995 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Rilke Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Hudson , "Einsamkeit" [ voice and piano ], from Rilke songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Piet Kingma (1926 - 1994), "Einsamkeit", copyright © 1986 [ chorus and orchestra ], from Rilke Lieder, no. 1, Amsterdam : Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Birgitta Lutz , "Einsamkeit", published 2003 [ medium voice and piano ], from 10 Vertonungen nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 7, Abschrift des Manuskripts von Walter Stüber. Mit Zeichnungen von Karl Unverzagt [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vsevolod Pozdejev (b. 1979), "Einsamkeit", first performed 2017 [ baritone and piano ], from 3 Lieder Gedichte von Rainer Marie Rilke , no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Viebig (1897 - 1959), "Die Einsamkeit", 1925 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ekkehard Wölk (b. 1967), "Einsamkeit", 2007 [ bass, piano and percussion ], from Liederzyklus Book of Images. Rilke-Lieder 2, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jeffrey Wood , "Einsamkeit" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Derek Young , "Einsamkeit", 1959-1960, published 1989?, copyright © 1960 [ bass and piano ], from Das Buch der Bilder, no. 2, West Hagley : Lynwood [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raimonda Žiūkaitė (b. 1991), "Einsamkeit", 2015 [ voice ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Kate Flores , "Loneliness", copyright © ; composed by Nancy Hayes Van de Vate.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946) , "La solitude" ; composed by Héctor Tosar Errecart.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Robert Bly (b. 1926) , copyright © ; composed by Martin Watt.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-07-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 82
La solitude est pareille à ces pluies
Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)
La solitude est pareille à ces pluies qui, montant de la mer, s’avancent vers les soirs. Des plaines elle va, lointaines et perdues, au ciel qui la contient toujours. Et c’est du ciel qu’elle retombe sur la ville. La solitude pleut aux heures indécises : lorsque vers le matin se tournent les rues neuves, lorsque les corps épuisés de méprises s’entr’écartent, tristes et inassouvis, et que les hommes qui se haïssent doivent coucher ensemble dans un lit : la solitude alors s’éloigne au fil des fleuves...
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Jehan Despert, La pensée de Rainer Maria Rilke, Éditions du CELF, 1962
Text Authorship:
- by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946), "La solitude" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Einsamkeit", written 1902, appears in Das Buch der Bilder
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Héctor Tosar Errecart (1923 - 2002), "Solitude" [ soprano and string quartet or piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2024-02-21
Line count: 12
Word count: 84