The first violet | When I caught sight of the first violet

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by Karl Egon Ebert (1801 - 1882)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Das erste Veilchen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG SPA

Als ich das erste Veilchen erblickt,
Wie war ich von Farben und Duft entzückt!
Die Botin des Lenzes drückt' ich voll Lust
An meine schwellende, hoffende Brust.

Der Lenz ist vorüber, das Veilchen ist tot;
Rings steh'n viel Blumen blau und rot,
Ich stehe inmitten, und sehe sie kaum,
Das Veilchen erscheint mir im Frühlingstraum.

Text Authorship:

by Karl Egon Ebert (1801 - 1882) [author's text not yet checked 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 (Johann Gottfried) Heinrich Bellermann (1832 - 1903), "Das erste Veilchen", op. 5 (6 Lieder) no. 6, published 1861 [ duet for 2 voices with piano ], Berlin, Bahn [sung text not yet checked]
by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Das erste Veilchen", op. 19 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "La primera violeta", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Het eerste viooltje", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "The first violet", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "The first violet", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Mercedes Vivas) , "La primera violeta", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 55

The first violet

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 When I caught sight of the first violet,
 how delighted was I at its colours and fragrance!
 It was Spring's herald that I enthusiastically clasped
 to my swelling, hoping breast.

 Springtime is over, the violet is dead;
 there are many flowers, blue and red, around me,
 I stand amongst them and hardly notice them,
 it's the violet that appears in my springdream.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2005 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Karl Egon Ebert (1801 - 1882)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 63