Neo-Greek Song | In dark hell, under the earth

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by Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (1821 - 1897)

Translation © by Lyle Neff

В темном аде, под землею

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG FRE

В темном аде, под [землею],
Тени грешные томятся;
Стонут девы, плачут жены,
И тоскуют, и крушатся...
Всё о том, что не доходят
Вести в адские пределы -²
Есть ли небо голубое?
Есть ли свет ещё там белый?
[И на]³ свете -- церкви божьи
И иконы золотые,
И как прежде, за станками,
Ткут ли девы молодые?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• P. Tchaikovsky

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Tchaikovsky: "zemlej"
² Tchaikovsky adds the line: "Zheny plachut, stonut: "
³ Tchaikovsky: "Jest' li v"

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (1821 - 1897), no title, written 1860, appears in Новогреческие песни (Novogrecheskije pesni), no. 30 [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 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Новогреческая песня", op. 16 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six romances)) no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 55

Neo‑Greek Song

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

In dark hell, under the earth, 
ghosts of sinners are languishing;
maidens are moaning, wives are weeping 
and pining, and are afflicted...
all about the fact that news does not reach 
into the boundaries of hell --
[the wives are weeping, moaning]:  is there a pale-blue sky?
Does the wide world still exist there?
Are there in the world churches of God
and golden icons,
and do young maidens 
weave at looms as before?

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © 2005 by Lyle Neff, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (1821 - 1897), no title, written 1860, appears in Новогреческие песни (Novogrecheskije pesni), no. 30
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2005-05-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 73