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Wenn in bangen trüben Stunden Unser Herz beinah verzagt, Wenn, von Krankheit überwunden, Angst in unserm Innern nagt; Wir der Treugeliebten denken, [Wie]1 sie Gram und Kummer drückt, Wolken unsern Blick beschränken, Die kein Hoffnungsstrahl durchblickt: O! dann neigt sich Gott herüber, Seine Liebe kommt uns nah, Sehnen wir uns dann hinüber, Steht sein Engel vor uns da, Bringt den Kelch des frischen Lebens, Lispelt Muth und Trost uns zu; Und wir beten nicht vergebens Auch für [die]2 Geliebten Ruh.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Novalis Schriften, Herausgegeben von Ludwig Tieck und Fr. Schlegel, Vierte Ausgabe, Stuttgart: bei A.F. Macklot, 1826, page 261.
1 Pichler: "Wenn"2 Pichler, Reger: "der"
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772 - 1801), as Novalis, no title, appears in Geistliche Lieder, no. 13 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Algernon Bennet Langton Ashton (1859 - 1937), "Wenn in bangen trüben Stunden", op. 138 (Acht Lieder) no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustav Flügel (1812 - 1900), "Engel des Trostes", op. 8 no. 6, published << 1869 [ voice and piano ], from Jugendlieder, no. 6, Magdeburg: Heinrichshofen'sche Buch- und Musikalien Handlung [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Friedrich Johann Girschner (1794 - 1860), "Der Engel des Trostes" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Pichler (1800 - 1869), "Die Nähe des Herrn" [ ssaa quartet ], unpublished, confirmed with the manuscript in Huldigung der Tonsetzer Wiens an Ihre Majestät die allerdurchlauchtigste Frau Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Kaiserin von Österreich, Königin von Ungarn und Böhmen etc. Überreicht von der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde des österreichischen Kaiserstaates 1854 held in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Max Reger (1873 - 1916), "Wenn in bangen, trüben Stunden", alternate title: "Wenn in bangen, trüben Stunden", 1900 [ medium voice, organ ], from Zwei geistliche Lieder, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (George MacDonald) , "Spiritual Songs, number 13", appears in Rampolli: Growths from a Long Planted Root. Being Translations, New and Old, Chiefly from the German, first published 1897
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2006-04-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 80
When in anxious, dreary hours Our hearts almost despair, When, conquered by sickness, Fear gnaws within us; [When] we think of the dearly loved ones, [How]1 they are weighed down by grief and misery, [When] clouds limit our view, [clouds through which] No ray of hope penetrates: Oh! then God inclines Himself over us, His love comes near to us; When we then yearn for the other side, His angel stands there before us, Brings the goblet of fresh life, Whispers courage and comfort to us; And we do not pray in vain [Asking for peace for our loved ones as well]2.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of titles:
"Der Engel des Trostes" = "The angel of comfort"
"Die Nähe des Herrn" = "The nearness of the Lord"
"Engel des Trostes" = "Angel of comfort"
"Wenn in bangen trüben Stunden" = "When in anxious, dreary hours"
2 Pichler, Reger: "Also for the peace of our beloved"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2025 by Sharon Krebs, (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 German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Hardenberg (1772 - 1801), as Novalis, no title, appears in Geistliche Lieder, no. 13
This text was added to the website: 2025-03-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 102