by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Babbette Deutsch (1895 - 1982)
Da neigt sich die Stunde und rührt mich...
Language: German (Deutsch)
Da neigt sich die Stunde und rührt mich an mit klarem, metallenem Schlag: mir zittern die Sinne. Ich fühle: ich kann - und ich fasse den plastischen Tag. Nichts war [noch]1 vollendet, eh ich es erschaut, ein jedes Werden stand still. Meine Blicke sind reif, und wie eine Braut kommt jedem das Ding, das er will. Nichts ist mir zu klein, und ich lieb es trotzdem und mal' es auf Goldgrund und groß, und halte es hoch, und ich weiß nicht wem löst es die Seele los...
S. Ebel sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Werke, kommentierte Ausgabe in vier Bänden, Band 1 Gedichte 1895 bis 1910, herausgegeben von Manfred Engel und Ulrich Fülleborn, Frankfurt am Main und Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1996, page 157.
1 Omitted by Ebel.Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 1, first published 1905 [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 Ronald Joachim Autenrieth (b. 1959), "Nichts ist mir zu klein", published 2007 [ SATB chorus ], from Fünf Chöre nach Worten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Herbert Blendinger (b. 1936), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", op. 53 no. 1 (1990), first performed 1991 [ baritone and piano ], from Vom mönchischen Leben, no. 1, Manuskript [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Dörnberg (1920 - 2013), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", 1973/1986 [ soprano or piano or mixed chorus ], from 6 Lieder nach Rilkes Stundenbuch, no. 1, Manuskript; Freie Umgestaltung der Chorfassung von 1973 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Dörnberg (1920 - 2013), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", 1973/1986 [ soprano, piano or mixed chorus ], from 6 Lieder nach Rilkes Stundenbuch, no. 2, Manuskript 1986. Freie Umgestaltung der Chorfassung von 1973. Gedichte aus Vom mönchischen Leben [sung text not yet checked]
- by Steven Ebel , "Die Stunde ", 2010, stanzas 1-2 [ mezzo-soprano or tenor and piano ], from Der Schatzgräber, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Peter Escher (1915 - 2008), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", op. 76 no. 1 (1954), first performed 1955 [ tenor and piano ], from Vier Gesänge aus dem ersten Teil von Rainer Maria Rilkes Stondenbuch, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Chris Fictoor (b. 1948), "Die Stunde", 1999 [ soprano, alto, bass, chorus, orchestra ], from oratorio Rilke Lieder, no. 1, Ascolta [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Klepper (b. 1924), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", 2000 [ soprano and piano ], from Sechs Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugenia Manolides (b. 1975), "Da neigt sich die Stunde und rührt mich an", first performed 2002 [ soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from Tempel im Gehör I, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lawrence Kenneth Moss (1927 - 2022), "Da neigt sich die Stunde und rührt mich an", 1963, rev. 1966, rev. 1977, from Three Rilke Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Strauß-König (b. 1930), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", 2003 [ baritone and piano ], from Die Blätter fallen, no. 3, Edition Dorh [sung text not yet checked]
- by Regina Wittemeier (b. 1956), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", op. 34 (Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen) no. 3, published 2003 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl-Heinz Wolters (1929 - 1987), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", Wildt's Musikverlag Franz und Joseph Wild [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann Wunsch (1884 - 1954), "Da neigt sich die Stunde" [ voice and orchestra ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 1, Rob Forberg Musikverlag GmbH & Co [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Annette LeSiege (1947 - 2012) , copyright © ; composed by Annette LeSiege.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in English, a translation by Babbette Deutsch (1895 - 1982) , "Now the hour bows down, it touches me, throbs", copyright © ; composed by David Matthews.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anita Barrows , copyright © and by Joanna Macy , copyright © ; composed by Brad Mehldau.
- Also set in English, a translation by Denise Levertov (1923 - 1997) , appears in Breathing the Water, copyright © [an adaptation] ; composed by Joan Szymko.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Walter A. Aue) , "The hour is turning", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Alors l'heure se penche et me touche", copyright © 2012, (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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 86
Now the hour bows down, it touches me,...
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Now the hour bows down, it touches me, throbs [ ... ]
About the headline (FAQ)
This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Poems from the Book of Hours, New Directions, 2018
Text Authorship:
- by Babbette Deutsch (1895 - 1982), "Now the hour bows down, it touches me, throbs", copyright © [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Da neigt sich die Stunde", written 1899, appears in Das Stundenbuch, in 1. Das Buch vom mönchischen Leben , no. 1, first published 1905
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by David Matthews (b. 1943), "Now the hour bows down", op. 10 no. 1 (1975/1999), published 2003 [ soprano and piano ], from Book of hours, no. 1, London : Faber Music Ltd. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Annette LeSiege (1947 - 2012) , copyright © ; composed by Annette LeSiege.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in English, a translation by Anita Barrows , copyright © and by Joanna Macy , copyright © ; composed by Brad Mehldau.
- Also set in English, a translation by Denise Levertov (1923 - 1997) , appears in Breathing the Water, copyright © [an adaptation] ; composed by Joan Szymko.
This text was added to the website: 2023-09-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 92