by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943)
Nur wer die Leier schon hob
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: FRE
Nur wer die Leier schon hob auch unter Schatten darf das unendliche Lob ahnend erstatten. Nur wer mit Toten vom Mohn aß, von dem ihren, wird nicht den leisesten Ton wieder verlieren. Mag auch die Spieglung im Teich oft uns verschwimmen: Wisse das Bild. Erst in dem Doppelbereich werden die Stimmen ewig und mild.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 9 [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 Harrison Birtwistle, Sir (1934 - 2022), "Elegy 11, Sonnet I, 9", 2003-04, first performed 2004 [ oboe, harp and countertenor ], from Orpheus elegies, no. 8, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Terje Bjørklund (b. 1945), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 1987, first performed 1987 [ soprano, tenor, piano ], from Orfeus-elegier, no. 6, NB noter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fritz Büchtger (1903 - 1978), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 1951 [ voice and piano ], from Orpheus, no. 1, Orlando Musikverlag Gartenmaier KG [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nancy Laird Chance (b. 1931), "Nur wer die Leier", published 1966 [ soprano, flute, English horn, and cello ], from Three Poems by Rilke, no. 2, New York, Seesaw [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christian Dachez (b. 1951), "Nur", published 2018 [ soprano, flute, harp ], [Mannheim] : Impronta - Edition UG [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Nur wer die Leier", copyright © 2012 [ tenor and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 9, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hilding Hallnäs (1903 - 1984), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", published 1975 [ voice, clarinet and piano ], from Ur "Die Sonette aus Orpheus", no. 1, Stockholm : Stim/Svensk musik [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Michael Hamel (b. 1947), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 2016, published 2017 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Sonette an Orpheus, no. 2, Berlin : Verlag Neue Musik [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Rudolf) Walther Hirschberg (1889 - 1960), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", op. 47a (Zwölf Lieder) no. 10 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Heinz Höne (1924 - 2008), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob" [ mixed chorus ], from Sonette an Orpheus, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Volker David Kirchner (b. 1942), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 1968/87, copyright © 1989 [ baritone, horn and piano ], from Orfeo, no. 2, Mainz [etc.] : Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rainer Kunad (1936 - 1995), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", op. 3 (3 Lieder) no. 1 (1954) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roman Palester (1907 - 1989), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 1952 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Drei Sonetten Orpheus : für Sopran und orchester , no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hanning Schroeder (1896 - 1987), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 1925, first performed 1986 [ soprano, flute,clarinet, viola and violoncello ], from cantata Rilke-Kantate, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andrew Schultz (b. 1960), "Nur wer die Leier", op. 81 no. 2 (2009), first performed 2010 [ soprano, violin, piano ], from Stille sprache, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josep Soler i Sardà (1935 - 2022), "Sonett 9", 1960 [ voice and piano ], from Die Sonette an Orpheus, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Steffen (1923 - 1993), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", 1968 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Sonette an Orpheus, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fred Vonk (b. 1954), "Das IX. Sonett" [ voice and piano ], from Drei Rilke Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Konstantin Wladigeroff (b. 1978) and by Alexander Wladigeroff (b. 1978), "Die Sonette an Orpheus I, IX", 2020 [ countertenor, chamber orchestra and piano ], from Magie; Hommage an Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erna Woll (1917 - 2005), "Nur wer die Leier schon hob", published 1971 [ high voice and mixed chorus ], from Lobgesang, no. 3, Leuckart FEC Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Margaret Dows Herter Norton (1894 - 1985) , appears in Translations from the Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, copyright © ; composed by Walter Arlen, George Perle, Ben Brian Weber.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by François Cotinaud.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943) , copyright © ; composed by Richard Danielpour, Barbara Monk Feldman.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 54
Only he whose bright lyre
Language: German (Deutsch) after the German (Deutsch)
Only he whose bright lyre [ ... ]
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.Text Authorship:
- by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943), copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 9
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Danielpour (b. 1956), "Elegy", subtitle: "Sonnet IX", 1994, published 1995 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Sonnets to Orpheus (Book I), no. 3, Associated Music Publishers [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Barbara Monk Feldman (b. 1953), "The Gentlest Chord" [ voice ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Margaret Dows Herter Norton Crena de Iongh, née Herter (1894 - 1985) , appears in Translations from the Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, copyright © ; composed by Walter Arlen, George Perle, Ben Brian Weber.
This text was added to the website: 2023-08-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 55