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Arm am Beutel, krank [am]1 Herzen, Schleppt' ich meine langen Tage. Armuth ist die größte Plage, Reichthum ist das höchste Gut! Und, zu enden meine Schmerzen, Ging ich einen Schatz zu graben. Meine Seele sollst du haben! Schrieb ich hin mit eignem Blut. Und so zog' ich Kreis' um Kreise, Stellte wunderbare Flammen, Kraut und Knochenwerk zusammen: Die Beschwörung war vollbracht. Und auf die gelernte Weise Grub ich nach dem alten Schatze Auf dem angezeigten Platze: Schwarz und stürmisch war die Nacht. Und ich sah ein Licht von weiten, Und es kam gleich einem Sterne Hinten aus der fernsten Ferne, Eben als es zwölfe schlug. Und da galt kein Vorbereiten. Heller ward's mit einemmale Von dem Glanz der vollen Schale, Die ein schöner Knabe trug. Holde Augen sah ich blinken Unter [dichtem]2 Blumenkranze; In des Trankes [Himmelsglanze]3 Trat er in den Kreis herein. Und er hieß mich freundlich trinken; Und ich dacht': es kann der Knabe Mit der schönen lichten Gabe Wahrlich nicht der Böse sein. Trinke Muth des reinen Lebens! Dann verstehst du die Belehrung, Kommst, mit ängstlicher Beschwörung, Nicht zurück an diesen Ort. Grabe hier nicht mehr vergebens. Tages Arbeit! [Abends Gäste]4; Saure Wochen! Frohe Feste! Sey dein künftig Zauberwort.
Confirmed with Goethe's Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, Erster Band, Stuttgart und Tübingen, in der J.G.Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1827, pages 198-199; and with Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1798. herausgegeben von Schiller. Tübingen, in der J.G.Cottaischen Buchhandlung, pages 46-48.
1 Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "im"2 first edition (Musenalmanach): "einem"
3 first edition (Musenalmanach): "Himmelglanze"
4 first edition (Musenalmanach): "Abendgäste"
Authorship:
- by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Schatzgräber", written 1797, first published 1798 [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 Hanns Eisler (1898 - 1962), "Der Schatzgräber", 1942, from Hollywooder Liederbuch, no. 28 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Lenhuk , "Der Schatzgräber", published <<1815 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gedichte von Goethe und Schiller, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Der Schatzgräber", op. 59 no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Émile Louis Victor Mathieu (1844 - 1932), "Der Schatzgräber" [ voice and piano ], from Six Ballades de Goethe (Deuxième Suite), no. 6, Bruxelles: Schott Frères, also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752 - 1814), "Der Schatzgräber", published 1811 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Schatzgräber", D 256 (1815), published 1887 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Jules Abrassart (1826 - 1893) ; composed by Émile Louis Victor Mathieu.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El cercador de tresors", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De schatgraver", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The treasure-seeker", copyright ©
- FRE French (Français) (Gérard Labrunie) , "Le chercheur de trésors"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Il cercatore di tesori", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 202
Nulla in tasca, infermo in cuore, mando avanti i miei lunghi giorni. La povertà è la più gran disgrazia, la ricchezza il bene più alto! E per mettere fine ai miei mali, andai in cerca di un tesoro. "Ti dò in cambio la mia anima!", scrissi col mio sangue. E così tracciai cerchi su cerchi, accesi meravigliose fiamme, con erbe magiche e ossa: l'incantesimo era compiuto. E nel modo che avevo imparato scavai in cerca del vecchio tesoro nel luogo indicato; nera e tempestosa era la notte. E vidi una luce da lontano, che veniva come una stella laggiù dalla più remota lontananza, proprio quando suonò il dodicesimo rintocco. E non valse essere pronto: diventò chiaro tutto a un tratto, dalla luce di una coppa piena che recava in mano un bel fanciullo. Begli occhi vidi balenare sotto una folta corona di fiori; nello splendore divino della coppa egli avanzava dentro il cerchio. Mi invitò gentilmante a bere, ed io pensai: il fanciullo col bel dono luminoso non può ssere veramente il Maligno. "Bevi il coraggio della vera vita! Poi capirai l'insegnamento. Coi terribili incantesimi non tornerai mai più in questo luogo. Non scaverai più qui invano: di giorno lavoro! Di sera ospiti! Settimane dure! Liete feste! Questa sia per il futuro la tua parola magica."
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2007 by Amelia Maria Imbarrato, (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.
Amelia Maria Imbarrato. We have no current contact information for the copyright-holder.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), "Der Schatzgräber", written 1797, first published 1798
This text was added to the website: 2007-01-16
Line count: 40
Word count: 216