Reitet der Ritter in schwarzem Stahl hinaus in die rauschende Welt. Und draußen ist Alles : der Tag und das Tal und der Freund und der Feind und das Mahl im Saal und der Mai und die Maid und der Wald und der Gral, und Gott ist selber vieltausendmal an alle Straßen gestellt . Doch in dem Panzer des Ritters drinnen, hinter den finstersten Ringen, hockt der Tod und muß sinnen und sinnen : Wann wird die Klinge springen über die Eisenhecke, die fremde befreiende Klinge, die mich aus meinem Verstecke holt, drin ich so viele gebückte Tage verbringe, daß ich mich endlich strecke und spiele und singe.
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Sämtliche Werke, Band I, Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1926, p.572
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Ritter", appears in Das Buch der Bilder [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 Loretta Jankowski (b. 1950), "Ritter", 1982 [ mezzo-soprano and organ ], from Die Sehnsuchten, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Julius Marx (1897 - 1985), "Ritter", op. 1 (Drei gemischte Chöre) no. 1 (1924), copyright © 1925 [ chorus ], In: Breitkopf & Härtel's Partitur-Bibliothek |v Nr. 2508, Wiesbaden : Breitkopf & Härtel, [195?] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann Moos (1896 - 1950), "Ritter", 1924 [ alto, violin and violoncello ], from Zwei Gedichte zu Hans Thomas sechzigstem Geburtstage; Gedichte aus Das Buch der Bilder von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Barend Roest Crollius (1912 - 2000), "Ritter", published 1948? [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Zes liederen, no. 4, 's-Gravenhage : Albersen [sung text not yet checked]
- by Derek Young , "Ritter", 1959-1960, published 1989?, copyright © 1960 [ bass and piano ], from Das Buch der Bilder, no. 1, West Hagley : Lynwood [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Jessie Lemont (1872 - 1947) , "The Knight" ; composed by Kenneth E. Walton.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-07-20
Line count: 19
Word count: 106
The Knight rides forth in coat of mail Into the roar of the world. And here is Life: the vines in the vale And friend and foe, and the feast in the hall, And May and the maid, and the glen and the grail; God's flags afloat on every wall In a thousand streets unfurled. Beneath the armour of the Knight Behind the chain's black links Death crouches and thinks and thinks: "When will the sword's blade sharp and bright Forth from the scabbard spring And cut the network of the cloak Enmeshing me ring on ring— When will the foe's delivering stroke Set me free To dance And sing?"
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Jessie Lemont, New York : Tobias A. Wright, 1918, p.13
Text Authorship:
- by Jessie Lemont (1872 - 1947), "The Knight" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Ritter", appears in Das Buch der Bilder
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Kenneth E. Walton (b. 1904), "The Knight", copyright © 1938 [ high voice ], New York : Sprague-Coleman [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-10-26
Line count: 18
Word count: 110