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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Vladimir Borisovich Mikushevich (b. 1936)

Und fast ein Mädchen wars und ging...
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Und fast ein Mädchen wars und ging hervor
aus diesem einigen Glück von Sang und Leier
und glänzte klar durch ihre Frühlingsschleier
und machte sich ein Bett in meinem Ohr.

[Und schlief in mir.]1 Und alles war ihr Schlaf.
Die Bäume, die ich je bewundert, diese 
fühlbare Ferne, die gefühlte Wiese
und jedes Staunen, das mich selbst betraf.

Sie schlief die Welt. Singender Gott, wie hast 
du sie vollendet, daß sie nicht begehrte 
erst wach zu sein? Sieh, sie erstand und schlief. 

Wo ist ihr Tod? O, wirst du dies Motiv 
erfinden noch, eh sich dein Lied verzehrte? --
Wo sinkt sie hin aus mir? ... Ein Mädchen fast...

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   H. Birtwistle 

H. Birtwistle sets line 5

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 omitted by Birtwistle.

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 2 [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 Michael Berkeley (b. 1948), "Und fast ein Mädchen wars und ging hervor" [ voice and cello ], from Three Rilke Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Harrison Birtwistle, Sir (1934 - 2022), "Elegy 15, Sonnet I, 2", 2003-04, first performed 2004, line 5 [ oboe, harp and countertenor ], from Orpheus elegies, no. 11, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Nicolas Bolens (b. 1963), "And slept inside me", 1995 [ string quartet ], from Streichquartett; Sur quelques Mots de Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 2, Editions Papillon [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Paul Brantley , "Und fast ein Mädchen" [ voice and piano ], from Rilke Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Alexis Chalier (b. 1960), "Und fast ein Mädchen wars und ging hervor", 1996 [ chorus and orchestra ], from Le mythe d'Orphée, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Robert Edler (1912 - 1986), "Sonett 2 (Sprecher)", op. 59 no. 2 (1970) [ tenor, speaker, chorus and orchestra ], from Sonette an Orpheus, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Und fast ein Mädchen", copyright © 2012 [ tenor and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 2, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Nizan Leibovich (b. 1969), "Und fast ein Mädchen wars", 1996 [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Eugenia Manolides (b. 1975), "Und fast ein Mädchen wars und ging hervor" [ soprano, chorus and orchestra ], from Tempel im Gehör II [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Israel David Martínez Espinosa (b. 1969), "Und fast ein Mädchen wars und ging hervor", 1993 [ baritone and orchestra ], from La jeune martyre, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016), "Und fast ein Mädchen wars ", 1955 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Fünf Sonette an Orpheus, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Edward Snow , no title, copyright © ; composed by Robert Cogan.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by François Cotinaud.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Vladimir Borisovich Mikushevich (b. 1936) , no title, copyright © ; composed by Vladislav Mikhailovich Lebedev.
    • Go to the text.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Knut W. Barde) , "Sonnet to Orpheus", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • 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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 107

S napevom lira laskovo slilas`
Language: Russian (Русский)  after the German (Deutsch) 
С напевом лира ласково слилась
 [ ... ]

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, Поздняя осень в Венеции, санкт-петербург : Азбука-Аттикус, 2023


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Note on Transliterations

Show untransliterated (original) text

Text Authorship:

  • by Vladimir Borisovich Mikushevich (b. 1936), no title, copyright © [author's text checked 1 time 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. 2
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Vladislav Mikhailovich Lebedev (1943 - 2024), "С напевом лира ласково слилась" [ tenor and piano ], from Пой, моё сердце (Poj, mojo serdce), no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Edward Snow , no title, copyright © ; composed by Robert Cogan.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by François Cotinaud.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

This text was added to the website: 2024-03-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 80

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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