by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943)
Ein Gott vermags. Wie aber, sag mir,...
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: FRE
Ein Gott vermags. Wie aber, sag mir, soll ein Mann ihm folgen durch die schmale Leier? Sein Sinn ist Zwiespalt. An der Kreuzung zweier Herzwege steht kein Tempel für Apoll. Gesang, wie du ihn lehrst, ist nicht Begehr, nicht Werbung um ein endlich noch Erreichtes; Gesang ist Dasein. Für den Gott ein Leichtes. Wann aber sind wir? Und wann wendet er an unser Sein die Erde und die Sterne? Dies ists nicht, Jüngling, Daß du liebst, wenn auch die Stimme dann den Mund dir aufstößt, - lerne vergessen, daß du aufsangst. Das verrinnt. In Wahrheit singen, ist ein andrer Hauch. Ein Hauch um nichts. Ein Wehn im Gott. Ein Wind.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 3 [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 Holger Arden (b. 1946), "Sonett III Teil 1", 2022 [ tenor, mixed chorus, hand bells, clarinet and piano or harp ], from Die Orpheus Sonetten, no. 1, NB noter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nancy Laird Chance (b. 1931), "Ein Gott vermags", published 1966 [ soprano, flute, English horn, and cello ], from Three Poems by Rilke, no. 3, New York, Seesaw [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Edler (1912 - 1986), "Sonett 3 (Chor und Solo)", op. 59 no. 3 (1970) [ tenor, speaker, chorus and orchestra ], from Sonette an Orpheus, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Ein Gott vermags", copyright © 2012 [ tenor and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 3, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franck Adrian Holzkamp (b. 1966), "Ein Gott vermags", 1997 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ladislav Kubík (b. 1946), "Ein Gott vermags...", first performed 2008 [ alto, mixed chorus, saxophone, orchestra ], from symphony Sinfonietta No. 3 - "Gong", no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans-Jürg Meier (1964 - 2015), "Gesang ist Dasein", 2011 [ vocal quartet ], from ...und die Musik, immer neu, baut im unbrauchbaren Raum..., no. 3, Musinfo [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alessandro Melchiorre (b. 1951), "Schwelle", 1989, published 1989, copyright © 1989 [ voice, flute, oboe, clarinet, piano, percussion, electronics, violin and violoncello ], Milano : Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jan Erik Mikalsen (b. 1979), "Sonette", 2015 [ 4 sopranos, 4 mezzo-soprano, 4 tenors, 4 basses, 2 contrabasses,, 2 percussions ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016), "Ein Gott vermags" [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Fünf Sonette an Orpheus, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andrew Schultz (b. 1960), "Ein Gott vermags", op. 81 no. 3 (2009), first performed 2010 [ soprano, violin, piano ], from Stille sprache, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Tristan Schulze , "Ein Gott vermags", 2015 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bent Sørensen (b. 1958), "In Wahrheit Singen", 2020 [ mixed chorus ], Copenhagen : Edition Wilhelm Hansen [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wolfgang Steffen (1923 - 1993), "Ein Gott vermag's", 1968 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Sonette an Orpheus, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943) , no title, copyright © ; composed by Robert Cogan, Eric Moe.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Armel Guerne (1911 - 1980) , copyright © ; composed by Jean-Guy Bailly.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Vladimir Borisovich Mikushevich (b. 1936) , no title, copyright © ; composed by Vladislav Mikhailovich Lebedev.
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: 2010-01-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
A god can do it. But will you tell me...
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
A god can do it. But will you tell me how [ ... ]
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, The Duino Elegies & The Sonnets to Orpheus; A Dual Language Edition, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2014, p.78
Text Authorship:
- by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943), 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. 3
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert Cogan (1930 - 2021), "A god can do it", 2020 [ soprano ], from Four Rilke Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eric Moe (b. 1954), "A god can do it. But will you tell me how", 1997 [ soprano, oboe, string quartet and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Armel Guerne (1911 - 1980) , copyright © ; composed by Jean-Guy Bailly.
This text was added to the website: 2023-09-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 120