Ihr wandelt droben im Licht
Auf weichem Boden, selige Genien!
Glänzende Götterlüfte
Rühren euch leicht,
Wie die Finger der Künstlerin
Heilige Saiten.
Schicksallos, wie der schlafende
Säugling, atmen die Himmlischen;
Keusch bewahrt
In bescheidener Knospe,
Blühet ewig
Ihnen der Geist,
Und die seligen Augen
Blicken in stiller
Ewiger Klarheit.
Doch uns ist gegeben,
Auf keiner Stätte zu ruh'n;
Es schwinden, es fallen
Die leidenden Menschen
Blindlings von einer
Stunde [zur]1 andern,
Wie Wasser von Klippe
Zu Klippe geworfen,
Jahrlang in's Ungewisse hinab.
F. Cerha sets stanza 3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Friedrich Hölderlin's Sämmtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Christoph Theodor Schwab, Erster Band: "Gedichte und Hyperion", Stuttgart und Tübingen, J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag, 1846, pages 122-123; note: the indentation shown above doesn't appear in this edition, but occurs in later editions.
Note: Hyperion is the title character of an unfinished novel in which Hölderlin wrote about the Greek struggle for independence from the Turks.
1 Cerha: "zu"Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", written 1798, appears in Gedichte 1784-1800 [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 Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", alternate title: "Schicksalslied", op. 54 (1868), published 1872 [ SATB chorus and orchestra ], Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Friedrich Cerha (b. 1926), no title, 1995, stanza 3, from Acht Sätze nach Hölderlin-Fragmenten, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wolfgang Fortner (1907 - 1987), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", 1933 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vier Gesänge nach Worten von Hölderlin, no. 2, Schott Music [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Josef Matthias Hauer (1883 - 1959), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", op. 6 (Fünf Lieder) no. 2 (1914) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gabriel Marcel (1889 - 1973), "Hyperion Schicksalslied", 1945-1946 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies. Cahiers 3, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "Hyperions Schiksaalslied", op. 324 no. 4 (2021) [ SSAATB chorus ], from De conditione humana. Fünf Chorlieder (SSAATB) nach Texten des 17., 18. und 21. Jahrhunderts, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Michael Ostrzyga (b. 1975), no title, 2017 [ mixed chorus ], from Drift, Chorus XXI : Perspektiven neuer Chormusik [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", op. 31 no. 4, published 1980, first performed 1981 [ voice and organ ], from Schicksalslieder (Pesny sud'by), no. 4, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Walter Steffens (b. 1934), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", op. 95 no. 1 (2008) [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Gesänge auf Hölderlin für mittlere Gesangsstimme und Klavier, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Erich J. Wolff (1874 - 1913), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", op. 10 (Zwei Gesänge) no. 1, published 1907 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Hélène de Wendel (1902 - 1986) , copyright © ; composed by Henri-Pierre Poupard, as Henri Sauguet.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020) ; composed by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Cançó del destí", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Hyperions noodlotslied", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright © 1995
- ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "Hyperion's Song of Fate", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Canto del destino di Iperione", copyright © 2008, (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: 24
Word count: 82
Prostivšis' s miloj zemlëj,
Vy k zvëzdam mčites', svetlye genii,
Lëgkoj rukoju veter
Vdal' vas nesët,
Slovno otrok, laskajuščij
Nežnye struny.
Gordye i spokojnye,
Slovno deti, bespečnye,
V nebesach,
Kak v volšebnych butonach
Duši vaši
Večno cvetut,
I sčastlivye vzory
Vy ustremili
V jasnuju večnost'.
No nam net pokoja
Ni v ėtoj žizni, ni v toj.
Bez sveta, bez krova
Bessil'nye ljudi
Slepo nesutsja
Vniz, v neizvestnost',
I padajut, b'jutsja,
Kak volny o skaly,
Bessledno isčezaja vo t'me.
Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST
Note on TransliterationsShow untransliterated (original) text
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", written 1798, appears in Gedichte 1784-1800
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "Песня судьбы Гипериона", op. 31 no. 4, published 1980, first performed 1981 [ voice and organ ], from Schicksalslieder (Pesny sud'by), no. 4, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Dmitri Smirnov
This text was added to the website: 2008-03-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 78