Canto del destino di Iperione | Vagate lassù nella luce

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by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843)

Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani

Ihr wandelt droben im Licht

Language: German (Deutsch)

Available translation(s): CAT DUT ENG ENG ITA

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"

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), "Doch uns ist gegeben", 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 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.
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):

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

Canto del destino di Iperione

Language: Italian (Italiano) after the German (Deutsch)

Vagate lassù nella luce 
 Su morbido suolo, Genii beati!
   Splendenti brezze divine
     Vi accarezzano lievi,
       Simili a dita di artista
         Su sacre corde.
 
Esenti dal Fato, pari a dormienti
  Lattanti, respirano i Celesti;
    Puro e protetto
      Nel bocciolo assegnato
        Eterno fiorisce
          A loro lo spirito,
            E gli occhi beati 
              Splendono in calma
                Eterna chiarità.
 
Ma a noi non è dato,
  Trovar pace in un luogo;
    Dileguano, cadono
      Soffrendo i mortali
        Con cieco errare
          Da un'ora all'altra,  
             Come acqua da rupe
               A rupe gettata,
                 Per anni in abissi insondabili.

Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2008 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770 - 1843), "Hyperions Schicksalslied", written 1798, appears in Gedichte 1784-1800

This text was added to the website: 2008-04-27
Line count: 24
Word count: 88