by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963)
Uraltes Wehn vom Meer
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: ENG
Uraltes Wehn vom Meer, Meerwind bei Nacht: du kommst zu keinem her; wenn einer wacht, so muß er sehn, wie er dich übersteht: uraltes Wehn vom Meer, welches weht [nur wie für]1 Ur-Gestein, lauter Raum reißend [von]2 weit herein . . . O wie fühlt dich ein treibender Feigenbaum oben im Mondschein.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Gedichte, Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997, pages 546-547.
1 Jarnach: "wie nur für"; Zinsstag: "nur für die"2 Apostel, Paulsen: "wie"
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Lied vom Meer", subtitle: "Capri. Piccola Marina", appears in Der neuen Gedichte anderer Teil [author's text checked 2 times 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 Hans Erich Apostel (1901 - 1972), "Lied vom Meer", subtitle: "(Capri, piccola marina)", op. 6 (Vier Lieder) no. 3, published 1937 [ voice and piano ], Wien: Universal-Edition, Nr. 10917 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Λrthvr , "Lied vom Meer", 2019 [ voice ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), "Lied vom Meer", subtitle: "Capri, piccola marina", 1949 [ baritone and piano ], Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hugo Daffner (1882 - 1936), "Lied vom Meer", op. 79 (Vier Lieder zu Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke) no. 3, published 1921 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Helmut Degen (1911 - 1995), "Lied vom Meer" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walther Ebel (b. 1899), "Lied vom Meer", copyright © 1959 [ men's chorus ], Berlin ; Wiesbaden : Otto Wrede Regina-Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Edler (1912 - 1986), "Lied vom Meer", from Vier Melodramen, no. 2, Edition Tonos [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fré Focke (1910 - 1989), "Lied vom Meer", 1956 [ speaker and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ilse Fromm-Michaels (1888 - 1986), "Lied vom Meer", 1948/49 [ baritone and piano or orchestra ], from Drei Rilke-Gesänge, no. 2, Sikorski [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Gerstberger (1892 - 1955), "Lied vom Meer", op. 25 no. 3 [ alto and piano ], from Die Nacht ; 3 Gesänge, no. 3, Zürich : Hug [sung text not yet checked]
- by Friedrich Karl Grimm (b. 1902), "Lied vom Meer", op. 59 no. 3 (1938) [ voice and piano ], from Lieder des Meeres, no. 3, Berlin-Dahlem : Wred [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Herzog (1917 - 1986), "Uraltes Wehn vom Meer" [ bass and piano ], from 5 Gesänge, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Rudolf) Walther Hirschberg (1889 - 1960), "Lied vom Meer", op. 49 (Zehn Lieder) no. 8, published 19? [ voice and piano ], [Deutschland] : Hirschberg [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dorothea Hofmann (b. 1961), "Lied vom Meer", 2020 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philipp Jarnach (1892 - 1982), "Lied vom Meer", op. 15 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Gesänge, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Max Jobst (1908 - 1943), "Lied vom Meer", op. 6 (Drei Gesänge) no. 2 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst-Lothar von Knorr (1896 - 1973), "Lied vom Meer", 1950? [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Gesänge, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harald Kruse (1923 - 1988), "Lied vom Meer" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erik Norby (1936 - 2007), "Lied vom Meer", 1963, published 1986?, copyright © 1971 [ soprano and piano ], from 2 Rilke sange, no. 2, København : Engstrøm & Sødring [sung text not yet checked]
- by Helmut Paulsen (b. 1909), "Lied vom Meer" [ medium voice and piano ], from Sieben besinnliche Lieder, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Horst Petruschke (1929 - 1996), "Lied vom Meer" [ chorus and orchestra ], from Wassermusik, no. 3, Händels beliebtes und populäres Orchesterwerk „Wassermusik“ hat mich angeregt, diese herrliche Musik auch mal in einer anderen Bearbeitung zu präsentieren. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudolf Petzold (1908 - 1991), "Lied vom Meer", from Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudolf Polsterer (1879 - 1945), "Lied vom Meer", 1914 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johannes Rietz (1905 - 1976), "Lied vom Meer" [ voice and piano ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andries van Rossem (b. 1957), "lied vom meer" [ soprano and harmonium ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hajo Sanders , "Lied vom Meer", 2012 [ voice and band ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fritz Franz Schieri (1922 - 2009), "Lied vom Meer" [ voice and piano ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann Schröder (1904 - 1984), "Das Lied vom Meer", 1969, copyright © 1972 [ chorus ], from Rilke-Zyklus, no. 6, Heidelberg : Willy Müller / Süddeutscher Musikverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oliver Steller (b. 1967), "Lied vom Meer", 2006 [ narrator, saxophone and double bass ], from Zwischen den Sternen. Gedichte. Briefe. Leben. , no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adam Teleki , "Lied vom Meer" [ voice and piano ], from Lieder, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henri Zagwijn (1878 - 1954), "Lied vom Meer ", 1948, from Drei Lieder, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gérard Zinsstag (b. 1941), "Lied vom Meer", 2015 [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello ], from Rilke-lieder, no. 1, Ricordi [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963) , "Song of the Sea", subtitle: "Capri, Piccola Marina" ; composed by Anne Charlotte Clarke.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Antoine Tisné.
- 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 Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anders Österling (1884 - 1981) , "Sång från havet", copyright © ; composed by Dag Lundin, Staffan Storm.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Song of the Sea", subtitle: "Capri. Piccola Marina", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 54
Song of the Sea
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Primeval breath from sea, sea- wind by night : from every errand free; one lying till light must seek and find what he may interpose: primeval breath from sea, that only blows as for primeval stone, pure space rushing from realms unknown. How felt by a high-sown fig-tree that clings for place in the moonlight alone.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilken, Requiem and other poems, London :The Hogarth Press, 1949, p.120
Text Authorship:
- by James Blair Leishman (1902 - 1963), "Song of the Sea", subtitle: "Capri, Piccola Marina" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Lied vom Meer", subtitle: "Capri. Piccola Marina", appears in Der neuen Gedichte anderer Teil
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Anne Charlotte Clarke (b. 1960), "Song of the Sea", 1998 [ voices and band ], from Just After Sunset, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-09-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 55