Heil'ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): CAT CHI DUT ENG FRE IRI ITA NOR SPA SPA
Heil'ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder;
Nieder wallen auch die Träume,
Wie dein [Licht]1 durch [diese Bäume]2,
[Lieblich durch der Menschen]3 Brust;
Die belauschen sie mit Lust,
Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht:
Kehre wieder [heil'ge]4 Nacht,
Holde Träume kehret wieder.

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Confirmed with Matthäus Edlen von Collin's nachgelassene Gedichte, ausgewählt und mit einem biographischen Vorworte begleitet von Joseph von Hammer. Zweytes Bändchen. Wien. Gedruckt und im Verlage bey Carl Gerold. 1827, page 149.

Note: Schubert received Collin's poem in handwritten form. It was later published (posthumously) in a slightly different version, with the title Nachtfeyer, together with another version of the same poem, titled Nacht und Träume, which has also been incorporated in Collin's dramatic fragment Fortunats Abfahrt von Cypern; see below.

1 Schubert: "Mondlicht"
2 Schubert: "die Räume"
3 Schubert: "Durch der Menschen stille"
4 Schubert: "holde"

Authorship:

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

Another version of this text exists in the database.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CHI Chinese (中文) (Yen-Chiang Che) , "夜與夢", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Nacht en dromen", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (David Gordon) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , "Oíche is brionglóidí", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Notte e sogni", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Natt og drømmer", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Martin Zubiria) , "Noche y ensueños", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "Noche y sueños", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: David Gordon , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 39