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Wie schön geschmückt der festliche Raum! Die Lichter funkeln am Weihnachtsbaum! O fröhliche Zeit, o seliger Traum! Die Mutter sitzt in der Kinder Kreis, Nun schweiget alles auf ihr Geheiß, Sie singet des Christkinds Lob und Preis, Und rings vom Weihnachtsbaum erhellt, Ist schön in Bildern aufgestellt Des [heil'gen]1 Buches Palmenwelt. Die Kinder schauen der Bilder Pracht, Und haben wohl des Singens acht, Das tönt so süß [durch die]2 Weihenacht. O glücklicher Kreis im festlichen Raum, O [goldene]3 Lichter am Weihnachtsbaum, O fröhliche Zeit, o seliger Traum!
Confirmed with Peter Cornelius, Gedichte, eingeleitet von Adolf Stern, Leipzig: C.F. Kahnt Nachfolger, 1890, page 139.
1 Cornelius: "heiligen"2 Cornelius: "in der"
3 Cornelius: "gold'ne"
Text Authorship:
- by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Christbaum", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Zu eignen Weisen, in Weihnachtslieder [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 Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Christbaum", op. 8 no. 1 (1856), published 1871 [ voice and piano ], from Weihnachtslieder, no. 1, Leipzig, Fritzsch; note: in 1979 Geoffrey Emerson wrote a clarinet part to go along with this song [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by H. N. Bate , "The Christmas Tree" ; composed by Emma Lou Diemer.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Christmas Tree", copyright ©
- ENG English [singable] (Elsa Ebertz) , "Christmas-Tree"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "L'albero di Natale", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 90
How prettily is the festive room adorned! The candles shimmer on the Christmas tree! O glad time! o blissful dream! Mother sits among her children; now everyone is silent at her command: she sings the Christ-child's praise and glory. And all around, illuminated by the Christmas tree, beautifully shown in pictures, is the palmy world of the Holy Book. The children gaze at the pictures' magnificence and pay close attention to the singing, that sounds so sweet on the eve of Christmas! O happy circle in a festive room! O golden candles on the Christmas tree! O glad time! o blissful dream!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust, (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.
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874), "Christbaum", appears in Gedichte, in 2. Zu eignen Weisen, in Weihnachtslieder
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 102