Nächt'ger Gedanke auf dem Turm der Zitadelle | Weit durch die Nacht weht Harfenklang

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

A night thought on Terrace Tower

Language: English after the Chinese (中文)

Our translations: GER

Far through the night a harp is sighing
With a sadness of wind and rain in the strings.
There's a solitary lantern, a bugle call
And beyond Terrace Tower down goes the moon.

Fragrant grasses have changed and faded
While still I have been hoping that my old friend would come.
There are no more messengers I can send him,
Now that the wild geese have turned south.

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.

Text Authorship:

by Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968), "A night thought on Terrace Tower", appears in The Jade Mountain, first published 1929 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Wei Zhuang (836 - 910), "章臺夜思"
- Go to the text page.

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

by Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "A night thought on Terrace Tower", op. 116 no. 1 (1962) [ soprano and harp ], from The Jade Mountain, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Nächt'ger Gedanke auf dem Turm der Zitadelle", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-25
Line count: 8
Word count: 68

Nächt'ger Gedanke auf dem Turm der Zitadelle

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Weit durch die Nacht weht Harfenklang,
des Winds und Regens Schwermut rührt die Saiten... 
Einzig einer Lampe Schein, ein Hornsignal -
und hinter dem Terrassenturm versinkt der Mond.  

Dorr und verblüht sind die duftenden Gräser,
derweil ich gehofft, er käme, mein alter Freund ...
Nicht mehr kann ich ihm Boten senden,        
nun, da die Wildgänse südwärts ziehn.

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2008 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in English by Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968), "A night thought on Terrace Tower", appears in The Jade Mountain, first published 1929
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Wei Zhuang (836 - 910), "章臺夜思"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2008-08-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 55