by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946)
Fremde Geige, gehst du mir nach?
Language: German (Deutsch)
Fremde Geige, gehst du mir nach? In wieviel Städten schon sprach deine einsame Nacht zu meiner? Spielen dich hunderte? Spielt dich einer? Giebt es in allen großen Städten solche, die sich ohne dich schon in den den Flüssen verloren hätten? Und warum trifft es immer mich? Warum bin ich immer der Nachbar derer, die ich bange zwingen zu singen und zu sagen: Das Leben ist schwerer als die Schwere von allen Dingen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Die Gedichte, Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1997, pages 338-339.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Nachbar", written 1902/3, appears in Das Buch der Bilder [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 Herbert Blendinger (b. 1936), "Du, Nachbar Gott", op. 53 no. 3 (1990), first performed 1991 [ baritone and piano ], from Vom mönchischen Leben, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerd Büntzly (b. 1949), "Der Nachbar" [ voice, piano ], from Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Der Nachbar", 2010 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Am Rande der Nacht II, no. 3, Editions Pierre Neuray [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Der Nachbar", 2009 [ soprano and piano trio ], from Wer du auch seist, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Der Nachbar", 2007 [ soprano, chorus, orchestra ], from Am Rande der Nacht I, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Froelicher (b. 1959), "Der Nachbar", 1982 [ baritone and violin ], Manuscript [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Der Nachbar", copyright © 2012 [ soprano and violin ], from The Violin Sings in a Common Language, no. 1, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Haas (1886 - 1960), "Der Nachbar" [ voice, violin and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gregor Konrad Heuer (1915 - 1989), "Der Nachbar", 1954, published 1954 [ voice and piano ], Ikuro Edition Roland Heuer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bruce Mather (b. 1939), "Der Nachbar", 1960 [ tenor and guitar ], from Cycle Rilke, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Siegfried Matthus (1934 - 2021), "Fremde Geige, gehst du mir nach...", published 1995 [ voice and orchestra ], from Wiesen von Liebe, Leben und Tod, no. 9, Breitkopf & Härtl [sung text not yet checked]
- by Priscilla McLean (b. 1942), "Der Nachbar", 1965, first performed 1966 [ voice and violin ], from Rainer Maria Rilke Poems, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael J. Schumacher , "Der Nachbar", 1982? [ bass and piano ], from Drei Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Beth Wiemann (b. 1959), "Der Nachbar", 2019, published 2020 [ baritone and piano ], from Six songs on Rilke, no. 3, New York, NY : American Composers Alliance, Inc. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946) ; composed by Raymond Loucheur.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Stéphane Goldet) (Pierre de Rosamel) , "Le voisin", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2013-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 72
Le voisin
Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)
Violon inconnu, pourquoi me poursuis-tu ? Combien de fois déjà, en des villes lointaines, Ta solitaire nuit a parlé à la mienne ! Sont-ils mille à jouer, ou rien qu'un seul ? Est-ce donc qu'il y a dans tant de grandes villes Des hommes qui, sans ton secours à toi, Se seraient égarés dans les fleuves hostiles ? Et pourquoi, dis, toujours, me cherchent-ils, moi ? Pourquoi suis-je toujours le voisin de la chambre Où un homme angoissé te contraint à chanter Et te fait dire : la vie est plus pesante Que tout ce qui pesa jamais au monde entier.
Text Authorship:
- by Maurice Betz (1898 - 1946) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Nachbar", written 1902/3, appears in Das Buch der Bilder
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Raymond Loucheur (1899 - 1979), "Le voisin", 1952-1957 [ mezzo-soprano and string quartet ], from 5 poèmes de Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-12-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 96