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

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

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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translation © by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

Frühling ist wiedergekommen. Die Erde
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  FRE
Frühling ist wiedergekommen. Die Erde
ist wie ein Kind, daß Gedichte weiß,
viele, o viele . . . . Für die Beschwerde
langen Lernens bekommt sie den Preis.

Streng war ihr Lehrer. Wir mochten das Weiße
an dem Barte des alten Manns.
Nun, wie das Grüne, das Blaue heiße,
dürfen wir fragen: sie kanns, sie kanns!

Erde, die Frei hat, du glückliche, spiele
nun mit den Kindern. Wir wollen dich fangen,
fröhliche Erde. Dem Frohsten gelingts.

O, was der Lehrer sie lehrte, das Viele,
und was gedruckt steht in Wurzeln und langen
[schwierigen Stämmen: sie]1 singts, singts!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   H. Birtwistle 

H. Birtwistle sets line 14

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Birtwistle: "Sie"

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 21 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Frühling", 2008 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Zwei Rilke-lieder, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Harrison Birtwistle, Sir (1934 - 2022), "Elegy 3, Sonnet I, 21", 2003-2004, first performed 2004, line 14 [ oboe, harp and countertenor ], from Orpheus elegies, no. 2, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Robert DeCormier (1922 - 2017), "Sonnet No.21" [ mixed chorus ], from Four Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Erika Fox (b. 1936), "Frühling ist wiedergekommen", 1988, published 2019 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], CE, Composers Edition, Chipping Norton [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Hermann Grabner (1886 - 1969), "Frühling ist wiedergekommen", published 1956 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Rilke-Lieder, no. 3, Lippstadt : Kistner & Siegel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Hilding Hallnäs (1903 - 1984), "Frühling ist wieder gekommen", published 1975 [ voice, clarinet and piano ], from Ur "Die Sonette aus Orpheus", no. 2, Stockholm : Stim/Svensk musik [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Peter Michael Hamel (b. 1947), "Sonnet XXI", subtitle: "Das kleine Frühlingslied", 2019 [ medium voice and piano ], Berlin : Neue Musik Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Janko Jezovšek-Jizou (b. 1945), "Frühling", from Rilke-Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Ramona Luengen (b. 1960), "Frühlingslied", 1994 [ mixed chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Birgitta Lutz , "Frühlings-Lied", published 2003 [ medium voice and piano ], from 10 Vertonungen nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 9, medium voice and piano [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Per Nørgård (b. 1932), "Frühlings-Lied", 167 no. 2, 170b, 175a no. 3 (1979/1980), published 1980, first performed 1981 [ chorus a cappella ], from Wie ein Kind, no. 2, Hansen, Kopenhagen [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Cyril Plante (b. 1975), "Frühling ist wieder gekommen", op. 17 (Drei lieder) no. 1 (2001), first performed 2001 [ soprano, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Helmut Zapf (b. 1956), "Frühling ist wiedergekommen", 1986/2006 [ soprano and wind quintet ], Manuskript 2006 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Harry Ziems , "Frühling ist wiedergekommen", from Der Jahreskreis, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Danish (Dansk), a translation by Per Nørgård (b. 1932) , "Jorden er som et barn", subtitle: "Forårssang" ; composed by Per Nørgård.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

  • ENG English (Gary Bachlund) , "Spring", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 98

Spring
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Spring is again returned. The Earth
is like a child, that knows poems,
many, o many . . . . For the rigor
of such long learning she receives the prize.

Strict was her teacher. We appreciate the white
in the old man's beard.
Now, what to name green, or blue,
we may ask: she knows, she knows!

Earth, now free, you happy one, play
now with the children. We want to catch you,
joyful Earth. Only the joyful are able.

O, what the teacher taught her, such plenteousness,
and that which is pressed in roots and long
heavy trunks: she sings, she sings!

Text Authorship:

  • by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Spring", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 21
    • 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):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-03-14
Line count: 14
Word count: 104

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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