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Der von Langenau schreibt einen Brief, ganz in Gedanken.
Langsam malt er mit großen, ernsten, aufrechten Lettern:
"Meine gute Mutter,
"seid stolz: Ich trage die Fahne,
"seid ohne Sorge: Ich trage die Fahne,
"habt mich lieb: Ich trage die Fahne -- "
Dann steckt er den Brief zu sich in den Waffenrock,
an die heimlichste Stelle, [neben das Rosenblatt.
Und denkt: er wird bald duften davon.]1
Und denkt: vielleicht findet ihn einmal Einer . . .
Und denkt: . . . ; denn der Feind ist nah.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Werke. Kommentiere Ausgabe in vier Bänden, herausgegeben von Manfred Engel, Ulrich Fülleborn, Horst Nalewski, August Stahl, Band I Gedichte 1895 bis 1910, herausgegeben von Manfred Engel und Ulrich Fülleborn, Frankfurt am Main: Insel Verlag, 1996, page 146.
1 omitted by UllmannText Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1899, appears in Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, no. 12, first published 1906 [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 Paul von Klenau (1883 - 1946), "Der von Langenau schreibt einen Brief", 1918/1919, from Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Kornetts Christoph Rilke, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ton de Leeuw (1926 - 1996), "Der von Langenau schribt einen Brief", 1948, copyright © 1948 [ high voice and piano ], from Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, no. 4, Amsterdam : Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Martin (1890 - 1974), "Der Brief", 1942 [ alto and chamber orchestra ], from Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Siegfried Matthus (1934 - 2021), "Meine gute Mutter seid stolz", 1983/84, first performed 1985 [ mezzo-soprano and orchestra ], from opera Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke [sung text not yet checked]
- by Casimir von Pászthory (1886 - 1966), "Der von Langenau schreibt einen Brief, ganz in Gedanken", 1914, first performed 1914 [ reciter and piano ], from Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, no. 13, Leipzig: Fr. Kistner & C.F.W. Siegel, 1919 [sung text checked 1 time]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Viktor Ullmann (1898 - 1944), "Der von Langenau schreibt einen Brief, ganz in Gedanken", 1944, published 1995 [ reciter and piano ], from Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, Erster Teil, no. 5, Mainz: Schott Music GmbH & Co.
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Margaret Dows Herter Norton (1894 - 1985) , no title, appears in The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christopher Rilke, no. 12, copyright © ; composed by Lisa Bielawa.
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Marco Zapparoli (b. 1960) , appears in L’Alfieri, copyright © ; composed by Hans Ludwig Hirsch.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Knut W. Barde) , "The letter", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Perdu dans ses pensées, von Languenau écrit une lettre", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: John Versmoren , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 86
Perdu dans ses pensées, von Languenau écrit une lettre. Il trace lentement de grande lettres,sérieuses et droites : « Ma bonne mère, « soyez fière : je porte le drapeau, « soyez sans souci. Je porte le drapeau, « aimez-moi : je porte le drapeau - » Puis il enfouit la lettre dans son pourpoint, à l'endroit le plus secret, à côté du pétale de rose. Et pense. Elle en sera bientôt parfumée. Et pense : peut-être un jour quelqu'un la trouvera-t-elle... Et pense - ...; car l'ennemi est proche.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2009 by Pierre Mathé, (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. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1899, appears in Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, no. 12, first published 1906
This text was added to the website: 2009-04-02
Line count: 11
Word count: 83