by
Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Zu fragmentarisch ist Welt und Leben?
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: ENG ENG FRE
Zu fragmentarisch ist Welt und Leben?
Ich will mich zum deutschen Professor begeben.
Der weiß das Leben zusammenzusetzen,
und er macht ein verständlich System daraus;
mit seinen Nachtmützen und Schlafrockfetzen
stopft er die Lücken des Weltenbaus.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by David Leonard Blake (b. 1936), "From Die Heimkehr", published 1981 [ high voice and instrumental ensemble (11 instruments) ], from From the mattress grave : a cycle of twelve songs to poems by Heine, no. 8, note: also set in English (translated by Peter Palmer) [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Leonard Blake (b. 1936), "From Die Heimkehr", published 1985 [ baritone, oboe, and piano ], from Five Heine Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Leonard Blake (b. 1936), "From Die Heimkehr", published 1985 [ baritone, oboe, and string quartet ], from Six Heine Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Dessau (1894 - 1979), "Zu fragmentarisch", 1974 [ mezzo-soprano, unaccompanied ], from Drei Lieder für Edda Schaller, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Xaver Gardeweg (b. 1944), "Zu fragmentarisch", 1997 [ medium voice and piano ], from 7 Lieder nach gedichten von H. Heine, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Haine (1830 - 1910), "Zu fragmentarisch ist Welt und Leben", op. 57 (Zwei Lieder) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Lauck (b. 1943), "Zu fragmentarisch ist Welt und Leben", 1979-80, published 1980 [ unaccompanied soprano ], from Szenen, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Der deutsche Professor", published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 58 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The German Professor", copyright ©
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- ENG English [singable] (Peter Palmer) , "From Die Heimkehr", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 6
Word count: 36
From Die Heimkehr
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
A proper puzzle is God's Creation!
I'll go to a German professor's oration.
He knows the whys and the wherefores of matters,
And what's more, he can quote you chapter and verse;
With night-caps all screwn-up, night-gowns in tatters
Stopping the gaps in the universe.
Note: this is a revised American version of the one published with the David Blake setting.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 by Peter Palmer, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2009-06-10
Line count: 6
Word count: 45
