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Der Nachen dröhnt, Cypressen flüstern - Horch, Geister reden schaurig drein; Bald werd' ich am Gestad', dem düstern, Weit von der schönen Erde seyn. Da leuchten Sonne nicht, noch Sterne, Da tönt kein Lied, da ist kein Freund. Empfang die letzte Thräne, [Ferne]1! Die dieses müde Auge weint. Schon [schaue ich die]2 Danaiden, Den fluchbeladnen Tantalus; Es murmelt todesschwangern Frieden, Vergessenheit, dein alter Fluß. Vergessen nenn' ich zwiefach Sterben, Was ich mit höchster Kraft gewann, Verlieren - wieder es erwerben - Wann enden diese Qualen? wann?
Confirmed with Gedichte von Johann Mayrhofer. Wien. Bey Friedrich Volke. 1824, page 155.
1 Schubert: "o Ferne"2 Schubert: "schau ich die blassen"
Authorship:
- by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Fahrt zum Hades" [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 Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Fahrt zum Hades", D 526 (1817), published 1832 [ voice, piano ], A. Diabelli & Co., VN 4018, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Viatge a Hades", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Vaart naar de Hades", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (T. P. (Peter) Perrin) , "Journey to Hades", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "Journey to Hades", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Voyage vers Hadès", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Viaggio nell'Ade", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Richard Morris , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 86
The dory creaks, cypresses whisper; hear, there, spirits' eerie cries. Soon I will be on the gloomy shore far removed from beautiful Earth. Sunlight, starlight, neither shines there, no song sounds, no friend is found. Take, o distant land, these final tears my eyes have left to shed. Already I see the wan Danaids, and curse-burdened Tantalus; heavy with death's stillness, your age-old river, Oblivion, murmurs. I call forgetting a second death. To lose what I spent utmost strength to win, and then repeat the struggle -- When will these tortures finish? When?
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 by T. P. (Peter) Perrin, (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 Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Fahrt zum Hades"
This text was added to the website: 2009-06-17
Line count: 16
Word count: 92