by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920)
Translation Singable translation by Friedrich Karl Grimm (b. 1902)
Helle Nacht
Language: German (Deutsch) after the French (Français)
Weich küßt die Zweige der weiße Mond. Ein Flüstern wohnt im Laub, als neige, als schweige sich der Hain zur Ruh: Geliebte du -- Der Weiher [ruht]1, und die Weide schimmert. Ihr Schatten flimmert in seiner Flut, und der Wind weint in den Bäumen: wir träumen -- [träumen]2 -- Die [Weiten]3 leuchten Beruhigung. Die Niederung hebt bleich den feuchten Schleier hin zum Himmelssaum: o hin -- o Traum -- --
M. Reger sets stanzas 1-2
E. Zeisl sets stanzas 1-2
Confirmed with Richard Dehmel, Gesammelte Werke in drei Bänden, Zweiter Band, Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, 1913, pages 30-31
1 Grimm: "ruft"2 Grimm, Reger: "wir träumen"; Zeisl: "vom Glück"
3 Grimm: "Welten"
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Helle Nacht", appears in Weib und Welt [an adaptation] [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, appears in La bonne chanson, no. 6, first published 1870
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Conrad (Eduard Reinhold) Ansorge (1862 - 1930), "Helle Nacht", op. 10 (Acht Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1896 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Challier & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), as Emilie Maria von Bach, "Helle Nacht", 1919 [ soprano and piano ], Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]
- by Willy Czernik (1901 - 1996), "Helle Nacht" [ mezzo-soprano and orchestra ], from Vier Lieder nach Gedichten von Paul Verlaine, no. 1, Musikverlag Zimmermann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Dessau (1894 - 1979), "Helle Nacht", 1914 [ voice and piano ], from 3 Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Grzegorz Fitelberg (1879 - 1953), "Helle Nacht", op. 21 (5 Lieder) no. 5 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clemens von Franckenstein (1875 - 1942), "Helle Nacht", op. 34 (Drei Gesänge für tiefe Stimme und Orchester) no. 1 (1913?), published 1913 [ low voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Friedrich Karl Grimm (b. 1902), "Helle Nacht", op. 67 no. 5, published 1956 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder der Empfindsamkeit, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Arthur Grüber (1910 - 1990), "Helle Nacht", 1930-1990 [ baritone and strings ], from Sechs Lieder, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Hermann (1870 - 1931), "Helle Nacht", op. 11 (Fünf Lieder und Gesänge für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1897 [ voice and piano ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lili Hutterstrasser-Scheidl (1882 - 1942), as Hans Lio, "Helle Nacht", published 1908 [ voice and piano ], from Zwei Lieder, no. 2, Wien, Doblinger [sung text not yet checked]
- by Artur Immisch (1902 - 1949), "Helle Nacht" [ high voice and piano ], from Lieder nach Texten von Paul Verlaine, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Fritz Kappel , "Helle Nacht", published 1936 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Lieder für eine Singstimme, no. 4, Graz, Bohn ; note: may be wrong text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
- by Józef Koffler (1896 - 1944), "Helle Nacht", op. 1 (Two Songs) no. 1 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Kowalski (1882 - 1956), "Helle Nacht", op. 1 (Sechs Lieder) no. 4 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Kurt) Rudolf Mengelberg (1892 - 1959), "Helle Nacht", op. 11 no. 1, published 1928 [ voice and piano ], from Lieder nach Verlaine. Zweites Heft, no. 1, Budapest, Röszavölgyi et Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Mittler (1893 - 1970), "Helle Nacht", op. 6 (Vier Lieder) no. 1, published 1912 [ medium voice and piano ], Wien: Universal [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (1870 - 1949), "Helle Nacht", op. 39 no. 5 [ voice and orchestra ], from Acht Notturnos, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Reger (1873 - 1916), "Helle Nacht", op. 37 (Fünf Gesänge) no. 1 (1899), published 1899, stanzas 1-2 [ voice and piano ], München, Aibl Verlag [sung text checked 1 time]
- by August Wilhelm Julius Rietz (1812 - 1877), "Helle Nacht", published 1953 [ mixed chorus ], Reutlingen (Darmstadt), T. P. V.-Tonos [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Scheinpflug (1875 - 1937), "Helle Nacht", op. 1 (Sechs Gesänge für mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2 [ medium voice and piano ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Trunk (1879 - 1968), "Helle Nacht", op. 42 no. 8 (1920) [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gesänge mit Klavier nach Gedichten von Paul Verlaine, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945), "Helle Nacht", 1908, from Fünf Lieder, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Erich Zeisl (1905 - 1959), "Helle Nacht", stanzas 1-2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Hermann Karl Josef Zilcher (1881 - 1948), "Helle Nacht", op. 25 no. 6 (1919) [ tenor and piano ], from Dehmel-Zyklus. 14 Lieder und Duette für Sopran, Tenor und Klavier , no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Emil Axman.
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- Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Fr. Hrúbin ; composed by Svatopluk Havelka.
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- Also set in English, a translation (J. R. M. ) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin.
- Also set in English, a translation by Gertrude Hall Brownell (1863 - 1961) , "O'er the wood's brow" ; composed by Harvey Worthington Loomis.
- Also set in English, a translation by Ashmore Kyle Paterson Wingate (1881 - 1926?30) , appears in Poems by Verlaine, first published 1904 ; composed by John B. MacEwen, Sir.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Emil Axman.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Oswald Lutz.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by E. Domazlicka ; composed by Svatopluk Havelka.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Rubin Goldmark.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Serge Bortkiewicz (1877 - 1952) , "Über dem Walde leuchtet der Mond " ; composed by Serge Bortkiewicz.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Josef Ziwutschka ; composed by Vilma von Webenau.
- Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Jenő Gaal.
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- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Gino Contilli.
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- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873 - 1924) , no title ; composed by Reinhold Moritzevich Glière, Ivan Ivanovich Kryzhanovsky, Borys Mykolayovych Lyatoshynsky.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Stepan Nikolayevich Mitusov (1878 - 1942) ; composed by Igor Stravinsky.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Anton Mikhailovich Dianov.
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- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Fyodor Kuzmych Teternikov (1863 - 1927) , "Белая луна" ; composed by Aleksandr Matveyevich Zhitomirsky.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by S. K. Sintsova ; composed by Georgi Lvovitch Catoire.
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- Also set in Serbian (Српски), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Anton Lajovic.
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- Also set in Ukrainian (Українська), a translation by Grigory Porfirovich Kochur (1908 - 1994) , "В промінні білім", copyright © ; composed by Borys Mykolayovych Lyatoshynsky.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Nit clara", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Joost van der Linden) , "Heldere nacht", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Friedrich Karl Grimm) , "Bright night"
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Bright night", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Nuit claire", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Jeroen Scholten , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-09
Line count: 18
Word count: 68
Bright night
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Moon breaks its lights through the leaves of trees, all over it is quiet, I could think that nature has gone sleeping, o dearest one! The fishpond calls, and the willow glances, its shadow shines, and I see its light, and the wind weeps in the branches, sweet dreams! sweet dreams! My heart lifts up and I feel God's breath, and fogs are moving on with me togethera to the ends of earth. Away my dream!
From the Grimm score.
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Friedrich Karl Grimm (b. 1902), "Bright night" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Helle Nacht", appears in Weib und Welt [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, appears in La bonne chanson, no. 6, first published 1870
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 page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-02
Line count: 18
Word count: 76