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.]
- 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 (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
Von Langenau is writing a letter, deep in thought [ ... ]
L. Bielawa sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.Confirmed with M. D. Herter Norton, The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christopher Rilke, W. W. Norton & Company, 1963. Note: this is a prose text with arbitrary line-breaks added.
Text Authorship:
- 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 © [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, written 1899, appears in Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke, no. 12, first published 1906
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Lisa Bielawa (b. 1968), "I carry the flag", first performed 2006, stanzas 1-2 [ baritone and piano ], from The Lay of the Love and Death, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- 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.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
This text was added to the website: 2023-11-04
Line count: 10
Word count: 83