When quiet nightfall approaches | When quiet nightfall approaches

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by Franz Alfred Muth (1839 - 1890)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Wenn es stille Nacht will werden

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

  Wenn es stille Nacht will werden[,]
Schau'n die Sternlein all' zur Erden,
Öffnen sich des Himmels Pforten,
Engel fliegen aller Orten
Wie der Fliederduft im Winde,
Jeder hin zu seinem Kinde.

  In den Armen leise, leise
Trägt er's hin zum Sternenkreise,
Wo in Edens grünen Bäumen
Rauscht ein wundersames Träumen,
Wo voll Liebe ohne Ende
Harren Gottes Vaterhände.

  Hast du schon ein Kind geschauet
Morgens, wenn sein Äuglein blauet,
Wie es sinnet leise, leise,
Wie es lächelt eig'ner Weise?
Wirst du dich ein Kindlein fühlen,
Darfst auch du in Eden spielen.

Confirmed with Franz Alfred Muth, Waldblumen, Dritte, durchaus ausgewählte und reich veremehrte Auflage, Paderborn: Druck und Verlag von Ferdinand Schöningh, 1885, page 78.

Text Authorship:

by Franz Alfred Muth (1839 - 1890), "Wenn es stille Nacht will werden", appears in Waldblumen, in 2. Herzensklänge und Lebensstimmen [3rd edition] [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 Hans Michael Schletterer (1824 - 1893), "Wenn es stille Nacht will werden", op. 61 no. 4, published 1886 [ sa chorus ], from Im Freien zu singen. 10 Chorduette für Sopran und Alt (9. Folge) ohne Begleitung. Zum Gebrauch in höheren Schulen und Gesangvereinen, no. 4, Leipzig: Kistner [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "When quiet nightfall approaches", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-01-05
Line count: 18
Word count: 92

When quiet nightfall approaches

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

  When quiet nightfall approaches,
The stars all gaze down toward earth,
The gates of Heaven open,
Angels fly about everywhere
Like the scent of lilacs in the wind,
All of them to their [assigned] child.

  In their arms quietly, quietly
They carry it to the realm of the stars,
Where in the green trees of Eden
There rustles a wondrous dreaming,
Where, full of endless love,
God's fatherly hands abide.

  Have you ever seen a child
In the morning, when its blue eyes open,
How it ponders quietly, quietly,
How it smiles in a distinctive way?
If you are willing to feel yourself to be a child,
Then you, too, shall be permitted to play in Eden.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2021 by Sharon Krebs, (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:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Franz Alfred Muth (1839 - 1890), "Wenn es stille Nacht will werden", appears in Waldblumen, in 2. Herzensklänge und Lebensstimmen [3rd edition]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2021-01-05
Line count: 18
Word count: 118