Secret. À Franz Schubert | Dis-nous qui t'apprend ces chants

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by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Sag an, wer lehrt dich Lieder

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG FRE

Sag an, wer lehrt dich Lieder,
So schmeichelnd und so zart?
Sie [zaubern]¹ einen Himmel
Aus trüber Gegenwart.
Erst lag das Land, verschleyert,
Im Nebel vor uns da -
Du singst - und Sonnen leuchten,
Und Frühling ist uns nah.

Den [Alten, Schilfbekränzten]²,
Der seine Urne gießt,
Erblickst du nicht, nur Wasser,
Wie's durch die Wiesen fließt.
So geht es auch dem Sänger,
Er [singt und]³ staunt in sich;
Was still ein Gott bereitet,
Befremdet ihn, wie dich.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Schubert

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Gedichte von Johann Mayrhofer. Wien. Bey Friedrich Volke. 1824, page 9; and with Conversationblatt. Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Unterhaltung. Dritter Jahrgang. 1821. Nr. 69. (Wien, Mittwoch den 29. August) Im Verlage der Gerold'schen Buchhandlung, page 821.

Note: Schubert received Mayrhofer's texts generally in handwriting; the printed edition of Mayrhofer's poems appeared much later and presents the texts usually in a revised version.

¹ Schubert: "rufen"
² Schubert: "schilfbekränzten Alten"
³ Schubert: "singt, er"

Text Authorship:

by Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Geheimniß", subtitle: "An F. Schubert" [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), "Geheimnis", D 491 (1816), published 1887 [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 80

Secret. À Franz Schubert

Language: French (Français) after the German (Deutsch)

Dis-nous qui t'apprend ces chants,
Si flatteurs et si tendres ?
Ils appellent un paradis
À partir d'un présent morose.
D'abord la terre s'étend voilée
Dans le brouillard devant nous --
Tu chantes, et le soleil brille
Et le printemps est près de nous.

Le vieil homme couronné de roseaux
Qui verse son urne,
Tu ne l'examines pas, seulement l'eau,
Qui coule à travers les prairies.
Il en est ainsi avec le chanteur,
Il chante, il s'étonne en lui-même ;
Ce qu'un Dieu a créé en silence
Le surprend aussi bien que toi.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2010 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (1787 - 1836), "Geheimniß", subtitle: "An F. Schubert"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2010-01-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 90