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by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation © by Thomas F. Schubert (b. 1961)
Light, my light, the world‑filling light
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Our translations: GER
Light, my light, the world-filling light, the eye-kissing light, heart-sweetening light! Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the centre of my life; the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love; the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth. The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light. Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light. The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling, and it scatters gems in profusion. Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling, and gladness without measure. The heaven's river has drowned its banks and the flood of joy is abroad.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 57, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 57
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Josef Alexander (1907 - 1992), "Light, my light", 1973 [ soprano, harpsichord, and percussion ], from Gitanjali, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Karl Boelter (b. 1952), "Heaven's river", 1996 [ SATB chorus, oboe, clarinet, percussion, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951), "Light, my light", published 1914 [ voice and piano ], from Gitanjali (Song Offerings), no. 6, New York, G. Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jonathan Harvey (1939 - 2012), "Second song", 1985 [ soprano and chamber ensemble ], from Song Offerings, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Hastings , "The Light, my Light" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wendy Hiscocks (b. 1963), "Light, my light", 1998 [ women's chorus a cappella ], from A Tagore Album, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Leisner (b. 1958), "Light", 1991 [ soprano and guitar ], from Heaven's River, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Fitz Rogers (b. 1963), "Light, my light", 2008 [ soprano and piano ], from Songs of Time and Tide, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Landon Ronald, Sir (1873 - 1938), "Light my light", 1913 [ voice and piano ], from Four Song Offerings - 1st series, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Murray Schafer (b. 1933), "Gitanjali no. 57", 1962 [ soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and women's chorus ], from Four Songs on Texts by Tagore, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Murray Schafer (b. 1933), "Light, my light, the world-filling light", 1991 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Gitanjali, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Shepherd (1880 - 1958), "Light, my light", 1927 [ high voice and string quartet ], from Triptych, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Ticheli (b. 1958), "Light", 1993 [ medium voice, piano, and alto saxophone ], from Songs of Tagore, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Wegren , "Butterfly sails", 1994 [ tenor, piano, and cassette tape ], from Songs of Gitanjali, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947), "Light, my light", 1999 [ SATB chorus and string quartet ], from The Golden Harp, no. 4
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Geoffrey Wieting
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 111
Licht, mein Licht! Du welterfüllendes Licht!
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Du welterfüllendes, mein Herz erhebendes Licht! Wie das Licht tanzt in der Mitte meines Lebens! Der Strom des Himmels trat aus seinen Ufern, Wind rast dahin, Lachen geht über die Erde! Frohsinn schwebt von Blatt zu Blatt. Freude ohne Maßen! Freude, die die Erde überflutet, Freude, die die Zwillingsbrüder, Tod und Leben, tanzen läßt durch alle Welt. Freude, die wie Sturm heranfegt, mit Gelächter alles Leben aus dem Schlafe rüttelt. Freude, die voll Tränen ruhig auf der offnen, roten Lotosblume des Schmerzes sitzt. Und jene Freude, die alles, was sie hat, dem Staube hinwirft und keine Worte kennt.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas F. Schubert (b. 1961), copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 57, first published 1913
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 57
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Thomas F. Schubert (b. 1961), "Licht, mein Licht! Du welterfüllendes Licht!" [ soprano, piano, and percussion ad libitum ], from Gitanjali - 2 Gesänge nach Worten von Rabindranath Tagore, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Maria Nimmerfall
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-03
Line count: 13
Word count: 98