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by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838)
Translation © by Rufus Hallmark
Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?
Language: German (Deutsch)
Was [ist's]1, o Vater, was ich verbrach? Du brichst mir das Herz und fragst nicht darnach. Ich hab ihm entsagt nach deinem Befehl, Doch nicht ihn vergessen, ich hab es nicht Hehl. Noch lebt er in mir, ich [selbst]2 bin tot, Und über mich schaltet dein strenges Gebot. [Wann]3 Herz und Wille gebrochen sind Bittet um eins noch dein armes Kind. [Wann]3 bald mein müdes Auge sich schließt, Und Tränen vielleicht das deine vergeißt; An der Kirchwand dort, beim Hollunderstrauch, Wo die Mutter liegt, da lege mich auch.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 May: "ist es"; further changes may exist not shown above.
2 de Lange: "selber"
3 Moszkowitz: "Wenn"
Text Authorship:
- by Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838), no title, appears in Lieder und lyrisch epische Gedichte, in Tränen, no. 1 [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 Rudolph Bergh (1859 - 1924), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", op. 3 no. 1, published 1893 [ voice and piano ], from Thränen. Liederzyklus von Adalbert [sic] von Chamisso, no. 1, Leipzig, Hansen [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gerard Bunk (1888 - 1958), "Was ist's, o Vater", op. 37 no. 1 (1906-10) [ voice and piano ], from Thränen, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Friedrich August Dressler (1827 - 1862), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", op. 9 no. 1, published 1887 [ alto and piano ], from Thränen. Lieder-Cyclus von Adalbert [sic] von Chamisso componiert für eine Altstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte, no. 1, Berlin: R. Sulzer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich (1850 - 1900), "Tränen", H. 171 no. 1 (1872) [ voice and piano ], from Drei Lieder, no. 1, also set in Czech (Čeština) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Tränen", op. 51 (Zehn Gesänge) no. 2 (1879), published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Hill (1838 - 1902), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", op. 23 no. 1, published 1870 [ alto or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Thränen. Lieder-Cyclus von Chamisso, no. 1, Frankfurt a/M., Henkel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Was ist's, o Vater", op. 26 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 3, published 1843 [ voice and piano ], Bonn, Simrock [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert von Hornstein (1833 - 1890), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", published 1887 [ soprano and piano ], from Thränen. Ein Lieder-Cyklus von Adelbert von Chamisso, no. 1, Stuttgart, Kröner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert von Hornstein (1833 - 1890), "Was ist's, o Vater", op. 27 (Cancionero. 15 Lieder) no. 1, published 1863 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", op. 30 no. 1, published 1865 [ voice and piano ], from Dolorosa, no. 1, Leipzig, Forberg [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Daniël de Lange (1841 - 1918), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", published 1887 [ voice and piano ], from Thränen. Sieben Gedichte von Chamisso , no. 1, Amsterdam : Wahlberg [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eusebius Mandyczewski (1857 - 1929), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach", op. 2 no. 1, published 1878 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Thränen. Ein Liedercyclus von Chamisso, no. 1, Wien: J. Gutmann, Kunst & Musikalienhandlung [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl May , "Thränen", op. 25 no. 1, published 1900 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, W. Schroeder [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Merkel , "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach", op. 12 no. 1, published 1891 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Thränen. Sechs Gesänge für Mezzo-Sopran mit Pianoforte, no. 1, Leipzig, Meissner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Moritz Moszkowski (1854 - 1925), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", op. 22 no. 1, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], from Thränen, no. 1, Breslau, Hainauer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Friedrich August Naubert (1839 - 1897), "Was ist's, o Vater, was ich verbrach?", op. 31 no. 1, published 1882 [ voice and piano ], from Thränen. Sechs Gedichte von A. von Chamisso für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 1, Kassel, Voigt [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Proch (1809 - 1878), "Des Mädchens Bitte", op. 115, published 1844 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Diabelli und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sigfrid Sioli , "Thränen", op. 12 no. 3, published 1896 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Liebeslieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 3, Leipzig, Grude [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis [Ludwig] Spohr (1784 - 1859), "Tränen", WoO. 108 (1842) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Sigismund Thalberg (1812 - 1871), "Thränen, No. 1", op. 24 (Sechs deutsche Lieder, Fünftes Heft) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otto Tiehsen (1817 - 1849), "Was ist's, o Vater", op. 12 no. 2, published 1842 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Gedichte von Chamisso, Geibel, Rückert und Kerner, no. 2, Berlin, Trautwein und Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by August Walter (1821 - 1896), "Thränen", op. 6 (Sechs Lieder) no. 5, published 1849 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich.
- 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 (Rufus Hallmark) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Lewis Novra)
- ENG English [singable] (Virginia Woods)
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Peter Donderwinkel
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 88
What is it, Father, than I have done...
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
What is it, Father, than I have done wrong? You're breaking my heart and don't care about it. I have renounced him, according to your order, But have not forgotten him, I make no secret of that. He lives in me still, I myself am dead, And your strict command holds sway over me. Now that heart and will are broken, Your poor child asks just one more thing. When my weary eye soon closes, And tears perhaps flow from yours; Beside the church wall there, by the elder bush, Where mother lies, there lay me, too.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: Translation written with assistance from Harald Krebs.Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Rufus Hallmark, (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 Adelbert von Chamisso (1781 - 1838), no title, appears in Lieder und lyrisch epische Gedichte, in Tränen, no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 97