Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Du staunest, o Mensch, was heilig wir strahlen? O folgtest du nur den himmlischen [Winken]1, Vernähmest du besser, was freundlich wir [blinken]2, Wie wären verschwunden die irdischen Qualen! Dann flösse die Liebe aus ewigen Schalen, Es athmeten alle in reinen Azuren, Das lichtblaue Meer umschwebte die Fluren, Und funkelten [Stern']3 auf den heimischen Thalen. Aus göttlicher Quelle sind alle genommen. Ist jegliches Wesen nicht eines im Chore? Nun sind ja geöffnet die himmlischen Thore, Was soll denn das bange Verzagen noch frommen? O wäret ihr schon zur Tiefe geklommen, So sähet das Haupt ihr von Sternen umflogen Und spielend ums Herz die kindlichen Wogen, Zu denen die Stürme des Lebens nicht kommen.
Confirmed with Musen-Almanach für das Jahr 1802. Herausgegeben von A. W. Schlegel und L. Tieck. Tübingen, in der Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1802, pages 155-156; and with Friedrich Schlegel's sämmtliche Werke. Erster Band. Gedichte. Berlin, bei Julius Eduard Hitzig, 1809, page 32.
1 Schubert: "Mächten"2 Schubert: "winken"
3 Schubert: "Sterne"
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), "Die Sterne", appears in Abendröte, in Zweiter Teil, no. 9, first published 1802 [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), "Die Sterne", D 684 (1820), published 1850 [ voice, piano ], A.Diabelli & Co., VN 8837, Wien (Nachlaß-Lieferung 48) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Les estrelles", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De sterren", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , "The stars", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Les étoiles", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Le stelle", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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: 112
Are you humans amazed at our holy beams? O if you only followed the signals, You would understand better how friendly our glow is, And earthly troubles would then have disappeared! Then love would flow from bottomless cups, All would breathe the pure azures, The light blue sea would encircle the fields, And stars would sparkle over familiar valleys. All things are taken from a divine source. Is each being not one thing in the choir? Now the heavenly gates have been opened, What is the use of fearful despair? If you had already dragged yourself to the depths You would see stars flying around your head And, playing around your heart, the childlike waves Which the storms of life would not reach.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Malcolm Wren, (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 Friedrich von Schlegel (1772 - 1829), "Die Sterne", appears in Abendröte, in Zweiter Teil, no. 9, first published 1802
This text was added to the website: 2011-10-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 123