Question | If you did not exist, holy evening glow!

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by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Frage

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE ITA

Wärst du nicht, heil'ger Abendschein!
Wärst du nicht, sternerhellte Nacht!
Du Blütenschmuck! du üpp'ger Hain!
Und du, Gebirg' voll ernster Pracht!
Du, Vogelsang aus Himmeln hoch!
Du, Lied aus voller Menschenbrust!
Wärst du nicht – ach! was füllte noch
In arger Zeit ein Herz mit Lust? --

Confirmed with: Kerners Werke, Zweiter Teil, Gedichte, ed. Raimund Pissin, Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., 1914, page 171

Text Authorship:

by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Frage", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte [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 Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Frage", op. 35 no. 9 (1840), published 1841 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gedichte von Justinus Kerner, no. 9, Leipzig, Klemm [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789 - 1860), "Frage", op. 12 no. 5, published 1829 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Lieder von Justinus Kerner, no. 5, Stuttgart: Zumsteeg'sche Musikalienhandlung [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Philipp) Friedrich Silcher (1789 - 1860), "Frage", published 1846 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from [Zwölf] Melodien aus Beethoven's Sonaten und Sinfonien zu Liedern für Sopran (oder Tenor), no. 5, Stuttgart, Zumsteeg [sung text not yet checked]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Interrogació", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Een vraag", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Question", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Interrogation", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "Domanda", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 46

Question

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

 If you did not exist, holy evening glow!
 If you did not exist, starlit night!
 You jewel-like blossoms! You lush grove!
 And you, mountains, full of solemn splendour!
 You birdsong high in the heavens!
 You song from a full human breast!
 If you did not exist, alas! what would then fill
 my heart with pleasure in bad times?

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Frage", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 59