by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939)
Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: FRE
Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht, Dein Leben ist verflossen! Du hattest eines Fürstenkinds In freier Lust genossen. Die Mönche murmeln das Totengebet, Der Mann im roten Rocke Er steht mit seinem blanken Beil Schon vor dem schwarzen Blocke. Herr Olaf steigt in den Hof hinab, Da blinken viel Schwerter und Lichter. Es lächelt des Ritters roter Mund, Mit lächelndem Munde spricht er: "Ich segne die Sonne, ich segne den Mond, Und die Stern, die am Himmel schweifen. Ich segne auch die Vögelein, Die in den Lüften pfeifen. Ich segne das Meer, ich segne das Land, Und die Blumen auf der Aue. Ich segne die Veilchen, sie sind so sanft Wie die Augen meiner Fraue. Ihr Veilchenaugen meiner Frau, Durch Euch verlier ich mein Leben! Ich segne auch den Holunderbaum, Wo du dich mir ergeben."
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Heinrich Heine, Neue Gedichte, Hoffmann und Campe, 1844, page 186
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Romanzen, in 10. Ritter Olaf, no. 3 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Sigizmund Mikhailovich Blumenfel'd (1852 - 1920), "Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht", op. 9 no. 3, published 1896 [ baritone and piano ], from Ritter Olaf, no. 3, Leipzig, Belaieff [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Braun (1868 - ?), "Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht", op. 2 no. 3, published 188-? [ tenor, bass, chorus, and orchestra ], from Ritter Olaf, no. 3, also set in English [sung text not yet checked]
- by Felix (August Bernhard) Draeseke (1835 - 1913), "Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht", op. 19 no. 3, published 1882 [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Ritter Olaf, no. 3, Dresden, Hoffarth [sung text not yet checked]
- by Don Forsythe (1932 - 2015), "Ritter Olaf III", 2008, published c2008 [ high voice and piano ], from Romanzen, no. 10c [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Nicola (1797 - 1875), "Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht", op. 17 (Ritter Olaf : Ballade von Heine) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by August Ferdinand Riccius (1819 - 1886), "Abschied vom Leben", op. 4 (Ritter Olaf = Herr Olaf : Ballade in drei Abteilungen von H. Heine) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugen Schmitz (1882 - 1959), "Herr Olaf, es ist Mitternacht", op. 4 (Herr Olaf : Ballade ) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Edward Breck (1861 - 1929) and by Francis Prange ; composed by Charles Braun.
- 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 (Alma Strettell) , "Lord Olaf III", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, London: Walter Scott, Limited, pages 217-218, first published 1887
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-05-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 134
Lord Olaf III
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Lord Olaf, it is midnight now, Thy latest hour draws nigh! For thou the daughter of a king Hast loved unlawfully. The monks intone a funeral psalm, And see the headsman stand, Red-coated, by the grim dark block, With glitt'ring axe in hand. Now in the court, where gleaming swords And torches flash, his place Lord Olaf takes; his red lips smile, He speaks with smiling face: "I bless the sun, I bless the moon, And stars, the heavens that throng; The merry birds, I bless them too, That fill the air with song. "I bless the sea, I bless the land, And all the flowers I bless, The violets most -- my wife's dear eyes They match for tenderness. "Ah wife, those violet-eyes of thine! Though now my death they be, I bless the elder-tree where first Thou gavest thyself to me."
Text Authorship:
- by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939), "Lord Olaf III", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, London: Walter Scott, Limited, pages 217-218, first published 1887 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Neue Gedichte, in Romanzen, in 10. Ritter Olaf, no. 3
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-12-15
Line count: 24
Word count: 142