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Der Tod ist groß. Wir sind die Seinen lachenden Munds. Wenn wir uns mitten im Leben meinen, wagt er zu weinen mitten in uns.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Schlußstück", appears in Das Buch der Bilder, first published 1920 [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 Henk Badings (1907 - 1987), "Schlußstück", from Fünf Rilke-Lieder, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Fürstenthal (1920 - 2016), "Schlussstück" [ voice and piano ], from 16 Lieder und Balladen vom Leben und Vergehen, no. 16, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Helmut Paulsen (b. 1909), "Der Tod" [ medium voice and piano ], from Sieben besinnliche Lieder, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Schlußstück", op. 135 no. 11, from Symphony no. 14, no. 11, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joep Willem Frederik Straesser (1934 - 2004), "Der Tod", 1991, from An die Musik, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Vietor (flourished 1905-1930), "Schlussstück", op. 17 no. 5 (1939-40) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rolf Wallin (b. 1957), "Schlußstück", 1994 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Drei Gedichte von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Winfried (Petrus Ignatius) Zillig (1905 - 1963), "Schlußstück " [ men's chorus and piano ], from Lieder des Herbstes nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Tamara Isaakovna Silman (1909 - 1974) , copyright © ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Conclusió", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Salvador Pila) , "Conclusion", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Finale", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: John Versmoren
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 6
Word count: 24
La mort est grande. Nous sommes les êtres de sa bouche riante. Lorsque nous pensons être au milieu de la vie, elle ose pleurer au milieu de nous.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 by Pierre Mathé, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Schlußstück", appears in Das Buch der Bilder, first published 1920
This text was added to the website: 2013-01-18
Line count: 6
Word count: 28