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Fremde Geige, gehst du mir nach? In wieviel Städten schon sprach deine einsame Nacht zu meiner? Spielen dich hunderte? Spielt dich einer? Giebt es in allen großen Städten solche, die sich ohne dich schon in den den Flüssen verloren hätten? Und warum trifft es immer mich? Warum bin ich immer der Nachbar derer, die ich bange zwingend zu singen und zu sagen: Das Leben ist schwerer als die Schwere von allen Dingen.
Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Der Nachbar", written 1902/3, appears in Das Buch der Bilder [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 Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Der Nachbar", copyright © 2012 [soprano and violin], from The Violin Sings in a Common Language, no. 1, confirmed with an online score [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bruce Mather (b. 1939), "Der Nachbar", 1960 [tenor and guitar], from Cycle Rilke, no. 2. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Stéphane Goldet) (Pierre de Rosamel) , "Le voisin", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 72
Etrange violon, est-ce que tu viens avec moi ? Dans combien de villes au loin ta nuit solitaire a-t-elle déjà parlé à la mienne ? Y en a-t-il des centaines à te jouer ? Ou rien qu'un seul ? Y a-t-il dans toutes les grandes villes de ces êtres qui, sans toi, seraient déjà allés se jeter dans les fleuves ? Et en quoi cela me concerne-t-il ? Pourquoi est-ce que je me sens toujours proche de ceux qui te forcent à chanter leur angoisse et à dire : la vie pèse plus lourd que le lourd fardeau de tout ce qui pèse ?
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2013 by Stéphane Goldet and Pierre de Rosamel, (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), "Der Nachbar", written 1902/3, appears in Das Buch der Bilder
This text was added to the website: 2013-04-30
Line count: 12
Word count: 104