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Mit leisen Harfentönen Sey, Wehmuth, mir gegrüßt! O Nymphe, die der Thränen Geweihten Quell verschließt! Mich weht an deiner Schwelle Ein linder Schauer an, Und deines Zwielichts Helle Glimmt [auf]1 des Schicksals Bahn. Du, so die Freude weinen, Die Schwermuth lächeln heißt, Kannst Wonn' und Schmerz vereinen, Daß Harm in Lust verfleußt; Du hellst bewölkte Lüfte Mit Abendsonnenschein, Hängst Lampen in die Grüfte Und krönst den Leichenstein. Du nahst, wenn schon die Klage Den Busen sanfter dehnt, Der Gram an Sarkophage Die müden Schläfe lehnt; [Wenn]2 die Geduld gelassen Sich an die Hoffnung schmiegt, Der Zähren Thau im nassen, Schmerzlosen Blick versiegt. Du, die auf Blumenleichen Des Tiefsinns Wimper senkt, Bey blätterlosen Sträuchen Der Blüthenzeit gedenkt; In Florens bunte Kronen Ein dunkles Veilchen webt, Und still, mit Alcyonen, Um Schiffbruchstrümmer schwebt. O du, die sich so gerne Zurück zur Kindheit träumt, Selbst ihr Gewölk von Ferne Mit Sonnengold besäumt: Was uns Erinn'rung schildert Mit [stillem Glanz]3 verbrämt, Der Trennung Qualen mildert, Und die Verzweiflung zähmt. Der Leidenschaften Horden, Der Sorgen Rabenzug, Entfliehn vor den Accorden, Die deine Harfe schlug; Du zauberst Alpensöhnen, Verbannt auf Flanderns Moor, Mit Sennenreigen-Tönen Der Heimath Bilder vor. In deinen Schattenhallen Weihst du die Sänger ein; Lehrst junge Nachtigallen Die Trauer-Melodey'n; Du neigst, wo Gräber grünen, Dein Ohr zu Hölty's Ton; Pflückst Moos von Burgruinen Mit meinem Matthisson. Rühr' unter Thränenweiden Noch oft mein Saitenspiel; Verschmilz' auch Gram und Leiden In süßes Nachgefühl; Gib Stärkung dem Erweichten! Heb' aus dem Trauerflor, Wenn Gottes Sterne leuchten, Den Andachtsblick empor!
F. Schubert sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte von J. G. von Salis. Neueste Auflage. Wien 1815. Bey B. Ph. Bauer, pages 120-122.
1 Righini: "ob"2 Righini: "Bis"
3 Righini: "Westkarmin"
Authorship:
- by Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis (1762 - 1834), "Die Wehmuth", written 1793?, first published 1793 [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 Vincenzo Righini (1756 - 1812), "Die Wehmut", op. 12 no. 4, published 1820 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs deutsche Lieder, no. 4, Mainz: Carl Zulehner [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Die Herbstnacht", D 404 (1816), published 1885, stanzas 1-3 [ voice, piano ], first published by Friedlaender with the title "Die Wehmuth" with stanzas 1 and 8. [sung text checked 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Johann Friedrich Reichardt.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Richard Morris , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 64
Word count: 252
With gentle notes on the harp Let me greet you, melancholy! Oh nymph, you who control tears And lock up their consecrated source! On your threshold I feel A gentle shudder go through me, And the brightness of your twilight Glows over the course of destiny. You, just as you cause people to weep at joy And see melancholy as something to smile about, Can unite pleasure and pain, So that grief can turn into delight; You brighten cloudy skies With evening sunshine, You hang lamps in vaults And you crown the gravestone. You approach whenever laments have already Extended the breast more gently, Whenever sorrow by the sarcophagus Presses on tired temples; When patience allows itself To snuggle up to hope, The wet dew of tears Dries up and vision becomes painless. You, who look down at the corpses of flowers As deep thoughts lower the eyelids, When you see bushes without leaves You think of the time when they are in blossom; Into Flora's bright crown A dark violet is woven, And quietly, with Alcyone, It hovers around shipwrecks. Oh you, who so keenly Dream about the former days of childhood, You even take those distant clouds And give them a golden lining from the sun: Whatever memory presents to us Is glossed over with a quiet radiance, The agonies of separation are softened And despair is brought under control. The hordes of sorrow, The crow-black train of care, Fly off at the chords Plucked from your harp; You enchant the sons of the Alps Banished to the moorlands of Flanders With the notes of cowherds' songs That offer images from home. In your shaded halls You initiate singers; You teach young nightingales The melodies of mourning; Where graves turn green you bend Your ear to Hölty's note; You pluck moss from castle ruins With my copy of Matthisson. Under weeping willows continue to touch My stringed instrument frequently; Blend both grief and sorrow Into a sweet recollection; Give strength to those that are touched! Look up from the flowers of mourning When God's stars are alight, Lift your gaze in prayer!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Die Herbstnacht" = "The autumn night"
"Die Wehmuth" = "Melancholy"
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis (1762 - 1834), "Die Wehmuth", written 1793?, first published 1793
This text was added to the website: 2017-07-20
Line count: 64
Word count: 354