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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)
Translation © by Sarah Hoffman
Die heil'gen drei Kön'ge aus Morgenland
Language: German (Deutsch)
Die heil'gen drei Kön'ge aus Morgenland, Sie frugen in jedem Städtchen: Wo geht der Weg nach Bethlehem, Ihr lieben Buben und Mädchen? Die Jungen und Alten, sie [wußten es]1 nicht, Die Könige zogen weiter; Sie folgten einem goldenen Stern, Der leuchtete lieblich und heiter. Der Stern blieb stehn über Joseph's Haus, Da sind sie [hineingegangen]2; Das Öchslein brüllte, das Kindlein schrie, Die heil'gen drei Könige sangen.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Buch der Lieder von Heinrich Heine, Berlin, A. Warschauers Verlag, 1827, page 102. Note: it is number 39 in this edition, but 37 in later editions.
1 Strauss: "wußten's"2 Lange-Müller: "hinein gegangen"
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 37 [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 Wilhelm Baumgartner (1820 - 1867), "Die heil'gen drei Kön'ge", op. 13 (Zwölf Jugendlieder, 3 und 4 stimmig, für Sopran und Alt) no. 10 (1848) [ SA chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, Baron Berners (1883 - 1950), "Weihnachtslied", 1913-1918, published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs in the German Manner, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henriëtte Bosmans (1895 - 1952), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", 1935, from Zwei Lieder, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christian Bruhn (b. 1934), "Die heil'gen drei Könige" [ voice and orchestra ], from Heine-Lieder, no. 17 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerard Bunk (1888 - 1958), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 13 (Zehn Lieder nach Texten von Heinrich Heine) no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Der goldene Stern", 1929 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Drei Heine-Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Karl) Friedrich Curschmann (1805 - 1841), "Weihnachtslied", op. 19 [ vocal octet for 2 sopranos, 2 altos, 2 tenors, 2 basses and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich (Ludwig Egmont) Dorn (1804 - 1892), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 9 (Sechs deutsche Lieder) no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (1875 - 1956), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 58 (Семь романсов (Sem' romansov) = Seven Romances) no. 5, published <<1914 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann Große-Schware (b. 1931), "Die heiligen drei Kön'ge", 2004 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann (1805 - 1900), "Die heil'gen drei Könige", op. 35 (Sechs deutsche Gesänge) no. 6, published 1842, Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig Hess (1877 - 1944), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 31 (Lieder) no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ferdinand von Hiller (1811 - 1885), "Die heiligen drei Könige", op. 116 (Acht Gedichte von H. Heine für S., A., T. und B.), Heft 2 no. 5, published 1865 [ SATB chorus ], Bremen, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
- by C. Kaufung , "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 4 (Lieder) no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "Die heiligen drei Könige", 1994-5, published c1998 [ tenor and piano ], from Ein Liederbuch nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine, Abteilung IV, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Kloberg , "Die heil'gen drei Könige", op. 2 (Vier Quartette für Männerstimmen) no. 4, published 1879 [ vocal quartet for male voices a cappella ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller (1850 - 1926), "Die heiligen drei Könige", op. 27 no. 5 (1885), published <<1890 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs ernste Lieder von Heinrich Heine und Paul Heyse, no. 5, Copenhagen, Hofmusikhandelens Forlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Tilo Medek (1940 - 2006), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland" [ medium voice and piano or guitar ], from Heinrich-Heine-Lieder (1968/89) : zwölf Lieder [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erkki Gustaf Melartin (1875 - 1937), "Die heilgen drei Könige", op. 32 (Lieder mit Klavier = Songs with piano) no. 2 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roland Moser (b. 1943), "Die heil'gen drei Könige", published 1985 [ soprano and actor with piano ], from Heinelieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christian Sinding (1856 - 1941), "Die heiligen drei Könige", published 1926 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johan August Söderman (1832 - 1876), "Ballade", published 1859 [ voice and piano ], from Heidenröslein : Liederzyklus nach Heine, no. 3, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Stern (1867 - 19??), "Die heiligen drei Könige", op. 1 (Lieder und Gesänge) no. 10, published 1905 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Georg Strauss (1864 - 1949), "Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 56 (Sechs Lieder) no. 6 (1906), published 1908 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Trunk (1879 - 1968), "Die heiligen drei Könige", op. 61 no. 5, published c1930 [ voice, piano ], from Weihnachtslieder, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Die heiligen drei Könige", op. 38 (Humoristica aus Heine's Gedichten) no. 1, published 1851 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Die heil'gen drei Könige", published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 37 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georg Vierling (1820 - 1901), "Die heil'gen drei Könige aus Morgenland", op. 27 (Sechs Gedichte für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 6, published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Breslau, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Richard (Hannes Ruch) Weinhöppel (1867 - 1928), "Die heil'gen drei Könige", published 19-? [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julius Weismann (1879 - 1950), "Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland", 1921, published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from 9 Lieder, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Ferdinand Würst (1824 - 1881), "Die heiligen drei Könige", op. 31 (Fünf Gesänge für S., A., T. und B.) no. 1, published 1860 [ SATB chorus ], Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen's Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Bernard van Dieren.
- 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.]
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Werner Josten.
- 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.]
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok (1880 - 1921) , written 1909 ; composed by Reinhold Moritzevich Glière, Arthur Vincent Lourié.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johan Thor.
- 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):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sarah Hoffman) , "The three holy kings from the eastern land", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Emma Lazarus) , appears in Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, first published 1881
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Les trois rois mages de l'Orient", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 66
The three holy kings from the eastern land
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
The three holy kings from the eastern land asked in every little village and town: Where is the way to Bethelehem, dear boys and girls? Neither young nor old knew it, so the kings sought further; They followed a golden star that shone lovely and joyous. The star stayed standing over Joseph's house, and there within was the child; the baby ox bawled, the child cried, and the three holy kings sang.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2006 by Sarah Hoffman, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Sarah Hoffman. Contact: sarah (DOT) hoffman (AT) yahoo (DOT) com
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 37
This text was added to the website: 2007-01-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 72