Nemesis | The night is calm, the avenues are quiet

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by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG ENG ENG FIN FRE GRE ITA KOR LIT NOR SPA

Still ist die Nacht, es [ruhen]¹ die Gassen,
In [diesem]² Hause wohnte mein Schatz;
Sie hat schon [längst]³ die Stadt verlassen,
Doch steht noch das Haus auf demselben Platz.

Da steht auch ein Mensch und starrt in die Höhe,
Und ringt die Hände, vor Schmerzensgewalt;
Mir [graust]⁴ es, wenn ich sein Antlitz sehe, -
Der Mond zeigt mir meine eigne Gestalt.

Du [Doppeltgänger]⁵! du bleicher Geselle!
Was äffst du nach mein Liebesleid,
Das mich gequält auf dieser Stelle,
So manche Nacht, in alter Zeit?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. von Hochberg • F. Schubert

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Buch der Lieder von H. Heine. Hamburg bei Hoffmann und Campe. 1827, page 198; and with Reisebilder von H. Heine. Erster Theil. Hamburg, bey Hoffmann und Campe. 1826, page 24.

First published as number VI of Drei und dreißig Gedichte von H. Heine in Der Gesellschafter oder Blätter für Geist und Herz. Herausgegeben von F. W. Gubitz. Achter Jahrgang. Berlin, 1824. In der Maurerschen Buchhandlung. Freitag den 26. März. 49stes Blatt, page 243.

¹ Bolko von Hochberg: "ruh'n"
² Bolko von Hochberg: "jenem"
³ Bolko von Hochberg: "lange"
⁴ Bolko von Hochberg: "graut"
⁵ Bolko von Hochberg, Schubert: "Doppelgänger"

Text Authorship:

by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, written 1823-24, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 20, first published 1824 [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 Anton Eberhardt (1855 - 1922), "Der Doppelgänger", op. 16 (Drei Lieder) no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Philipp, Fürst zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld (1847 - 1921), "Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen" [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Farber (b. 1945), "Der Doppelgänger", 2014 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Alfred Heller (b. 1931), "Der Doppelgänger", published c1988 [sung text not yet checked]
by Hans Heinrich XIV, Graf Bolko von Hochberg (1843 - 1926), "Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen", op. 17 (Drei Lieder (Heine, Lenau, Geibel)) no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Hans Heinrich XIV, Graf Bolko von Hochberg (1843 - 1926), "Der Doppelgänger", published [1895] [ voice and piano ], Offenbach am Main, Johann André, in Ausgewählte Lieder [sung text checked 1 time]
by Nikolay Ivanovich Kazanli (1869 - 1916), "Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen", published 1899 [ voice and piano ], from [Vier] Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 4, München, Schmid Nachf [sung text not yet checked]
by Reinbert de Leeuw (b. 1938), "Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen", published 2003? [ voice and instrumental ensemble ], from Im wunderschönen Monat Mai : dreimal sieben Lieder nach Schumann und Schubert, no. 15 [sung text not yet checked]
by Rudolph, Fürst von Lichtenstein , "Venedigs Gondolier", op. 4 (Drei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 3, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt [sung text not yet checked]
by Adolf Fredrik Lindblad (1801 - 1878), "Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen", 1870-1880 [ voice and piano ], from Sånger och Visor vid Pianoforte. Efterlemnade Sånger, no. 198 [sung text not yet checked]
by (Wilhelm) Bernhard Molique (1802 - 1869), "Der Doppelgänger", op. 34 (Sechs Lieder für Sopran (oder Tenor) ) no. 5, published 1848 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Stuttgart, Müller ; note: titled "Venedigs Gondolier" in Hofmeister [sung text not yet checked]
by Thorvald Otterström (1868 - 1942), "Der Doppelgänger", published 1907, from Neun Lieder, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by C. B. Rummer , "Der Doppelgänger", from Drei Lieder, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Der Doppelgänger", D 957 no. 13 (1828), published 1829 [ voice and piano ], from Schwanengesang, no. 13 [sung text checked 1 time]
by F. Sprenkel , "Klage", op. 7 (Vier Lieder) no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (1803 - 1883), "Der Doppelgänger", published 1851, from Die Heimkehr : 88 Gedichte aus H. Heine's Reisebildern, no. 20 [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Abel Nathan ; composed by Abel Nathan.
- 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 (Emma Lazarus) , "Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen", appears in Poems Selected from Heinrich Heine, ed. by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, pages 94-95, first published 1887

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 83

Nemesis

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

The night is calm, the avenues are quiet,
My sweet one lived in this house;
She has already left the city long ago,
The house certainly still stands, in the same place.

A man is standing there, too, staring up into space,
And powerfully wringing his hands in torment.
It horrifies me, when I see his countenance,
The moon shows me my own form.

You my fearful double, you pale partner!
Why do you ape the pain of my love,
That has tortured me here in this spot
So many a night, in times long ago?

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, written 1823-24, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Die Heimkehr, no. 20, first published 1824
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 96

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Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.