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Du aber, Göttlicher, du, bis zuletzt noch Ertöner, da ihn der Schwarm der verschmähten Mänaden befiel, hast ihr Geschrei übertönt mit Ordnung, du Schöner, aus den Zerstörenden stieg dein erbauendes Spiel. Keine war da, dass sie Haupt dir und Leier zerstör. Wie sie auch rangen und rasten, und alle die scharfen Steine, die sie nach deinem Herzen warfen, wurden zu Sanftem an dir und begabt mit Gehör. Schließlich zerschlugen sie dich, von der Rache gehetzt, während dein Klang noch in Löwen und Felsen verweilte und in den Bäumen und Vögeln. Dort singst du noch jetzt. O du verlorener Gott! Du unendliche Spur! Nur weil dich reißend zuletzt die Feindschaft verteilte, sind wir die Hörenden jetzt und ein Mund der Natur.
H. Birtwistle sets stanzas 3-4
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1922, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 26 [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 Holger Arden (b. 1946), "Sonett XXVI Teil 1", 2022 [ tenor, mixed chorus, 2 lyres, clarinet and piano ], from Die Orpheus Sonetten, no. 2, NB noter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bruce Christian Bennett (b. 1968), "Du aber, Göttlicher, du", from Two Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Günter Bialas (1907 - 1992), "Du aber, Göttlicher", 1946 [ medium voice and orchestra ], from Orpheus singt. Sonette an Orpheus für mittlere Stimme und Orchester, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harrison Birtwistle, Sir (1934 - 2022), "Elegy 20, Sonnet I, 26", 2003-04, first performed 2004, stanzas 3-4 [ oboe, harp and countertenor ], from Orpheus elegies, no. 25, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000), "Sonnet to Orpheus", 1984 [ voice and string quartet ], from Ode to Henry Purcell, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Du aber, Göttlicher", copyright © 2012 [ tenor and piano ], from Sonnets to Orpheus, no. 26, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bernd Hänschke (b. 1948), "Du aber, Göttlicher", 1992 [ chorus ], from An Orpheus, no. 2, Selbstverlag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Volker David Kirchner (b. 1942), "Du aber, Göttlicher", 1968/87, copyright © 1989 [ baritone, horn and piano ], from Orfeo, no. 5, Mainz [etc.] : Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josep Soler i Sardà (1935 - 2022), "Sonett 26", 1960 [ voice and piano ], from Die Sonette an Orpheus, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Stephen Mitchell (b. 1943) , copyright © ; composed by Eric Moe.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (T. P. (Peter) Perrin) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
But you, immortal, your music forever speaking, when the maenads stormed you in fury no force could oppose: o splendor, with order you drowned their shrieking; from those destroyers your architecture rose. None could crush your skull or break your lyre, however they wrestled and raged; and every stone that was sharp enough to cut your heart when thrown grew soft when it neared you, and gifted with power to hear. Revenge's target, they hunted you down in the end, though in lions, in rocks, the sound of your music remained, and in trees and in birds. Where you'll sing into the future. O vanished god! Eternal connecting thread! Only since hatred quartered you and spread your remains are we a mouth and receptors for nature.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2009 by T. P. (Peter) Perrin, (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 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1922, appears in Die Sonette an Orpheus 1, no. 26
This text was added to the website: 2009-06-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 126