by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Marie Luise Gothein (1863 - 1931)
O thou the last fulfilment of life
Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)
Available translation(s): GER
O thou the last fulfilment of life, Death, my death, come and whisper to me! Day after day I have kept watch for thee; for thee have I borne the joys and pangs of life. All that I am, that I have, that I hope and all my love have ever flowed towards thee in depth of secrecy. One final glance from thine eyes and my life will be ever thine own. The flowers have been woven and the garland is ready for the bridegroom. After the wedding the bride shall leave her home and meet her lord alone in the solitude of night.
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Text Authorship:
- by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 91, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 91 [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Josef Alexander (1907 - 1992), "O thou", 1973 [ soprano, harpsichord, and percussion ], from Gitanjali, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jonathan Harvey (1939 - 2012), "Fourth song", 1985 [ soprano and chamber ensemble ], from Song Offerings, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947), "Death, my death, come and whisper to me", 1999 [ SATB chorus and string quartet ], from The Golden Harp, no. 6b [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Johannes Teunis Schaddelee.
- 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 French (Français), a translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951) , no title, appears in Gitanjali (L'Offrande lyrique), no. 91, first published 1914 ; composed by Alfredo Casella, Marcel Landowski.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Marie Luise Gothein (1863 - 1931) , first published 1914 ; composed by Stefan Wolpe.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 104
O du letzte Erfüllung des Lebens
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
O du letzte Erfüllung des Lebens, Tod, mein Tod, komm, flüstre mir zu! Tag um Tag hab ich gewartet auf dich, für dich trug ich die Freuden und Schmerzen des Lebens. All was ich bin und habe und hoffe und all meine Liebe flossen immer zu dir in tiefem Geheimnis. Ein letzter Blick deiner Augen und mein Leben wird immer dein eigen sein. Die Blumen sind alle gepflückt, und der Kranz ist bereit für den Bräutigam. Nach der Hochzeit verläßt die Braut ihr Heim, ihren Herrn zu treffen allein in der Einsamkeit der Nacht.
Text Authorship:
- by Marie Luise Gothein (1863 - 1931), first published 1914 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 91, first published 1912
Based on:
- a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 91 [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Stefan Wolpe (1902 - 1972), "O du letzte Erfüllung des Lebens", 1926 [voice and piano], from Neun Vertonungen aus Gitanjali, no. 1. [text not verified]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 94