Schmerzen

Sonne, weinest jeden Abend
Dir die schönen Augen rot,
Wenn im Meeresspiegel badend
Dich erreicht der frühe Tod;

Doch erstehst in alter Pracht,
Glorie der düstren Welt,
Du am Morgen neu erwacht,
Wie ein stolzer Siegesheld!

Ach, wie sollte ich da klagen,
Wie, mein Herz, so schwer dich sehn,
Muß die Sonne selbst verzagen,
Muß die Sonne untergehn?

Und gebieret Tod nur Leben,
Geben Schmerzen Wonne nur:
O wie dank ich, daß gegeben
Solche Schmerzen mir Natur!

Authorship

by (Agnes) Mathilde Wesendonck, née Luckemeyer (1828-1902) , title unknown

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) Richard Wagner (1813-1883) , "Schmerzen", published 1862 [female voice and piano or orchestra], from Wesendonck-Lieder, no. 4, Mainz, Schott, also set in French

by (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner (1813-1883) , "Souffrances", published 1889 [female voice and piano], from Cinq Poèmes, no. 4, Mainz, Schott, also set in German

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Anguish", copyright ©
ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Dolori", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Guy Laffaille) , "Douleurs", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CAT Catalan (Salvador Pila) , "Dolors", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
RUS Russian (Elena Danilova) , "Muki", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NYN Norwegian (Nynorsk) (Are Frode Søholt) , "Sorg", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
NOR Norwegian (Bokmål) (Marianne Beate Kielland) , "Smerter", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

Gentle Reminder

This project, begun in 1995, receives no public funding. If you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated!      - Emily Ezust I also have a wishlist at Amazon.ca.

Browse imslp.org (Petrucci Music Library) for art songs or choral works

Classical Vocal Repertoire