Die Mainacht

[Wenn]1 der silberne Mond durch die Gesträuche blinkt,
Und sein schlummerndes Licht über den Rasen [geußt]2,
  Und die Nachtigall flötet,
    Wandl' ich traurig von Busch zu Busch.

Selig preis' ich dich dann, flötende Nachtigall,
Weil dein Weibchen mit dir wohnet in einem Nest,
  Ihrem singenden Gatten
    Tausend trauliche Küsse gibt.

Überhüllet von Laub girret ein Taubenpaar
Sein Entzücken mir vor; aber ich wende mich,
  Suche dunklere Schatten,
    Und die einsame Thräne rinnt.

Wann, o lächelndes Bild, welches wie Morgenrot
Durch die Seele mir strahlt, find' ich auf Erden dich?
  Und die einsame Thräne
    Bebt mir heißer die Wang' herab!

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert: "Wann"
² Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert: "streut"

Authorship

by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748-1776) , "Die Mainacht"

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Max Joseph Beer (1851-1908) , "Die Mainacht", op. 1 (Zwei Lieder und Gesänge mit Pianoforte) no. a, published 1874, Wien: V. Kratochwill; Leipzig: R. Forberg
by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) , "Die Mainacht", op. 43 (Vier Gesänge) no. 2, stanzas 1,3-4.
by Julius Janssen , "Die Mainacht", published 1879 [voice and piano], from Fünf Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 4, Kassel, Voigt
by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel (1805-1847) , "Die Mainacht", op. 9 no. 6, stanzas 1-3.
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) , "Die Mainacht", D. 194 (1815), published 1894.

ENG English (Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman) , "The May night", copyright © 1996, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Alvaro De la Cruz) , "La noche de mayo", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Notte di maggio", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , "La notte di maggio", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Pierre Mathé) , title unknown, copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De meinacht", copyright © 2010, (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

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La noche de mayo

Cuando la luna plateada  brilla brilla entre los arbustos
Y sobre el cesped se dispersa su luz brillante,
Y el ruiseñor canta,
Camino tristemente por los bosques.

Creo que estás feliz, ruiseñor cantante,
Por que tu esposa vive en un nido contigo,
Dando a su esposo cantando
Mil besos fieles

Envuelto por follaje, una pareja de palomas
Arrullan su  encanto hacia mi;
Pero yo me voy buscando sombras mas oscuras,
Y una lágrima solitaria fluye.

Cuando, o imagen sonriente que como el alba
Brilla a través de mi alma, ¿debo yo encontrarte en la tierra?
Y dejar que la lagrima fluya tomblorosa,
Quemandose, bajo mi mejilla.

Authorship

Translation from German to Spanish copyright © 2005 by Alvaro De la Cruz, skatchamagoza (AT) gmail (DOT) com, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. Please contact the copyright-holder(s) when requesting permission to reprint and be sure to give proper credit.

a text in German by Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty (1748-1776) , "Die Mainacht" DUT ENG ITA FRE

Text added to the website: 2005-10-12.