Der Asra

Täglich ging die wunderschöne 
Sultantochter auf und nieder 
um die Abendzeit am Springbrunn,
wo die weißen Wasser plätschern.

Täglich stand der junge Sklave
um die Abendzeit am Springbrunn,
wo die weißen Wasser plätschern,
täglich ward er bleich und bleicher.

Eines Abends trat die Fürstin 
auf ihn zu mit raschen Worten:
"Deinen Namen will ich wissen, 
deine Heimat, deine Sippschaft."

Und der Sklave sprach: "Ich heiße Mahomet
und bin aus Yemen,
und mein Stamm sind jene Asra,
welche sterben, wenn sie lieben.

by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) , "Der Asra", from Romanzero, in Erstes Buch, in Historien, no. 15

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

by Jacob Bachmann (1846-1905) , "Der Asra", published 1889 [tenor or soprano and piano], from Zwei Lieder, no. 2.
by David Leonard Blake (1936-) , "Der Asra", published 1981 [high voice and eleven players], from From the mattress grave : a cycle of twelve songs to poems by Heine, no. 3.
by David Leonard Blake (1936-) , "Der Asra", published 1985 [baritone, oboe, and piano], from Five Heine Songs, no. 1.
by David Leonard Blake (1936-) , "Der Asra", published 1988 [baritone, oboe, and string quartet], from Six Heine Songs, no. 1.
by David Leonard Blake (1936-) , "Der Asra", published 1978, from Nine Songs, no. 2.
by Wilhelm Brandes (1824-1871) , "Der Asra (Täglich geht die wunderschöne Sultanstochter)", op. 5 (Vier Lieder) no. 4.
by Bernard van Dieren (1887-1936) , "Der Asra", published 1927.
by Anton Eberhardt (1855-1922) , "Der Asra", op. 16 (Drei Lieder) no. 1.
by Ferdinand Oskar Eichberg (1845-1898) , "Der Asra", op. 5 (Drei Gedichte) no. 3.
by Robert Emmerich (1836-1891) , "Der Asra", op. 41 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 1.
by Zdenko Antonín Václav Fibich (1850-1900) , "Der Asra", 1872, manuscript missing
by Henry Kimball Hadley (1871-1937) , "Der Asra", op. 20 no. 4, published 1900, also set in English
by Lukas Haug (1921-) , "Der Asra", published 1977 [two voices and piano], from Vierzehn Lieder nach alten Texten, no. 5, from the section Von der Liebe
by Wilhelm Hill (1838-1902) , "Der Asra", op. 29.
by Eduard Hoffschläger , "Der Asra"
by Christian Frederik Emil Horneman (1840-1906) , "Asra", from Lieder-Album, no. 1
by Jindrich z Albestu Kaan (1852-1926) , "Der Asra: Lied von Heine" [voice and harmonium]
by Vicomte de Kervéguen , "Der Asra", published 1882, from Trois Lieder : sur des poésies de H. Heine, no. 3.
by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927-) , "Der Asra", 1994-5, published c1998 [tenor and piano], from Ein Liederbuch nach Gedichten von Heinrich Heine, Abteilung III
by Adolf Fredrik Lindblad (1801-1878) , "Der Asra", from Sånger och visor, no. 9.
by Linev , "Der Asra"
by Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe (1796-1869) , "Der Asra", op. 133 (1860), published 1867.
by Benjamin Wilhelm Mayer (1831-1898) , "Täglich ging die wunderschöne", op. 4 (Lieder) no. 2.
by Ludwig Siegfried Meinardus (1827-1896) , "Der Asra", from Lieder, Heft 2, no. 1
by Eduard de Moulin , "Der Asra", op. 3 (Drei Gedichte von H. Heine) no. 2.
by Ernst Otto Nodnagel (1870-1909) , "Der Asra", op. 36 (Lieder) no. 1.
by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) , "Der Asra", published 1924, from 2 orientaliska fantasier, no. 1.
by Max Renner , "Der Asra", op. 3 (Sechs Lieder) no. 1, published 1899.
by Robert de Roos (1907-1976) , "Der Asra", 1975, from Drei romantische Lieder (H. Heine), no. 3.
by Bertrand Roth (1854-1938) , "Der Asra", op. 12 (Drei Gesänge) no. 2.
by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829-1894) , "Der Asra", op. 32 (Sechs Lieder von Heine) no. 6, published 1856?, also set in Russian
by Nikolay Vladimirovich Shcherbachev (1853-?) , "Der Asra", from Sechs Lieder nach Dichtungen von H. Heine, no. 3.
by Frederick Stock (1872-1942) , "Der Asra", published 19-?
by M. Weyermann , "Der Asra", op. 11 (Zwei Balladen von H. Heine) no. 2, published 1869. [tenor and piano]
by Hermann Wichmann (1824-1905) , "Der Asra", op. 43 (Zwei Lieder) no. 2.
by Sergey Vladimirovich Yuferov (1865-?) , "Der Asra"
by Johann Baptist Zerlett (1859-1935) , "Der Asra", op. 30. [voice, violin (or violoncello or horn) and piano]

by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829-1894) , "Azra", op. 32 (Sechs Lieder von Heine) no. 6, published 1856?, also set in German

by Henry C. F. Castleman , "The Asra", published 1900.

by George Coleman Gow (1860-1938) , "The Asra", op. 1 no. 6, published c1884, from A Group of Songs, no. 6.

by Henry Kimball Hadley (1871-1937) , "The Asra", op. 20 no. 4, published 1900, also set in German

ITA Italian (Amelia Maria Imbarrato)
ENG English (Emma Lazarus)
ENG English [singable] (Peter Palmer)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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The Asra

Daily the fair Sultan's daughter
Wanders to and fro at twilight
By the margin of the fountain,
Where the waters white are rippling.

Daily the young slave at twilight
Stands beside the fountain's margin,
Where the waters white are rippling,
Daily grows he pale and paler.

There one evening moved the princess
Toward the slave with words swift-spoken
"Tell me, tell me what thy name is,
Where thy home is, what thy lineage?"

Spake the youthful slave: My name is
Mahomet, I come from Yemen;
And by birth I am an Asra,
One who dieth when he loves."

by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) , "The Asra", from Poems and Ballads of Heinrich Heine, published 1881

a text in German by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) , "Der Asra", from Romanzero, in Erstes Buch, in Historien, no. 15 RUS ITA

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

[ None yet in the database ]

Date added to the website: 2008-05-04.