Schmied Schmerz

Der Schmerz ist ein Schmied,
Sein Hammer ist hart,
von fliegenden Flammen
Ist heiß sein Herd;
Seinen Blasebalg bläht
Ein stoßender Sturm
Von wilden Gewalten.
Er hämmert die Herzen
Und schweißt sie mit schweren
Und harten Hieben
Zu festem Gefüge.

Gut, gut schmiedet der Schmerz.

Kein Sturm zerstört,
Kein Frost zerfrißt,
Kein Rost zerreißt,
Was der Schmerz geschmiedet.

by Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865-1910) , "Schmied Schmerz", from Irrgarten der Liebe, in Gedichte, in In Gleichnissen

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

by Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952) , "Schmied Schmerz", 1986.
by Max Reger (1873-1916) , "Schmied Schmerz", op. 51 (Zwölf Lieder) no. 6 (1900).
by Margarete Voigt-Schweikert (1887-1957) , "Der Schmerz ist ein Schmied", 1920? [voice and piano], unpublished
by Karl Weigl (1881-1949) , "Schmied Schmerz", op. 1 (Sieben Gesänge) no. 7, also set in English

by Karl Weigl (1881-1949) , "Smith Grief", op. 1 (Sieben Gesänge) no. 7, also set in German

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Smith Grief

A great smith is grief,
His hammer is hard,
With flickering fire
His hearth is hot.
His bellows is blown
By mad stinging storm
Of fierce raging forces.
He hammers the hearts
And he welds them with weighty
And blasting blows into
Tight hardy texture.
 
Great, great is Smith Grief.
 
No frost can fret,
No rust corrode,
No wind lay waste
What Smith Grief has welded.

Singable translation by Luise Haessler (1866-?)

a text in German by Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865-1910) , "Schmied Schmerz", from Irrgarten der Liebe, in Gedichte, in In Gleichnissen

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

by Karl Weigl (1881-1949) , "Smith Grief", op. 1 (Sieben Gesänge) no. 7, also set in German

Date added to the website: 2009-06-11.