The birds of the wilderness

My heart, the bird of the wilderness,
has found its sky in your eyes:
They are the cradle of the morning,
they are the kingdom of the stars;
My songs are lost in their depths.
Let me but soar in that sky,
in its lonely immensity!
Let me but cleave its clouds
and spread wings in its sunshine.

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) , no title, from The Gardener, no. 31, published 1913

a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) [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 Paul Creston (1906-1985) , "The birds of the wilderness", op. 2, published 1950.
by Edward Horsman (1873-1918) , "The birds of the wilderness", published 1914.

by Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882-1937) , "Mein Herz", op. 41 no. 1 (1918) [medium voice and piano], from Vier Gesänge (Cztery pieśni), no. 1, also set in Polish

by Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882-1937) , "Moje serce", op. 41 no. 1 (1918) [medium voice and piano], from Vier Gesänge (Cztery pieśni), no. 1, also set in German

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Mein Herz

Mein Herz, der Vogel der Wildnis,
hat seinen Himmel in deinen Augen gefunden.
Sie sind die Wiege des Morgens,
sie sind das Königreich der Sterne.
Meine Lieder sind verloren in ihre Tiefen.
Laß mich nur auffliegen in diesen Himmel,
in seine einsame Unermesslichkeit.
Laß mich nur seine Wolken teilen 
und die Schwingen breiten in seinem Sonnenschein.

by Jan Śliwiński (1884-1950) , under the pseudonym Hans Effenberger

a text in English by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) , no title, from The Gardener, no. 31, published 1913 ENG POL

a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) [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 Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882-1937) , "Mein Herz", op. 41 no. 1 (1918) [medium voice and piano], from Vier Gesänge (Cztery pieśni), no. 1, also set in Polish

Date added to the website: 2009-10-14.