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Maria. O Dank, Dank diesen freundlich grünen Bäumen, Die meines Kerkers Mauern mir verstecken! Ich will mich frei und glücklich träumen, Warum aus meinem süßen Wahn mich wecken? Umfängt mich nicht der weite Himmelsschoß? Die Blicke, frei und fessellos, Ergehen sich in ungemeßnen Räumen. Dort, wo die grauen Nebelberge ragen, Fängt meines Reiches Grenze an, Und diese Wolken, die nach Mittag jagen, Sie suchen Frankreichs fernen Ozean. Eilende Wolken! Segler der Lüfte! Wer mit euch wanderte, mit euch schiffte! Grüßet mir freundlich mein Jugendland! Ich bin gefangen, ich bin in Banden, Ach, ich hab keinen andern Gesandten! Frei in Lüften ist euren Bahn, Ihr seid nicht dieser Königin untertan. Kennedy. Ach, teure Lady! Ihr seid außer Euch, Die langentbehrte Freiheit macht Euch schwärmen. Maria. Dort legt ein Fischer den Nachen an! Dieses elende Werkzeug könnte mich retten, Brächte mich schnell zu befreundeten Städten. Spärlich nährt es den dürftigen Mann. Beladen wollt' ich ihn reich mit Schätzen, Einen Zug sollt' er tun, wie er keinen getan, Das Glück sollt' er finden in seinen Netzen, Nähm er mich ein in den rettenden Kahn. Kennedy. Verlorne Wünsche! Seht ihr nicht, daß uns Von ferne dort die Spähertritte folgen? Ein finster grausames Verbot scheucht jedes Mitleidige Geschöpf aus unserm Wege. Maria. Nein, gute Hanna! Glaub' mir, nicht umsonst Ist meines Kerkers Thor geöffnet worden. Die kleine Gunst ist mir des größern Glücks Verkünderin. Ich irre nicht. Es ist Der Liebe thät'ge Hand, der ich sie danke. Lord Lesters mächt'gen Arm erkenn' ich drin. Allmählig will man mein Gefängniß weiten, Durch Kleineres zum Größern mich gewöhnen, Bis ich das Antlitz dessen endlich schaue, Der mir die Bande löst auf immerdar. Kennedy. Ach, ich kann diesen Widerspruch nicht reimen! Noch gestern kündigt man den Tod euch an, Und heute wird euch plötzlich solche Freiheit. Auch denen, hört' ich sagen, wird die Kette Gelöst, auf die die ew'ge Freiheit wartet. Maria. Hörst du das Hifthorn? Hörst du's klingen, Mächtigen Rufes, durch Feld und Hain? Ach, auf das muthige Roß mich zu schwingen, An den fröhlichen Zug mich zu reihn! Noch mehr, o die bekannte Stimme, Schmerzlich süßer Erinnerung voll. Oft vernahm sie mein Ohr mit Freuden, Auf des Hochlands [bergigen]1 Haiden, Wenn die tobende Jagd erscholl.
J. Zumsteeg sets stanzas 1, 3
A. Beach sets stanzas 1, 7
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Friedrich Schiller Werke in drei Bänden, Band III, München: Carl Hanser Verlag, 1966, page 302-303. Note for stanza 1, line 7: There is a typo in Zumsteeg's score ("ergeben" instead of "ergehen").
1 Beach: "bergigten"Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), no title, appears in Maria Stuart, Act III, Scene 1 [author's text checked 3 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gustav Baumfelder , "Sehnsucht (Arie der trauernden Thusnelda)", op. 1, published 1894 [ voice and piano ], Zittau, Schaeffer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867 - 1944), "Eilende Wolken! Segler der Lüfte!", op. 18, stanzas 1,7 [ voice and orchestra or piano ], title in English: "Wand'ring clouds, sail through the air" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Rudolph Bergh (1859 - 1924), "Eilende Wolken", op. 23 (Fünf Lieder) no. 3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (1760 - 1802), "Maria Stuart", published 1801, stanzas 1,3, from Kleine Balladen und Lieder, Heft III, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 63
Word count: 372
Mary. Oh thanks, thanks be to these friendly green trees That hide the stone walls of my prison from me! I shall dream that I am free and happy, Why should I be awakened from my sweet delusion? Am I not embraced by the wide canopy of heaven? My gazes, free and unfettered, [Are free to wander]1 in immeasurable expanses. There, where the grey mountains of mist tower, Begin the borders of my kingdom, And these clouds that race toward the south, They seek France's distant ocean. Hastening clouds! Sailors of the breezes! Ah, if one could wander with you, navigate with you! Convey my friendly greetings to the land of my youth! I am imprisoned, I am in chains, Ah, I have no other ambassador! Your path is free in the breezes, You are not subjugated to this queen. Kennedy. [ Ah, dear Lady! You are beside yourself, The freedom so long denied you is making you rave.]2 Mary. [ There a fisherman is mooring his boat! This wretched instrument could save me, It could quickly carry me to places where I have friends. It brings the miserable man only a meagre living. Richly would I heap treasures upon him, He would make a catch like never before, He would find good fortune in his nets If he took me with him in the boat of [my] rescue.]3 [Kennedy. [ Vain wishes! Do you not see that the footfalls Of spied follow us from afar? A darkly merciless prohibition chases every Sympathetic creature from our path.]2 Mary. [ No, good Hannah! Believe me, not for naught Has my prison’s door been opened. That small boon is a messenger of the greatest Good fortune for me. I am not wrong. It is The active hand of love to which I owe this [boon]. I recognize the powerful hand of Lord Lester in it. Bit by bit they are planning to expand my prison, Through smaller things I shall become accustomed to greater, Until I finally see the face of him Who shall loosen my bonds forevermore.]2 [Kennedy. [ Ah, I cannot make sense of this contradiction! Only yesterday they announced your execution, And today you are suddenly given such freedom. I have heard tell that the chain is loosened for those As well for whom eternal freedom waits.]2 Mary. [ Do you hear the bugle? Do you hear it sounding With a mighty call through field and grove? Ah, to be able to swing myself upon a courageous horse, To take my place in the joyful parade! Sound yet more, oh the familiar voice Full of bittersweet memory. Often my ear perceived it with joy Upon the highlands’ mountainous heaths, When the noise of the turbulent hunt was heard.]4
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translated titles:
"Sehnsucht (Arie der trauernden Thusnelda)" = "Longing (Aria of the mourning Thusnelda)"
"Eilende Wolken! Segler der Lüfte!"= "Hastening clouds! Sailors of the breezes!"
"Eilende Wolken"= "Hastening clouds"
"Maria Stuart" = "Mary Stuart"
2 omitted by Beach and Zumsteeg.
3 omitted by Beach.
4 omitted by Zumsteeg.
Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), no title, appears in Maria Stuart, Act III, Scene 1
This text was added to the website: 2016-05-18
Line count: 63
Word count: 459