Gedichte 1964-1967
Enigma
für Hans Werner Henze aus der Zeit der Ariosi
Ingeborg Bachmann
The Collected Poems
Poems 1964-1967
Enigma
for Hans Werner Henze at the time of Ariosi *
Nothing more will come. **
Spring will no longer flourish.
Millenial calendars forecast it already.
But also summer and more, sweet words
such as "summery" —
nothing more will come.
You mustn't cry, ***
says the music.
Otherwise
no one
says anything.
transl. by Peter Filkins
* Hans Werner Henze's Ariosi is a musical setting pf poems by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595).
** Kurt Bartsch points out that "Nichts mehr wird kommen" ("Nothing more will come") is a line from the "Peter Altenberglieder" By Alban Berg,
Jessye Norman sings"Five Peter Altenberg Songs" by Alban Berg
*** while "Du sollst ja nicht weinen" comes from Mahler's Symphony no.
Mahler: Symphony No. 3 Ozawa, Jessye Norman