Henry S. Drinker’s English Translations of Bach

The English translations of the secular cantata libretti for this site are from English Texts of the Choral Works of Bach, volume three, by Henry S. Drinker.  (Its call number is 783.6 ZB12dr; I don’t know its ISBN number.)  Drinker wrote the translations in a versified form; that is, they are meant to be sung to the original music.  In general, they preserve the rhythm and rhyme of the original texts; however, they do not convey the literal meaning of the texts.  The translations are in the public domain, so anyone may copy them as he or she wishes.



Go back to Bach’s Secular Cantatas

from http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/2547/drinker.html

©1998 by Luke Swartz.  All Rights Reserved
Revised: 1/3/98
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