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Three poems in prose by Louise de Chateaubriand
Song Cycle by Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974)
View original-language texts alone: Trois Poèmes en prose de Lucile de Chateaubriand
Quelle douce clarté vient éclairer l'Orient ! Est-ce la jeune aurore qui entrouvre au monde Ses beaux yeux chargés des langueurs du sommeil ? Déesse charmante, hâte-toi ! Quitte la couche nuptiale, prends la robe pourpre ; Qu'une ceinture moelleuse la retienne dans ces nœuds ; Que nulle chaussure ne presse tes pieds délicats ; Qu'aucun ornement ne profane tes belles mains faites pour entrouvrir les portes du jour. Mais tu te lèves déjà sur la colline ombreuse. Tes cheveux d'or tombent en boucles humides sur ton col de rose. De ta bouche s'exhale un souffle pur et parfumé. Tendre déité, toute la nature sourit à ta présence, Toi seule verses des larmes, et les fleurs naissent.
Authorship:
- by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Wagstaff) , "The dawn", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
How soft the light that comes to illuminate the East! Is it young Aurora, half-opening upon the world Her beautiful eyes still heavy with sleep? Lovely goddess, make haste! Leave your marriage bed; Take up your purple robe, And let it be contained by a loosely-knotted belt; Let no shoe press upon your delicate feet; Let no adornment defile those lovely hands, Made to open the doors of the day. But you are already rising over the shadowy hill; Your golden hair falls in damp curls over your rosy neck, And a pure and sweet-scented breath issues from your mouth. Tender goddess, all nature now smiles at your presence; You alone shed tears, and the flowers are born.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2009 by John Wagstaff, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
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This text was added to the website: 2009-09-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 118
Chaste déesse ! Déesse si pure, que jamais même les roses de la pudeur ne se mêlent à tes tendres clartés, J'ose te prendre pour confidente de mes sentiments. Je n'ai point, non plus que toi, à rougir de mon propre cœur. Mais quelque fois le souvenir du jugement injuste et aveugle des hommes Couvre mon front de nuages, ainsi que le tien. Comme toi, les erreurs et les misères de ce monde inspirent mes rêveries. Mais plus heureuse que moi, citoyenne des cieux, tu conserves toujours la sérénité ; Les tempêtes et les orages qui s'élèvent de notre globe glissent sur ton disque paisible. Déesse aimable à ma tristesse, verse ton froid repos dans mon âme.
Authorship:
- by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Wagstaff) , "To the moon", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Chaste goddess! Goddess so pure, That even the pink hues of shame may never sully your soft light. I dare to make you the confidante of my feelings. Like you, I have no reason to blush for anything in my own heart; But, like yours, my face is sometimes covered with clouds at the memory of humanity's unfair and blind judgment. Like you, the errors and miseries of this world influence my dreams. But, citizen of the heavens, you are happier than I, For you always retain your serenity: The storms and tempests that rise up from our world glide over your quiet surface. Goddess, you who look kindly upon my sadness, Pour your cold tranquility into my soul.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2009 by John Wagstaff, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
Go to the single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-22
Line count: 17
Word count: 119
Fille du ciel, aimable innocence, Si j'osais de quelques-uns de tes traits essayer une faible peinture, Je dirais que tu tiens lieu de vertu à l'enfance, De sagesse au printemps de la vie, De beauté à la vieillesse et de bonheur à l'infortune ; Qu'étrangère à nos erreurs, tu ne verses que des larmes pures, Et que ton sourire n'a rien que de céleste. Belle innocence ! Mais quoi ! les dangers t'environnent, L'envie t'adresse tous ses traits : trembleras-tu, modeste innocence ? Chercheras-tu à te dérober aux périls qui te menacent ? Non, je te vois debout, endormie, la tête appuyée sur un autel.
Authorship:
- by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Wagstaff) , "Innocence", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Daughter of heaven, kind Innocence! If I dared use some of your features to attempt a weak portrait of you, I would say that you substitute for virtue in childhood, And for wisdom in the springtime of life; For beauty in old age, and for happiness in misfortune. That, a stranger to our indiscretions, you weep only pure tears, And there is only divinity in your smile. Beautiful Innocence! But wait! Dangers surround you; Envy looks you full in the face. Will you tremble, modest Innocence? Will you seek to shy away From the perils that threaten you? No: I see you standing asleep, your head resting upon an altar.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2009 by John Wagstaff, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
Go to the single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-22
Line count: 17
Word count: 110