Un singe en veste de brocart Trotte et gambade devant elle Qui froisse un mouchoir de dentelle Dans sa main gantée avec art, Tandis qu'un négrillon tout rouge Maintient à tour de bras les pans De sa lourde robe en suspens, Attentif à tout pli qui bouge ; Le singe ne perd pas des yeux La gorge blanche de la dame, Opulent trésor que réclame Le torse nu de l'un des dieux ; Le négrillon parfois soulève Plus haut qu'il ne faut, l'aigrefin, [Son]1 fardeau somptueux, afin De voir ce dont la nuit il rêve ; Elle va par les escaliers, Et ne paraît pas davantage Sensible à l'insolent suffrage De ses animaux familiers.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1869, pages 15.
Notes: In the first publication, the spelling variant "Cortége" is used as the title. This spelling became less common the the 1870s, and "Cortège" is the title used in most subsequent publications. All ampersands (&) as appear in the first publication are changed to "et".
1 Pijper: "Soit" ?Text Authorship:
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), title 1: "Cortège", title 2: "Cortége", appears in Fêtes galantes, no. 8, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1869 [author's text checked 2 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 Karl Heinrich David (1884 - 1951), "Gavotte", op. 79 no. 3, published 1942-1944 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Quatre chants, d'après des poésies de Paul Verlaine, no. 3, Zurich et Leipzig: Hug Frères & Cie. [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Fernand Ochsé (1879 - 1944), "Cortège", 1908 [ voice and piano ], from Le Parc, no. 6, first published in Le Figaro, Supp. Litt., 23 March 1908 ; later published Berlin, Fürstner, 1913 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Willem Pijper (1894 - 1947), "Cortège", 1916, published 1947 [ mezzo-soprano and orchestra or piano ], from Fêtes galantes, no. 3, Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irena Regina Poldowski (1880 - 1932), "Cortège", 1912, published 1913 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Rœder [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Evers (1871 - 1947) , "Aufzug" ; composed by Willy Czernik.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 112
Ein Affe springt in Goldbrokat um sie herum nach Affen Weise, und ihre Hand zerknittert leise des Spitzentuches reichen Staat. Indes ein roter Negerknabe die schwere Schleppe lüstern hebt; wie er bei jeder Falte bebt, dass sie geheim sein Auge labe! Der Affe schielt begehrlich dreist auf seiner Herrin weisse Büste, den reichen Schatz, der alle Lüste des nackten Götterleibs verheisst. Der Negerjunge hebt zuweilen, der Schlaukopf, mehr als nötig thut, die Säume, drauf sein Auge ruht, sein nächtlich Fieber ihm zu heilen. Sie aber geht in stolzem Traum hinab die Stufen — und die Tröpfe, die frech ihr dienenden Geschöpfe beachtet sie im Schreiten kaum.
Confirmed with Gedichte von Paul Verlaine. Eine Anthologie der besten Übertragungen, herausgegeben von Stefan Zweig, Berlin and Leipzig : Schuster & Loeffler, 1902, page 47.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Evers (1871 - 1947), "Aufzug" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), title 1: "Cortège", title 2: "Cortége", appears in Fêtes galantes, no. 8, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1869
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Willy Czernik (1901 - 1996), "Aufzug" [ mezzo-soprano and orchestra ], from Vier Lieder nach Gedichten von Paul Verlaine, no. 2, Musikverlag Zimmermann [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Bertram Kottmann
This text was added to the website: 2021-03-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 106