by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
As imperceptibly as grief
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE GER ITA
As imperceptibly as grief
The Summer lapsed away --
Too imperceptible, at last,
To seem like Perfidy --
A Quietness distilled
As Twilight long begun,
Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon --
The Dusk drew earlier in --
The morning foreign shone --
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, [that]1 would be gone --
And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel
Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Bacon: "who"
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Summer's lapse", alternate title: "As imperceptibly as grief", c1960-74 [ soprano, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Martin Butler (b. 1960), "The summer lapsed away", published 1985 [ soprano, clarinet, and piano ], from Three Emily Dickinson Songs, no. 1, Oxford, Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Layton Kent (b. 1916), "As imperceptibly as grief", published 1966 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from Autumn songs, no. 2, New York: Lawson-Gould [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Previn (1929 - 2019), "As imperceptibly as grief", 1999, first performed 1999 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Dickinson Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wim de Ruiter (b. 1943), "As imperceptibly as grief", 1983 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert W. Thygerson , "As imperceptibly as grief", published 1980 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 69
Aussi imperceptible qu'un Chagrin
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Aussi imperceptible qu'un Chagrin
L'Été a disparu --
Trop imperceptible à la fin
Pour ressembler à une Perfidie --
Une tranquillité se distillait
Comme si un long Crépuscule commençait
Ou si la Nature passait avec elle-même
Un Après-midi isolé.
Le Soir tombait plus tôt
Le Matin brillai en étranger
Une grâce Courtoise mais
Comme un Invité qui partirait
Et donc sans une Aile
Ou le service d'une quille
Notre Été a fait sa fuite légère
Dans la Beauté.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2009 by Guy Laffaille, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-15
Line count: 16
Word count: 76