Un souffle de parfums s'élève

Un souffle de parfums s'élève
Des taillis profonds, où son rêve
Suivait le vol d'un long espoir ...
Me vient-il de sa lèvre amie ?
-- Non ! ce sont les fleurs que le soir
Mêle à bruyère endormie.

Une musique douce et frèle
Sur mes pas murmure pour elle
L'adieu à tout ce qu'elle fuit...
Mon Dieu, j'entends sa voix dans l'ombre.
-- Non ! c'est la chanson que la nuit
Apprend tout bas au grand bois sombre.

Nuit auguste, bois solitaire
Qui voilez d'un double mystère
Le secret des bonheurs passés,
Rendez-moi l'haleine embaumée,
Et les cheveux des fleurs tressés,
Et la voix de la bien-aimée !

Translation(s): ENG GER

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Authorship

• by Armand Silvestre (1837 - 1901), no title, appears in Les Amours, in Vers pour être chantés, in Mignonne, no. 19 [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912), "Un souffle de parfums" [voice and piano], from Poème du souvenir, no. 3, Paris, Éd. J. Heugel, also set in German (Deutsch) [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

Settings in other languages or adaptations:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , title unknown ENG by Jules Massenet.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

Other available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Jean-Pierre Granger) , title 1: "A breath of perfume", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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A breath of perfume

A breath of perfume rises
From the shrubs, where its dream
Followed the flight of long hope;
Does it come from your lips, my beloved?
No! Those are the flowers that the night
Blends with the sleeping heath.

A soft and frail music
Whispers for her as I walk
The farewell to all she flees;
My God! I hear her voice in the shadows!
No! It is the song that the night
Teaches quietly to the dark wood.

Impressive night, lonely wood,
Who steals from a double mystery
The secret of past happiness,
Give me back the perfumed breath,
And the hair of braided flowers,
And the voice of my beloved.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.

The translator has released this translation into the public domain.

Authorship

• Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2010 by Jean-Pierre Granger, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
  
  Jean-Pierre Granger. Contact:
  <trazom69 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com>
  
  
  If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
  
  (licenses at lieder dot net)
  
  
  
  

• a text in French (Français) by Armand Silvestre (1837 - 1901), no title, appears in Les Amours, in Vers pour être chantés, in Mignonne, no. 19 GER
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Jules Massenet. Go to the text.

Text added to the website: 2010-10-21.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:04:03
Line count: 18
Word count: 111