Chansons d'ermite

Translations © by Guy Laffaille

Song Cycle by Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)

View original-language texts alone: Hermit songs

1. At Saint Patrick's Purgatory
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
Pity me on my pilgrimage to Loch Derg!
 [ ... ]

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© by Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin, né John Francis Whelan (1900 - 1991)
1. Au purgatoire de Saint Patrick
Language: French (Français) 
Aie pitié de moi pendant mon pèlerinage à Loch Derg !
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 104

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
2. Church bell at night
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
Sweet little bell
 [ ... ]

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© by Howard Mumford Jones (1892 - 1980)
2. Cloche de l'église la nuit.
Language: French (Français) 
Douce petite cloche, frappée par une nuit venteuse
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 3
Word count: 22

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
3. Saint Ita's vision
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
I will take nothing from my Lord," said she
 [ ... ]

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© by Chester Kallman (1921 - 1975)
3. Vision de Sainte Ita
Language: French (Français) 
Je ne prendrai rien de mon seigneur,dit-elle
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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Line count: 22
Word count: 160

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
4. The heavenly banquet
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
I would like to have the men of Heaven in my own house
 [ ... ]

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Note (provided by Melanie Trumbull): Sean O'Faolain did not translate all seven verses of the original Irish. He also rearranged the verses. The result is a text made up of translations of stanzas 3, 6, 5, and 1 (in that order). Samuel Barber's song uses this ordering as well.

© by Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin, né John Francis Whelan (1900 - 1991)
4. Le banquet céleste
Language: French (Français) 
Je voudrais avoir les hommes du ciel dans ma maison
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 10
Word count: 82

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

 (The following is a multi-text setting.)

5. The crucifixion 
At the cry of the first bird
 [ ... ]

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Researcher for this page: René Slot 
Ah, sore was the suffering borne
 [ ... ]

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Researcher for this page: René Slot
Author(s): Howard Mumford Jones (1892 - 1980)
5. La crucifixion
Au cri du premier oiseau
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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Ah, pénible fut la souffrance supportée
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2019 by Guy Laffaille

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Translation © by Guy Laffaille
6. Sea‑snatch
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
It has broken us, it has crushed us
 [ ... ]

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© sometimes misattributed to Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (1909 - 1991) and by Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin, né John Francis Whelan (1900 - 1991)
6. Raz de marée
Language: French (Français) 
Il nous a brisés, il nous a écrasés
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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Line count: 8
Word count: 61

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
7. Promiscuity
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
I do not know with whom Edan will sleep,
but I do know that fair Edan will not sleep alone.

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by Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson (1909 - 1991)
7. Promiscuité
Language: French (Français) 
Je ne sais pas avec qui Edan dormira,
Mais je sais bien que le bel Edan ne dormira pas seul.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 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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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 2
Word count: 20

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
8. The monk and his cat
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
Pangur, white Pangur,
How happy we are
Alone together, Scholar and cat.
Each has his own work to do daily;
For you it is hunting, for me study.
Your shining eye watches the wall;
my feeble eye is fixed on a book.
You rejoice when your claws entrap a mouse;
I rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem.
Pleased with his own art
Neither hinders the other;
Thus we live ever
without tedium and envy.
Pangur, white Pangur,
How happy we are
Alone together, Scholar and cat.

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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)
8. Le moine et son chat
Language: French (Français) 
Pangur, mon chat blanc,
Comme nous sommes heureux,
Tous les deux, l'érudit et le chat.
Chacun a on travail à faire chaque jour :
Pour toi, c'est chasser, pour moi, étudier.
Ton œil brillant regarde le mur ;
Mon faible œil est fixé sur un livre.
Tu te réjouis quand tes mâchoires attrapent une souris ;
Je me réjouis quand mon esprit sonde un problème.
Enchanté par son art
Aucun ne gêne l'autre ;
Ainsi nous vivons toujours
Sans ennui ni jalousie.
Pangur, mon chat blanc,
Comme nous sommes heureux,
Tous les deux, l'érudit et le chat.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 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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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 93

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
9. The praises of God
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
How foolish the man who does not raise
His voice and praise with joyful words,
As he alone can, Heaven's High King.
To whom the light birds with no soul but air,
All day, everywhere laudations sing.

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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

by W. H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907 - 1973)
9. Les louanges de Dieu
Language: French (Français) 
Combien est fou l'homme qui n'élève pas
La voix et ne loue pas avec des mots joyeux,
Comme seul il peut le faire, le haut roi des cieux.
Pour qui les oiseaux légers sans âme seulement avec l'air,
Tout le jour, partout chantent des louanges.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 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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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 5
Word count: 45

Translation © by Guy Laffaille
10. The desire for hermitage
 (Sung text)
Language: English 
Ah! To be all alone in a little cell
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© by Seán Proinsias Ó Faoláin, né John Francis Whelan (1900 - 1991)
10. Le désir d'ermitage
Language: French (Français) 
Ah ! Être seul dans une petite cellule
 [ ... ]

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  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille

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This text was added to the website: 2015-07-03
Line count: 11
Word count: 90

Translation © by Guy Laffaille