Eight Anecdotes by Chamfort

Translations © by Laura Prichard

Song Cycle by Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997)

View original-language texts alone: Huit anecdotes de Chamfort

1. L'Évêque d'Autun
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Monseigneur d'Autun était gros, gros 
monstrueusement gros; il avait l'air créé et mis 
au monde pour faire voir jusqu'où peut aller 
la peau humaine.

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
1. The Bishop of Autun
Language: English 
His Grace of Autun was big, big 
monstrously fat; he seemed to have been created and brought 
into the world to show how far can be stretched
human skin.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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: 2016-04-19
Line count: 4
Word count: 29

Translation © by Laura Prichard
2. Les coups de pieds
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Le régent voulant aller au bal sans y être 
reconnu: "J'en sais un moyen" dit l'abbé 
Dubois; et, dans le bal, il lui donna des coups 
de pied au... Le régent, qui les trouvait trop 
forts, passant rêveusement la main sur son 
derrière, "L'abbé, dit-il, tu me déguises trop".

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
2. Kicks
Language: English 
The regent wanted to go  to the ball without being
recognized: “I know of a way” said Abbot 
Dubois; and, at the ball, gave him kicks 
on his... The regent, who found them too 
hard, dreamily passed his hand over his 
backside, “Father, you dress me up too much".

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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: 2016-04-19
Line count: 6
Word count: 49

Translation © by Laura Prichard
3. Le critique
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Monsieur de Xantipe entendant chanter 
le rossignol et animé de la toute puissance 
des sots, écrivait: "Ah! la vilaine bête!" On 
le disait critique.

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
3. The critic
Language: English 
Monsieur de Xanthippe, upon hearing the singing 
of the nightingale and animated by the omnipotence 
of fools, wrote: “Ah! the villanous beast!” One 
could call him a critic.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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: 2016-04-19
Line count: 4
Word count: 28

Translation © by Laura Prichard
4. Le cauchemar
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
La salle était tapissée de niches d'une 
grandeur plus ou moins considérable. Dans un 
petit compartiment se courbait un géant. Là, 
sous une haute arcade se pavanait un nain. 
Rarement la niche était faite pour la statue. 
Des hommes grands et petits tournaient dans 
la salle, guettant une niche vide pour s'y placer, 
quelle quelle soit: tel est l'édifice métaphysique 
de la société.

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
4. The nightmare
Language: English 
The room was decorated with niches from the 
grandest to the tiniest sizes. In a 
little partition bent down a giant. There, 
under an expansive arcade strutted a gnome. 
Rarely was the niche appropriate [in size] for the statue. 
Large and small men roamed 
the hall, on the lookout for a vacant niche in which to place themselves, 
whatever the size: such is the metaphysical edifice 
of society.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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: 2016-04-19
Line count: 9
Word count: 68

Translation © by Laura Prichard
5. Les cinq doigts
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Madame, fille du Roi, jouant avec 
sa bonne, regarda sa main, en compta les 
doigts, et, surprise, "Comment", dit l'enfant, 
"Vous avez cinq doigts, comme moi?"

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
5. The five fingers
Language: English 
My lady, daughter of the king, playing with 
her nanny, looked at hand, counted her
digits, and, surprised, “How is it,” said the child, 
“You have five fingers, like me?"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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: 2016-04-19
Line count: 4
Word count: 30

Translation © by Laura Prichard
6. Le magistrat suisse
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
L'esprit des lois de Montesquieu et 
La pucelle de Voltaire furent interdits en 
Suisse. Un magistrat de Berne fit rechercher 
ces deux ouvrages, puis écrivit au Sénat: 
Nous n'avons trouvé dans le canton ni Esprit
ni Pucelle.

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
6. The Swiss magistrate
Language: English 
The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu and
The Virgin by Voltaire were banned in 
Switzerland. A magistrate from Bern searched for 
these two works, then wrote to the Senate: 
We have in this canton, found neither Spirit
nor a Virgin.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translator's notes:
Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a political philosopher and writer
Voltaire (1694-1788) was a poet, historian and philosopher. La pucelle (1755) is a licentious mock-heroic poem about Joan of Arc.


This text was added to the website: 2016-04-19
Line count: 6
Word count: 42

Translation © by Laura Prichard
7. De quelques Français
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Drôles et gambadant come des singes, 
certains Français, avec la faconde des 
perroquets, feraient volontiers des Ministres; 
Mais en fait d'inutilité, il ne faut que 
le nécessaire, et l'Académie y pourvoit déjà... 
Mais chut: l'Etranger nous écoute. Et j'aime 
toujours ma Patrie.

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
7. On some Frenchmen
Language: English 
Amusing and gamboling like monkeys, 
certain Frenchmen, with the fluency of 
parrots, would voluntarily become ministers; 
But in terms of idleness, only the basics are
necessary, and the Académie already covers that... 
But shush: foreigners are listening. And I love
my country, always.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translator's note: The Académie is the venerated and often ridiculed institute whose job is to supervise the French language.


This text was added to the website: 2016-04-19
Line count: 7
Word count: 43

Translation © by Laura Prichard
8. Le chanoine Récupéro
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Le chanoine Récupéro confessait une 
jeune et jolie fille qui s'accusait d'avoir estimé 
un jeune homme. 
"Estimé," dit le Père 
"Estimé, combien de fois?"

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by Nicolas-Sébastien Roch (1740 - 1794), as Nicolas Chamfort
8. The Canon Recupero
Language: English 
The Canon Recupero was acting as confessor to a
young and pretty girl who accused herself of holding in high esteem 
a young man. 
"Esteemed,” said the Father,
"Esteemed, how many times?”

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translator's note: Giuseppe Recupero (1720-1778) was a Sicilian mineralogist, who was paid by the French government to conduct research on the Mt. Etna volcano.


This text was added to the website: 2016-04-19
Line count: 5
Word count: 32

Translation © by Laura Prichard