Dans l'enfer obscur, sous la terre

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by Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (1821 - 1897)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

В темном аде, под землею

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG FRE

В темном аде, под [землею],
Тени грешные томятся;
Стонут девы, плачут жены,
И тоскуют, и крушатся...
Всё о том, что не доходят
Вести в адские пределы -²
Есть ли небо голубое?
Есть ли свет ещё там белый?
[И на]³ свете -- церкви божьи
И иконы золотые,
И как прежде, за станками,
Ткут ли девы молодые?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• P. Tchaikovsky

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¹ Tchaikovsky: "zemlej"
² Tchaikovsky adds the line: "Zheny plachut, stonut: "
³ Tchaikovsky: "Jest' li v"

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (1821 - 1897), no title, written 1860, appears in Новогреческие песни (Novogrecheskije pesni), no. 30 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Новогреческая песня", op. 16 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six romances)) no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Lyle Neff) , "Neo-Greek Song", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (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: 12
Word count: 55

Dans l'enfer obscur, sous la terre

Language: French (Français) after the Russian (Русский)

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Dans l'enfer obscur, sous la terre,
Languissent les ombres des pécheurs ;
Les jeunes filles gémissent, les femmes pleurent,
Et s'ennuient et sont affligées...
Tout cela parce que ne leurs parviennent pas
Les nouvelles du dehors de l'enfer.
Y a-t-il encore un ciel bleu ?
Y a-t-il encore de la lumière brillante ?
De la lumière et des églises de Dieu,
Et des icônes dorées,
Et comme avant, sur leurs métiers
Les jeunes vierges tissent-elles ?

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Новогреческая песня" = "Chanson grecque moderne"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 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:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov (1821 - 1897), no title, written 1860, appears in Новогреческие песни (Novogrecheskije pesni), no. 30
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This text was added to the website: 2016-08-14
Line count: 12
Word count: 72