Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Épouse au front lumineux, Voici que le soir descend Et qu'il jette dans tes yeux Des rayons couleur de sang. Le crépuscule féerique T'environne d'un feu rose. Viens me chanter un cantique Beau comme une sombre rose Ou plutôt ne chante pas, Viens te coucher sur mon coeur Laisse?moi baiser tes bras Pâles comme l'aube en fleur; La nuit de tes yeux m'attire, Nuit frémissante, mystique Douce comme ton sourire Heureux et mélancolique. Et soudain la profondeur Du passé religieux, Le mystère et la grandeur De notre amour sérieux, S'ouvre au fond de nos pensées Comme une vallée immense Où des forêts délaissées Rêvent dans un grand silence.
Text Authorship:
- by Albert Jounet (1863 - 1923), "Cantique à l'épouse", written 1888, appears in Les lys noirs, in L'amour mystique, no. 2, the second part of the poem, first published 1888 [author's text not yet checked 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 Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "Cantique à l'épouse", op. 36 no. 1 (1898), from Deux Mélodies, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "Song to a wife", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Loblied an die Gemahlin", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 108
Wife with the radiant forehead, evening now is falling and into your eyes are shining rays the colour of blood. The fairy-tale dusk surrounds you with a pink glow. Come and sing me a song as beautiful as a sombre rose… or rather, do not sing, come and lie down on my heart; let me kiss your arms as pale as the dawn in flower. The night of your eyes attracts me; it’s a quivering, mystical night, as sweet as your smile which is happy and melancholy. And suddenly the depth of the religious past, the mystery and grandeur of our genuine love, opens out at the back of our thoughts like an immense valley in which forsaken forests dream in a great silence.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2017 by Peter Low, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Albert Jounet (1863 - 1923), "Cantique à l'épouse", written 1888, appears in Les lys noirs, in L'amour mystique, no. 2, the second part of the poem, first published 1888
This text was added to the website: 2017-06-02
Line count: 24
Word count: 124