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by José de Freitas Valle (1870 - 1958), as Jacques D'Avray

La Semence
Language: French (Français) 
Torturé par l'espoir, qui survit à lui même,
Le semeur entendit quelqu'un lui dire : Sème !
L'air se trouble, le ciel se voile, le vent vole,
La poussière bondit, les feuilles caracolent.

Et sur le sillon noir, aux lèvres échancrées,
Descend du tourbillon la semence dorée.
Le caprice divin l'a pensé ... De ses yeux
Le semeur croit saisir la volonté des cieux ...

Son orgueil disparaît et sa colère, vaine,
Se calme, en contemplant la minuscule graine.
Il voit venir sa fin, plus fatale et plus proche,
Il s'oublie un moment pour penser à ses proches.

Il sent son cœur parler et ses lèvres se taire ...
Et la semence est là qui perle sur la terre.
Il la prend et la pose entombant à genoux
Comme dans un écrin l'on mettrait un bijou ;

La berce de son chant et de ses pleurs l'arrose,
Elle germe ... et se fait l'arbre ... et l'arbre grandit ...
Pour ombrager le vieux, qui rayonnant repose,
Ayant pu par son âme atteindre l'Infini.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., 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.

Text Authorship:

  • by José de Freitas Valle (1870 - 1958), as Jacques D'Avray [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 Alberto Nepomuceno (1864 - 1920), "La Semence", 1916-1917 [ voice and piano ], from La miracle de la semence, no. 4, Rio de Janeiro: Sampaio Araújo [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2020-08-10
Line count: 20
Word count: 164

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