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Comme des chevreaux piqués par un taon, Dansent les beautés du Zaboulistan. D'un rose léger sont teintés leurs ongles, Nul ne peut les voir, hormis leur sultan. Aux mains de chacune un sistre résonne ; Sabre au poing, se tient l'eunuque en turban Mais du fleuve pâle où le lys sommeille, Sort le vent nocturne, ainsi qu'un forban. Il s'en va charmer leurs cœurs et leurs lèvres, Sous l'œil du jaloux, malgré le firman. Ô Rêveur, sois fier. Elle a, cette brise, Pris tes vers d'amour pour son talisman.
Confirmed with Les nuits persanes par Armand Renaud, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1870, pages 37-38.
Text Authorship:
- by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "La brise", appears in Les nuits persanes, in 2. Gazals en N, first published 1870 [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 Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "La Brise", op. 26 no. 1 (1870), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies persanes, no. 1, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "La Brise", op. 26b no. 2 (1891), published 1892 [ chorus and piano ], from cantata Nuit persane, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , "The breeze", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 88
Just like goats bitten by a horsefly, Dance the beauties of Zabulistan. A light coat of rose tints their nails; None may see them, save the sultan. In each hand, a sistrum resounds; A sabre is clenched in the fist of the turbaned eunuch. But by the pale river where the lilies sleep, The night wind starts up like a pirate. He goes off to charm their hearts and their lips, Under a pair of jealous eyes, in spite of the firman. Oh dreamer, be proud. It has, this breeze, Taken your words of love for its talisman.
Translator's notes.
- Stanza 1, Line 2. Zābulistān (from the Persian زابلستان) is the Persian name for a part of modern Afghanistan near the Hindu Kush; it literally means "the land of Zābul.” During the Medieval Islamic era, it was known as an exotic lush and fertile river valley.
- Stanza 1, Line 5. A sistrum is a rattle or shaker (usually metal), depicted in both ancient Roman and Egyptian art; it consists of an oblong frame on a handle with percussive beads suspended on rods or wires.
- Stanza 2, Line 4. A firman, (from the Persian فرمان (farmân, “command, order, decree”) is a royal decree issued by a sovereign in certain historical Islamic states, especially by sultans.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2021 by Laura Stanfield 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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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "La brise", appears in Les nuits persanes, in 2. Gazals en N, first published 1870
This text was added to the website: 2021-03-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 98