Ah ! ne ralentis pas tes flammes ; Réchauffe mon cœur engourdit, Volupté, torture des âmes ! Diva ! supplicem exaudi ! Déesse dans l'air répandue, Flamme dans notre souterrain ! Exauce une âme morfondue, Qui te consacre un chant d'airain. Volupté, sois toujours ma reine ! Prends le masque d'une sirène Faite de chair et de velours, Ou verse-moi tes sommeils lourds Dans le vin informe et mystique, Volupté, fantôme élastique !
Confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Œuvres complètes de Charles Baudelaire, vol. I : Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1868, in Spleen et Idéal, page 213.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "La Prière d'un païen", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 86, Paris, Michel Lévy frères, first published 1868 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Benjamin C. S. Boyle , "La prière d'un païen", op. 24 no. 3, published 2011, first performed 2011 [ vocal duet for tenor and soprano with piano ], from Chansons de Diane, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Richard Joseph Howard (b. 1929) , copyright © ; composed by Bruce Christian Bennett.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Haasz) , "Modlitba pohanova"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Stefan George) , "Das Gebet eines Heiden", appears in Die Blumen des Bösen, in Trübsinn und Vergeisterung
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-12-07
Line count: 14
Word count: 65
Ach, netiš plamenů svých vzruchu; vzněť teplo v ztuhlém srdci mém, ó, rozkoši, ty muko duchů!, Exaudi, diva, supplicem! Bohyně, vzduchem rozprostřená, ty žáre v našem podsvětí! slyš duši, ježto chladem sténá, zpěv kovový ti zasvětí. Ó, rozkoši, vždy buď mou kněžnou! vem siréninu masku něžnou, jež pleti lesk má hedvábný, neb, rozkoši, své těžké sny vlej v divná vína, plná taje, ty, jejíž zjev jak přízrak vlaje!
Confirmed with BAUDELAIRE, Charles. Výbor z Květů zla II, translated by Jaroslav Haasz, Praha: J. Otto, 1919, page 77.
Text Authorship:
- by Jaroslav Haasz (1860 - 1939), "Modlitba pohanova" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "La Prière d'un païen", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 86, Paris, Michel Lévy frères, first published 1868
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 68