by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)
Translation © by Marianne Moore (1887 - 1972)
À Monseigneur le Dauphin
Language: French (Français)
Je chante les héros dont Esope est le père, Troupe de qui l'histoire, encor que mensongère, Contient des vérités qui servent de leçons. Tout parle en mon ouvrage, et même les poissons: Ce qu'ils disent s'adresse à tous tant que nous sommes; Je me sers d'animaux pour instruire les hommes. Illustre rejeton d'un prince aimé des cieux, Sur qui le monde entier a maintenant les yeux, Et qui faisant fléchir les plus superbes têtes, Comptera désormais ses jours par ses conquêtes, Quelque autre te dira d'une plus forte voix Les faits de tes aïeux et les vertus des rois. Je vais t'entretenir de moindres aventures, Te tracer en ces vers de légères peintures; Et si de t'agréer je n'emporte le prix, J'aurai du moins l'honneur de l'avoir entrepris.
Text Authorship:
- by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "À Monseigneur le Dauphin" [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Marianne Moore (1887 - 1972) , "To His Royal Highness the Dauphin", appears in The Fables of La Fontaine: A Complete New Translation, first published 1954, copyright © ; composed by Samuel Hans Adler, Juliana Hall.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-03-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 128
To His Royal Highness the Dauphin
Language: English after the French (Français)
I sing when Aesop’s wand animates my lyre [ ... ]
This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.
Text Authorship:
- by Marianne Moore (1887 - 1972), "To His Royal Highness the Dauphin", appears in The Fables of La Fontaine: A Complete New Translation, first published 1954, copyright © [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "À Monseigneur le Dauphin"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Samuel Hans Adler (b. 1928), "To His Royal Highness the Dauphin", published 1980 [ unison chorus or medium voice, or both alternating; and piano or orchestra ], from cantata A whole bunch of fun [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "To His Royal Highness the Dauphin", 1990, first performed 1991 [ soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, and piano ], from Fables for a Prince -- 6 songs for Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Baritone and Piano, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
This text was added to the website: 2014-08-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 125