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Sur un jardin fardé de lune, l'ombre noire d'un olivier s'arrondit. Sur la joue pâle d'une jeune fille, un amant a posé sa bouche. L'ombre de l'olivier tourne sur le jardin. La bouche de l'amant parcourt le visage de la jeune fille.
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1921, p.56
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Clair de lune", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 54, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Marcel Bernheim (1892 - 1963), "Clair de lune", published 1925 [ medium voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes Arabes extraits du “Jardin des Caresses” de Franz Toussaint, no. 3, Paris, Éditions Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andrée Marie Clémence Bonhomme (1905 - 1982), "Clair de lune", op. 67 no. 5 (1931) [ voice and piano ], from La flûte de Jade, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Piero Coppola (1888 - 1971), "Clair de lune", published 1924 [ high voice and piano ], from Dix Poèmes Arabes extraits du Jardin des caresses de Franz Toussaint, no. 10, Paris, Éd. Ricordi [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968), "Clair de lune", published 1923 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes Arabes, no. 8, Paris, Éd. Jobert [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Vuataz (1898 - 1988), "Clair de lune", op. 17 no. 9, published 1930 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Moonlight", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-05-19
Line count: 4
Word count: 42
Over a garden painted with moonlight, the black shadow of an olive tree spreads. Over the pale cheek of a maiden, a lover has set his mouth. The shadow of the olive tree moves over the garden. The mouth of the lover traverses the face of the maiden.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Clair de lune", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 54, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911
Based on:
- a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-25
Line count: 4
Word count: 48