Petit Ange en porcelaine
Language: French (Français)
Petit Ange en porcelaine,
s'il arrive que l'on te toise,
nous t'avions quand l'année fut pleine
coiffé d'une framboise.
Ça nous semblait tellement futil
de te mettre ce bonnet rouge,
mais depuis lors tout bouge
sauf ton tendre tortil.
Il est desséché, mais il tient,
on dirait parfois qu'il embaume ;
couronné d'un fantôme,
ton petit front se souvient.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete French Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint Paul: Greywolf Press, 1986, Page 152.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Bruno Gousset (b. 1958), "Petit Ange en porcelaine ", op. 21 no. 7 (1983) [ high voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philippe Mazé (b. 1954), "Petit Ange en porcelaine", 1999 [ women's chorus ], from 6 Poèmes de Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 3, Artchipel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Orthel (1905 - 1985), "Petit ange en porcelaine", op. 65 (Neuf mélodies) no. 8 (1973) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 58
Little porcelain Angel
Language: English after the French (Français)
Little porcelain Angel,
if one were to size you up,
in the fullness of the year
we crowned you with a raspberry.
It seemed to us so futile
to put this red bonnet on you,
but since then all is inconstant
except your tender coronet.
It is withered, but it remains,
one would say at times that it embalms;
crowned with a phantom,
your tiny brow remembers.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Petit Ange en porcelaine" = "Little Porcelain Angel"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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:
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 67
