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Le sublime est un départ. Quelque chose de nous qui au lieu de nous suivre, prend son écart et s'habitue aux cieux. La rencontre extrême de l'art n'est-ce point l'adieu le plus doux ? Et la musique : ce dernier regard que nous jetons nous-mêmes vers nous !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete French Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint Paul: Greywolf Press, 1986, Page 176.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924/5, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 33, first published 1926 [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 Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "Le sublime est un départ", 1972 [ mezzo-soprano, violin and violoncello ], from Portrait intérieur, no. 1, New York : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Natalie Goossens (b. 1976), "Le sublime est un départ", 2020 [ mixed chorus ], from Cinq chansons d’espoir, no. 5, Euprint [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Harold Charles King (1895 - 1984), "Vergers XXXIII", 1983, from O Leben, Leben, wunderliche Zeit, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Giacomo Manzoni (b. 1932), "Le sublime est un départ", 2006, copyright © 2006 [ chorus ], from Vergers, no. 1, Roma [etc.] : Rai Trade [sung text not yet checked]
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: 2008-09-05
Line count: 8
Word count: 45
The sublime is a departure. Something in us that instead of following us, takes its own path and accustoms itself to the heavens. The extreme encounter with art: isn't it the sweetest farewell of all? And music: that last glance that we ourselves cast towards ourselves.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Le sublime est un départ" = "The sublime is a departure"
"Vergers XXXIII" = "Orchards XXXIII"
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:
- a text in French (Français) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924/5, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 33, first published 1926
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-11
Line count: 8
Word count: 46