Four Chinese Mélodies

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Marius-François Gaillard (1900 - 1973)

View original-language texts alone: Quatre mélodies chinoises

1. Les Deux flûtes  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Un soir que je respirais le parfum des fleurs 
au bord de la rivière,
le vent m'apporta la chanson d'une flûte lointaine.
Pour lui répondre, je coupai une branche de saule,
et la chanson de ma flûte berça la nuit charmée.
Depuis ce soir-là, tous les jours, 
à l'heure où la campagne s'endort,
les oiseaux entendent se répondre
deux oiseaux inconnus,
dont ils comprennent cependant le langage.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, pages 63-64.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1.
Language: English 
One evening when I was breathing the scent of the flowers
on the riverbank,
the wind carried to me the song of a distant flute.
To answer it, I cut a willow branch,
and the song of my flute lulled the enchanted night.
Since that evening, every day,
at the hour when the countryside falls asleep,
the birds hear calling back and forth 
two birds they do not know,
but whose language they still understand.

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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Translations of titles:
"Dialogue dans la nuit" = "Dialogue in the Night"
"Les 2 flûtes" = "The 2 Flutes"
"Les deux flûtes" = "The Two Flutes"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 75

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. Notre bateau glisse  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Notre bateau glisse sur le fleuve calme.
Au delà du verger qui borde la rive,
je regarde les montagnes bleues et les nuages blancs.

Mon amie sommeille, la main dans l'eau.
Un papillon s'est posé sur son épaule,
a battu des ailes puis s'est envolé.

Je l'ai suivi des yeux, longtemps.
Il se dirigeait vers les montagnes de Tchang-nân.

Etait-ce un papillon, ou le rêve que venait de faire mon amie ?

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, pages 29-30.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. Our boat glides ..
Language: English 
Our boat glides on the placid river. 
Beyond the orchard that runs along the bank, 
I gaze at the blue mountains and the white clouds. 

My love dozes, her hand in the water.
A butterfly has landed on her shoulder,
flapped its wings then flown off.

I followed it with my eyes for a long time.
It was headed towards the Tchang-nân mountains.

Was it a butterfly, or the dream my love had just dreamed?

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-15
Line count: 9
Word count: 75

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. Ki‑Fong  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
La brise vient d'accourir.
Cet arbre a des frissons de jeune fille amoureuse.
Des poissons luisants sautent à la surface du lac.
Des pétales de lotus vont à la dérive,
avec des équipages de papillons.
Je me demande si ma femme
se doute que je ne suis pas à mes affaires. . .

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 96.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. Ki Fong
Language: English 
The breeze has just come up.
This tree trembles like a maiden in love.
Gleaming fish leap to the surface of the lake.
Lotus petals drift about,
with companies of butterflies.
I wonder if my wife
suspects I am not about my business...

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-15
Line count: 7
Word count: 43

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Nuit d'été  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Un vent léger fait murmurer les feuillages.
L'eau des pluies d'automne n'est pas plus pure que cette rosée
dont les perles brillent dans le gazon. 
Je me désole de ne pas apercevoir ces nénuphars rouges qui parfument la nuit.
Voici que résonne, sur les remparts, la trompette annonçant l'aube. 
Je pense à mon frère.
Je pleure.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. Summer Night
Language: English 
A light breeze makes the leaves rustle. 
The water of the Autumn rain is no purer than the dew
whose droplets are glistening on the lawn. 
I am sorry I cannot see the water lilies that perfume the night. 
Now on the ramparts the trumpet sounds to herald the dawn. 
I think of my brother. 
I weep.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-16
Line count: 7
Word count: 57

Translation © by Grant Hicks