Two Mélodies

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by M.-A. Guyot

View original-language texts alone: Deux mélodies

1. Le Sommeil des colombes  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Dans le cèdre, des colombes 
se sont posées pour la nuit. 
Longtemps hésitantes, 
elles avaient tournoyé au-dessus 
de l'arbre solitaire. 
Maintenant elles vont s'endormir. 
Comme chaque nuit, au sommet 
de la plus haute branche, 
un rossignol chantera. 
Ainsi je berce souvent ton sommeil 
de paroles d'amour. 
Je crois que le même instinct 
guide les colombes et les jeunes filles 
vers les jardins où chantent les rossignols.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. The Sleep of Doves
Language: English 
In the cedar, doves
have settled for the night. 
Hesitating for a long while, 
they had circled above
the solitary tree. 
Now they are about to go to sleep. 
As on all nights, at the top 
of the highest branch
a nightingale will sing. 
So do I often beguile your sleep 
with words of love. 
I believe the same instinct 
guides doves and young girls 
towards gardens where nightingales sing.

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: 2026-02-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 70

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. Le Soir secret  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Lorsque ma bien-aimée m'apparaîtra, le soir des épousailles, 
je veux qu'elle soit vêtue d'une robe verte comme l'étendard du Prophète. 
Les femmes ne joncheront pas les dalles de fleurs et de palmes,
car je veux voir si le marbre ne frissonnera pas sous ses pieds. 
Lorsque ma bien-aimée m'apparaîtra, le soir des épousailles,
je veux que l'on arrête le jet d'eau de la cour,
afin que j'entende mieux l'hymne de mon cœur. 
Lorsque ma bien-aimée m'aura ouvert ses bras,
les femmes emporteront toutes les lampes, 
et je serai encore ébloui !

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: H. Piazza, 1921, page 106.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. The Secret Evening
Language: English 
When my beloved appears to me on our wedding night,
I want her to be dressed in a gown that is green like the flag of the Prophet.
The women will not strew the tiles with flowers and palm leaves,
for I want to see whether the marble will not tremble beneath her feet.
When my beloved appears to me on our wedding night,
I want them to shut off the fountain in the courtyard,
so that I may better hear the hymn in my heart.
When my beloved opens her arms to me,
the women will carry off all the lamps,
and I will still be dazzled!

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.
    Contact: 

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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-22
Line count: 10
Word count: 108

Translation © by Grant Hicks