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Mélodies passagères

Song Cycle by Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981)

Translated to:

Catalan (Català) — Melodies passatgeres (Salvador Pila)
English — Fleeting songs (Thomas A. Gregg)
German (Deutsch) — Vergängliche Weisen (Bertram Kottmann)

1. Puisque tout passe
 (Sung text)

Language: French (Français) 
Puisque tout passe, faisons
la mélodie passagère ;
celle qui nous désaltère,
aura de nous raison.

Chantons ce qui nous quitte
avec amour et art ;
soyons plus vite
que le rapide départ.

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written c1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 36, first published 1926

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Puix que tot passa", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Thomas A. Gregg) , "Since all is passing", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2001, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Elena María Accinelli) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

2. Un cygne
 (Sung text)

Language: French (Français) 
Un cygne avance sur l'eau 
tout entouré de lui-même, 
comme un glissant tableau;
ainsi à certains instants
un être que l'on aime 
est tout un espace mouvant.

Il se rapproche, doublé, 
comme ce cygne qui nage,
sur notre âme troublée...
qui à cet être ajoute 
la tremblante image
de bonheur et de doute.

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 40

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "A swan moves across the water", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "A swan", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2001, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

3. Tombeau dans un parc
 (Sung text)

Language: French (Français) 
Dors au fond de l'allée,
tendre enfant, sous la dalle,
on fera le chant de l'été
autour de ton intervalle.

Si une blanche colombe
passait au vol là-haut,
je n'offrirais à ton tombeau
que son ombre qui tombe.

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Tombeau", subtitle: "(dans un parc)", appears in Poèmes français, in 7. Poèmes épars

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Tomba en un parc", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Thomas A. Gregg) , "Grave in a park", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Ruhestatt in einem Park", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

4. Le clocher chante
 (Sung text)

Language: French (Français) 
Mieux qu'une tour profane,
je me chauffe pour mûrir mon carillon.
Qu'il soit doux, qu'il soit bon
aux Valaisannes.

Chaque dimanche, ton par ton,
je leur jette ma manne;
qu'il soit bon, mon carillon,
aux Valaisannes.

Qu'il soit doux, qu'il soit bon;
samedi soir dans les channes
tombe en gouttes mon carillon
aux Valaisans des Valaisannes.

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Poèmes français, in 2. Les Quatrains Valaisans, no. 12

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El campanar canta", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Thomas A. Gregg) , "The bell tower sings", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Der Kirchturm singt", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Der Kirchturm singt", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

5. Départ
 (Sung text)

Language: French (Français) 
Mon amie, il faut que je parte.
Voulez-vous voir
l'endroit sur la carte?
C'est un point noir.
En moi, si la chose
bien me réussit, ce sera
un point rose 
dans un vert pays.

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), from Poèmes français.

Go to the general single-text view

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Partença", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Thomas A. Gregg) , "Departure", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Abreise", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Abreise", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Total word count: 212
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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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