Je maudissais la pluie qui faisait résonner mon toit et m'empêchait de dormir. Je maudissais le vent qui saccageait mon jardin. Mais tu es arrivée ! Et j'ai remercié la pluie, puisque tu as dû ôter ta robe mouillé, et j'ai remercié le vent, qui venait d'éteindre ma lampe.
La Flûte de jade, op. 17
Song Cycle by Yves Ramette (1921 - 2012)
Translated to:
English — The Jade Flute (Grant Hicks)
1. L'orage favorable [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français)
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "L'orage favorable", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Tsao Chang Ling (1719 - 1763) [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Favorable Storm", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 31.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
2. La dernière promenade [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français)
Tu as laissé tomber dans la poussière la tulipe rouge que je t'avais donnée. Je l'ai ramassée. Elle était devenue blanche. En ce bref instant, il avait neigé sur notre amour.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "La dernière promenade", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Chang-Wou-Kien (1879 - 1931) [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 23.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
3. Une chanson [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français)
Une chanson, là-bas... C'est un mendiant. Puisqu’il chante, ce vieillard qui n’a jamais rien possédé, pourquoi gémis-tu, toi qui as de si beaux souvenirs ?
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Une chanson", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Tsao Chang Ling (1719 - 1763) [text unavailable]
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "A Song", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 82.
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , François Le Roux [Guest Editor]
Total word count: 103