English translations of Quatre mélodies, opus 13

by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899)

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1. Apaisement
 (Sung text)
by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "Apaisement", op. 13 (Quatre mélodies) no. 1 (1885), published 1885-7 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Hamelle
Language: French (Français) 
La lune blanche 
Luit dans les bois ;
De chaque branche 
Part une voix 
Sous la ramée...

Ô bien aimée.

L'étang reflète,
Profond miroir,
La silhouette
Du saule noir
Où le vent pleure...

Rêvons, c'est l'heure.

Un vaste et tendre
Apaisement
Semble descendre
Du firmament
Que l'astre irise...

C'est l'heure exquise.

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by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
1. The white moon
Language: English 
The white moon
shines in the woods.
From each branch 
springs a voice
beneath the arbor.

Oh my beloved...

Like a deep mirror
the pond reflects
the silhouette
of the black willow
where the wind weeps.

Let us dream! It is the hour...

A vast and tender
calm
seems to descend
from a sky
made iridescent by the moon.

It is the exquisite hour!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Grant A. Lewis, (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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 64

Translation © by Grant A. Lewis
2. Sérénade
 (Sung text)
by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "Sérénade", op. 13 (Quatre mélodies) no. 2 (1887) [ high voice and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
Tes grands yeux doux semblent des îles 
Qui nagent dans un lac d'azur :
Aux fraîcheurs de tes yeux tranquilles,
Fais-moi tranquille et fais-moi pur.

Ton corps a l'adorable enfance 
Des clairs paradis de jadis :
Enveloppe-moi de silence,
Du silence argenté des lys.

Alangui par les yeux tranquilles
Des étoiles caressant l'air,
J'ai tant rêvé la paix des îles,
Sous un soir frissonant et clair !

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by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor
2.
Language: English 
Your big, sweet eyes resemble the islands
That swim in a lake of azure.
Within the peace of your tranquil eyes
I am made tranquil and made pure.

Your body has the adorable infancy
Of lights of paradise long ago:
Envelop me in silence
Of your body white like the lily.



[...]1

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2009 by Paul Hindemith, (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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1 Baton version: 
I suffer, I choke, I cry;
With your body, With your arms
So that I me may get lost and die,
Make a tomb that you open to me.


This text was added to the website: 2009-09-17
Line count: 9
Word count: 53

Translation © by Paul Hindemith
3. L'aveu
 (Sung text)
by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "L'aveu", op. 13 (Quatre mélodies) no. 3 (1885) [ high voice and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
J'ai perdu la forêt, la plaine,
Et les frais avrils d'autre-fois.
Donne tes lèvres, leur haleine
Ce sera le souffle des bois.

J'ai perdu l'océan morose,
Son deuil, ses vagues, ses échos;
Dis-moi n'importe quelle chose,
Ce sera la rumeur des flots.

Lourd d'une tristesse royale
Mon front songe aux soleils enfuis.
Oh! cache-moi dans ton sein pâle!
Ce sera le calme des nuits.

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by Auguste, Comte de Villiers de L'isle-Adam (1838 - 1889)
3. The vow
Language: English 
I’ve lost the forest, the plain,
And the fresh April of bygone days.
Give [me] your lips, their breath
Will be the breath of the woods.

I’ve lost the morose ocean,
Its grief, its waves, its echos;
You can say anything you want to about it,
It’ll be the secret of the streams.

Heavy with royal sorrow
My brow dreams of the scattered sunbeams.
Oh! snuggle me to your pale bosom!
That will take place in the still of the night.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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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Translation of title "L'aveu" = "The vow"


This text was added to the website: 2016-04-15
Line count: 12
Word count: 81

Translation © by Laura Prichard
4. La cigale
 (Sung text)
by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "La cigale", op. 13 (Quatre mélodies) no. 4 (1887) [ high voice and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
Ô Cigale, née avec les beaux jours,
Sur les verts rameaux dès l'aube posée,
Contente de boire un peu de rosée,
Et telle qu'un roi, tu chantes toujours.

Innocente à tous, paisible et sans ruses,
Le gai laboureur, du chêne abrité,
T'écoute de loin annoncer l'Été
Apollôn t'honore autant que les Muses,
Et Zeus ta donné l'Immortalité!

Salut, sage enfant de la Terre antique,
Dont le chant invite à clore les yeux,
Et qui, sous l'ardeur du soleil Attique,
N'ayant chair ni sang, vis semblable aux Dieux.

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by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894)
4. The cicada
Language: English 
O cicada, born with fine days,
Poised from dawn on the green branches,
Happy to drink a little dew,
And kinglike, you always sing.

Blameless to all, peaceful and without guile,
The happy worker, shaded by the oaktree,
Hears you in the distance heralding summer.
Apollo praises you as highly as the Muses,
And Zeus has given you immortality!

Hail, wise child of ancient earth,
Whose song invites eyes to close,
And who, beneath the intensity of the Attic sun,
Having neither flesh nor blood, live like the Gods.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Laura (Pranada) Sylvis, (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: 2004-11-02
Line count: 13
Word count: 89

Translation © by Laura (Pranada) Sylvis