Poem of Jade

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Therèse Brenet (b. 1935)

View original-language texts alone: Poème de Jade

1. Je me promenais  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
En files noirs, 
des oies sauvages traversent le ciel. 
On voit, dans les arbres, 
des nids abandonnés. 
Les montagnes semblent plus lourdes. 

J'ai trouvé près de ma fontaine, 
la flûte de jade 
que tu avais perdue, cet été. 
L'herbe haute l'avait soustraite à nos recherches. 

Mais l'herbe est morte, 
et la flûte brillait au soleil, ce soir. 
J'ai pensé à notre amour, 
qui est resté si longtemps 
enseveli sous nos scrupules.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. I was walking
Language: English 
In black columns, 
the wild geese cross the sky. 
In the trees, one sees
abandoned nests. 
The mountains seem heavier. 

Next to my fountain I found 
the jade flute 
that you'd lost this summer. 
The high grass had hidden it from our searching. 

But the grass is dead, 
and this morning the flute was gleaming in the sun. 
I thought of our love, 
which has remained so long
buried beneath our misgivings.

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:
"Je me promenais" = "I was walking"
"La flûte de jade" = "The Jade Flute"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 72

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. L’insensé  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Avec de grands gestes, il s'éloigna dans la nuit.
Il avait l'air de cueillir des étoiles.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 129.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. The Madman
Language: English 
With grand gestures, he went off into the night.
He looked as if he were gathering stars.

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: 2
Word count: 17

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. L'ombre d'une feuille d'oranger  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Seule, dans sa chambre,
une jeune fille brode des fleurs de soie.
Tout à coup, elle entend une flûte lointaine…
Elle tressaille.
Elle croit qu'un jeune homme lui parle d’amour.

À travers le papier de la fenêtre,
l’ombre d’une feuille d’oranger
vient se poser sur ses genoux…

Elle ferme les yeux.
Et croit qu’une main déchire sa robe.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, pages 92-93.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. The Shadow of a Leaf of an Orange Tree
Language: English 
Alone in her room,
a maiden is embroidering silk flowers.
Suddenly she hears a distant flute...
She trembles.
She believes a young man is speaking to her of love.

Through the paper of the window,
the shadow of a leaf of an orange tree
comes to rest on her lap...

She shuts her eyes.
She believes a hand is tearing off her robe.

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: 10
Word count: 63

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. La chanson des nénuphars  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Leurs robes vertes sont tellement pareilles
aux feuilles des nénuphars,
leurs visages roses sont tellement pareils
aux fleurs des nénuphars,
que l'on prend leurs robes pour des feuilles
et leurs visages pour des fleurs.
Un chant jaillit...
Alors, seulement, on s'aperçoit
que des jeunes filles se baignent parmi les nénuphars.
Les favorites du roi de Tsou
et les danseuses de Hou
et les beautés de You,
venaient s'ébattre aussi dans le lac.
Elles cueillaient des nénuphars,
elles riaient de voir flotter leurs robes...
Comme autrefois, lorsque les jeunes filles arrivent,
les nénuphars se soulèvent pour admirer leurs sœurs.
Lorsqu'elles s'en vont,
la blanche lune les accompagne.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, pages 49-50.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. The Song of the Water Lilies
Language: English 
Their green robes are so like
the leaves of water lilies,
their pink faces are so like 
the flowers of water lilies,
that one takes their robes for leaves
and their faces for flowers.
A song bursts forth...
Only then does one notice 
that there are maidens bathing among the lilies.
The mistresses of the King of Tsou
and the dancing girls of Hou
and the beauties of You
came also to frolic in the lake.
They gathered water lilies,
they laughed to see their robes floating...
As before, when the maidens arrive,
the water lilies rise up to admire their sisters.
When they depart,
the pale moon goes with them.

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: 19
Word count: 111

Translation © by Grant Hicks
5. La danse des dieux  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
J'avais mis toute mon âme dans une chanson
que j'ai chanté aux hommes, et ils ont ri !
j'ai pris mon luth,
je suis allé m'asseoir au sommet d'une montagne
et j'ai [chanté, pour les Dieux,]1 la chanson 
que les hommes n'avaient pas comprise.
Le soleil se couchait.
Au rhythme de ma chanson,
les Dieux ont dansé sur les nuages rouges
qui flottaient dans le ciel.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade, poésies chinoises, Paris, L'édition d'art H. Piazza, 1920, pages 130-131.

1 Wertheim: "chanté"

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
5. The Dance of the Gods
Language: English 
I had poured my entire soul into a song
which I sang for men, and they laughed!
I took up my lute,
and went and sat down on a mountaintop 
and sang, for the Gods, the song
that men had not understood.
The sun was setting.
To the rhythm of my song,
the Gods danced upon the red clouds
that were floating in the sky.

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: 2026-04-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 66

Translation © by Grant Hicks
6. La danseuse  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
La brise fait onduler les [nénuphars]1
dont le parfum vient embaumer le palais
qui s’élève au milieu du lac.
Un peu ivre, Li-Si danse.
Tout à coup, chancelante,
elle s’appuie contre le lit de jade [blanc,
et elle]2 sourit.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, page 117.

1 Goeyvaerts: "lotus"
2 Goeyvaerts: "blanc./ Elle"

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
6. The Dancing Girl
Language: English 
The breeze makes the water lilies sway
and their scent comes to perfume the palace
that rises in the middle of the lake.
A bit tipsy, Li-Si dances.
Staggering suddenly,
she leans against the bed of white jade,
and she smiles.

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
7. Les 2 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)
7. The 2 Flutes
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.
    Contact: 

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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