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Quand le soir est venu, que tout est calme enfin Dans la chaude nature, Voici que naît sous l'arbre et sous le ciel divin La plus vive torture : Sur les graviers d'argent, dans les bois apaisés Des violons s'exaltent, Ce sont des jets de cris, de sanglots, de baisers, Sans contrainte et sans haltes. Il semble que l'archet se cabre, qu'il se tord Sur les luisantes cordes, Tant ce sont des appels de plaisir et de mort, Et de miséricorde ! ... Et le brûlant archet, enroulé de langueur Gémit, souffre, caresse, Poignard voluptueux, qui pénètre le cœur D'une épuisante ivresse ! ... Archets ! soyez maudits pour vos brûlants accords, Pour votre âme explosive, Fers rouges qui dans l'ombre arrachez à nos corps Des lambeaux de chair vive…
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,5,12 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Violons dans le soir", 1907, published 1907, stanzas 1-3,5,12 [ medium voice, piano, violin obbligato ], Éd. Durand
Text Authorship:
- by Anna Elizabeth Mathieu, Comtesse de Noailles (1876 - 1933), "Les Violons dans le soir", appears in Les Éblouissements, no. 3, first published 1907
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright © 2016
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 48
Word count: 308
When evening has come and all is finally calm In warm Nature, There stirs beneath the trees and beneath the divine sky The keenest torment. On the silver gravel, in the tranquil woods, There is a flourish of violins: It is a stream of cries, of sobs, of kisses, Without restraint and without cease. It seems as if the violin bow is twisting Over the gleaming strings, For these are true calls of pleasure and of death -- And of mercy. ... And the burning bow reels in lassitude, Groaning, suffering and caressing - A voluptuous dagger that pierces the heart With exhausting euphoria. ... Bows, be cursed for your burning chords, For your explosive soul: Red-hot brands that in the shadows tear from our bodies Scraps of living flesh!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,5,12 of the original text.
Translation of titles
"Les Violons dans le soir" = "Violins in the evening"
"Violons dans le soir" = "Violins in the evening"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Anna Elizabeth Mathieu, Comtesse de Noailles (1876 - 1933), "Les Violons dans le soir", appears in Les Éblouissements, no. 3, first published 1907
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2016-02-04
Line count: 48
Word count: 126