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Ton cœur est un lac d'amour Dont mes désirs sont les cygnes. Vois comme ils en font le tour, Comme ils y creusent des lignes ! Voyageurs aventureux Ils vont, les ailes ouvertes. Rien n'est ignoré par eux, Des flots bleus aux îles vertes. ... Sans nombre sont ces oiseaux Que ton âme voit éclore. Combien déjà sur les eaux, Et combien à naître encore ! Point de halte ! à tout moment, D'arrivants le bord se charge. Ceux d'hier pensivement S'en vont alors vers le large. ... Et sur ce miroir béni, Sur ce cristal d'eau sans brumes, On entend à l'infini Frissonner au vent des plumes.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,5-6,8 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Les Cygnes", op. 26b no. 7 (1891), published 1892, first performed 1892, stanzas 1-2,5-6,8 [ vocal duet for tenor and contralto, chorus ad libitum, piano or orchestra ], from cantata Nuit persane, no. 7, Éd. Durand
Text Authorship:
- by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "Les Cygnes", written 1870, appears in Les nuits persanes, in 6. La vallée de l'union, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1870
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , "The Swans", copyright © 2024, (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: 32
Word count: 170
Your heart is a lake of love In which my desires are swans. See how they make the rounds, As they create wakes behind them! Adventurous explorers They advance, their wings outspread. Nothing is ignored by them, From blue waves to green islands. ... Innumerable are these birds Which your soul may see hatching. How many already on the waters, And how many are yet to be born! Don’t hesitate! At any moment, New arrivals will charge the shore While yesterday’s crop pensively Head out to sea. ... And in a blessed harmony, Over this crystal sheen of limpid water, One hears forever The rustling of feathers in the wind.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,5-6,8 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2024 by Laura Stanfield 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.
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "Les Cygnes", written 1870, appears in Les nuits persanes, in 6. La vallée de l'union, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1870
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This text was added to the website: 2024-04-24
Line count: 32
Word count: 178