by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)

Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FIN GER GER GRE HUN ITA SPA SPA
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.

Composition:

    Set to music by Kaikhosru Sorabji (1892 - 1988), "L'heure exquise", op. 2 no. 2, KSS 4 (1916), published 1992, first performed 1999 [ high voice and piano ], Bath, The Sorabji Archive; new edition ; confirmed with Hamelin's 1992 edition

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Píseň"
  • ENG English (Grant A. Lewis) , "The white moon", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "The Moment of Ecstasy", written 2002, first published 2002, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , written c2005, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kalpea kuu ", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Pierre Mathé) , "Der weiße Mond", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Elaine Marie Ortiz-Arandes) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi) , no title
  • GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Λευκή σελήνη", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Árpád Tóth) , "La lune blanche"
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Fehér hold"
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "La luna bianca", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "La hora exquisita", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Alberto Bonati) , "La luna blanca", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 50