by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
Translation © by Grant Hicks

Evocation
 (Sung text for setting by H. Badings)
 See original
Language: French (Français)  after the Chinese (中文) 
Our translations:  ENG
Rapide, ma barque file.
Je contemple le fleuve.
Des nuages errent dans le ciel.
L'eau est aussi de la nuit claire.
Quand un nuage glisse sur la lune,
je le vois glisser aussi sur le fleuve
et il me semble que je vogue en plein ciel.
Je pense à ma bien-aimée,
qui se mire ainsi dans mon cœur.

Composition:

Text Authorship:

Based on:

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Evocation", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2024-11-13
Line count: 9
Word count: 58

Language: English  after the French (Français) 
Swiftly, my boat sails along.
I contemplate the river.
Clouds are roaming in the sky.
The water like the night glistens.
When a cloud glides across the moon,
I see it gliding also across the river 
and I seem to be sailing in midair.
I think about my beloved,
who is likewise mirrored in my heart.

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: 

Based on:

Based on:

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-09
Line count: 9
Word count: 56