Pale star of evening, distant messenger

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by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857)

Translation © by Michael P Rosewall

À une étoile

(Sung text for setting by R. Hahn)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CHI ENG

 ... 

Étoile qui descends vers la verte colline,
Triste larme d'argent du manteau de la Nuit,
Toi que regarde au loin le pâtre qui chemine,
Tandis que pas à pas son long troupeau le suit, --
Étoile, où t'en vas-tu, dans cette nuit immense ?
Cherches-tu sur la rive un nid dans les roseaux ?
Où t'en vas-tu si belle, à l'heure du silence,
Tomber comme une perle au sein profond des eaux ?
Ah ! si tu dois mourir, bel astre, et si ta tête
Va dans la vaste mer plonger ses blonds cheveux,
Avant de nous quitter, un seul instant arrête ; -
Étoile, écoute-moi! ne descends pas des cieux !

Note: the text above is taken from stanza 3 of the original text.

Composition:

Reynaldo Hahn

Text Authorship:

by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), no title, written 1831, appears in Premières poésies, in Le saule, first published 1850

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

CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-05-22
Line count: 24
Word count: 195

Pale star of evening, distant messenger

(Sung text translation for setting by R. Hahn)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

 ... 

Star, descending to the green hillside,
Sad, silver rift in the mantle of Night,
You, who gaze from afar upon the shepherd,
Whose meandering flock follows him step by step, --
Star, where are you going, in this endless night?
Do you seek a bed along the riverbank among the reeds?
Where are you going so prettily, in this silent hour,
Dropping like a pearl into the depths of the waters?
Ah! if you must die, dear luminous one, and if you 
Wish to plunge your blond hair into the vast ocean,
Before you leave us, pause for just a moment;--
Star of love, do not depart descend from heaven!

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Note: the text above is taken from stanza 3 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2022 by Michael P Rosewall, (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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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), no title, written 1831, appears in Premières poésies, in Le saule, first published 1850
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This text was added to the website: 2022-09-05
Line count: 24
Word count: 198