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by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894)
Translation © by Peter Low
Le colibri
Language: French (Français)
Le vert colibri, le roi des collines, Voyant la rosée et le soleil clair, Luire dans son nid tissé d'herbes fines, Comme un frais rayon s'échappe dans l'air. Il se hâte et vole aux sources voisines, Où les bambous font le bruit de la mer, Où l'açoka rouge aux odeurs divines S'ouvre et porte au coeur un humide éclair. Vers la fleur dorée, il descend, se pose, Et boit tant d'amour dans la coupe rose, Qu'il meurt, ne sachant s'il l'a pu tarir! Sur ta lèvre pure, ô ma bien-aimée, Telle aussi mon âme eut voulu mourir, Du premier baiser qui l'a parfumée.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "Le colibri", written 1854, appears in Poèmes barbares, Paris, Éd. Dentu, first published 1854 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Georges Alary (1850 - 1928), "Le Colibri", op. 37 no. 6, published 1899 [ chorus a cappella ], from Chœurs sans accompagnement, no. 6, Paris, Durdilly [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. Bertin , "Le Colibri" [ high voice and piano ], Éd. L. Grus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "Le colibri", op. 2 (Sept mélodies) no. 7 (1882) [ high voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by César Antonovich Cui (1835 - 1918), "Le Colibri", op. 54 (Cinq mélodies) no. 2, published 1890, Leipzig, Édition M.P. Bélaïeff [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jules Laurent Anacharsis Duprato (1827 - 1892), "Le Colibri" [ medium voice and piano ], from Le Livre des Sonnets, no. 6, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), "Le Colibri", op. 17 (Trois mélodies) no. 1 (1899) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jeanne Lefèvre , "Le Colibri", published [1921] [ high voice and piano ], from Trois Mélodies, no. 1, Éd. Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmond Ribiollet (1855 - 1921), "Le Colibri", op. 41 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Sporck (1870 - 1943), "Le Colibri" [ high voice and piano ], Éd. Hachette & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Vuillemin (1879 - 1929), "Le Colibri" [ voice and piano ], Éd. Costallat [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , "El colibrí", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Kolibřík"
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "The hummingbird", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Gyula Juhász) , "Kolibri szerelem"
- JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "ハチスズメ", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "El colibrí", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Nicolas Gounin [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 103
The hummingbird
Language: English after the French (Français)
The hummingbird, the green prince of the heights, feeling the dew and seeing the sun's clear light shining into his nest of woven grass, shoots up in the air like a gleaming dart. Hurriedly he flies to the nearby marsh where the waves of bamboo rustle and bend, and the red hibiscus with the heavenly scent opens to show its moist and glistening heart. Down to the flower he flies, alights from above, and from the rosy cup drinks so much love that he dies, not knowing if he could drink it dry. Even so, my darling, on your pure lips my soul and senses would have wished to die on contact with that first full-fragrant kiss.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Peter Low, (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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "Le colibri", written 1854, appears in Poèmes barbares, Paris, Éd. Dentu, first published 1854
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 117