Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Mère inépuisable, incorruptible, créatrice, née la première, engendrée par toi-même, conçue de toi-même, issue de toi seule et qui te réjouis en toi, Astarté ! Ô perpétuellement fécondée, ô vierge et nourrice de tout, chaste et [lascive]1, pure et jouissante, ineffable, nocturne, douce, respiratrice du feu, écume de la mer ! Toi qui accordes en secret la grâce, toi qui unis, toi qui aimes, toi qui saisis d'un furieux désir les races multipliées des bêtes sauvages, et joins les sexes dans les forêts. [Ô Astarté irrésistible, entends-moi, prends-moi, possède-moi, o Lune! et treize fois, chaque année, arrache a mes entrailles la libation de mon sang !]2
1 Koechlin: "désireuse"
2 Koechlin:
Ô Astarté irrésistible, soit que tu imposes la douleur, soit que tu delivres dans la joie, entends-moi, prends-moi, arrache de mon corps bienheureux les libations sanglantes !
Text Authorship:
- by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Hymne à Astarté", written 1894, appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Épigrammes dans l'Île de Chypre, no. 99, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), "Hymne à Astarté", op. 39 no. 1 (1898), published 1923 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons de Bilitis, no. 1, Éditions Maurice Senart [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sarah Daughtrey) , "Hymn to Astarte", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Hymnus auf Astarte", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sarah Daughtrey
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 107
Mother inexhaustible, incorruptible, crea- tress, born thy first, engendered by thyself and by thyself conceived, issue of thyself alone and seeking joy within thyself, Astarte! Oh perpetually fecund, virgin and nurse of all, chaste and desirous, pure and reveling, ineffable, nocturnal, sweet, breather of fire, foam of the sea! You who accordest grace in secret, you who unite, you who love, you who seize with furious desire the multiplied races of savage beasts and couple the sexes in the woods. Oh, irresistible Astarte! so be it that you impose sadness, so be it that you deliver joy, hear me, take me, take from my blissful body the bloody libations!
Note: this is a translation of Koechlin's version.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Sarah Daughtrey, (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 Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Hymne à Astarté", written 1894, appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Épigrammes dans l'Île de Chypre, no. 99, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 109