by
Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs
Elles dansaient l'une devant l'autre
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG GER
Elles dansaient l'une devant l'autre,
d'un mouvement rapide et fuyant;
elles semblaient toujours vouloir s'enlacer,
et pourtant ne se touchaient point,
si ce n'est du bout des lèvres.
Quand elles tournaient le dos en dansant,
elles se regardaient, la tête sur l'épaule,
et la sueur brillait sous leurs bras levés,
et leurs chevelures fines passaient devant leurs seins.
La langueur des leurs yeux, le feu de leurs joues,
la gravité de leurs visages, étaient trois chansons ardentes.
Elles se frôlaient furtivement,
elles pliaient leurs corps sur les hanches.
Et tout à coup, elles sont tombées,
pour achever à terre la danse molle...
Souvenir de Mnasidika, c'est alors que tu m'apparus,
et tout, hors ta chère image, me fut importun.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Claude Achille Debussy (1862 - 1918), "Le Souvenir de Mnasidika", L. 102/(96) no. 11, from Chansons de Bilitis, no. 11, note: incidental music to accompany the recitation of twelve prose poems. [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Marcel Pollet (1883 - 1961), "Le Souvenir de Mnasidika", published 1908 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], from Trois chansons de Bilitis, no. 3, Paris, Éditions E. Demets [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christophe Sirodeau , "Le Souvenir", op. 44 (2006/2018) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Marvin J. Ward) , "The Memory of Mnasidika", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Beim Gedenken Mnasidikas", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Marvin J. Ward
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 119
The Memory of Mnasidika
Language: English after the French (Français)
They danced one in front of the other,
with a rapid and fleeing movement;
they seemed always to wish to enlace each other,
and yet they never touched,
except with the tips of their lips.
When they turned their backs in dancing,
they looked at each other, heads on their shoulders,
and the sweat shone on their raised arms,
and their fine hair flowed across their breasts.
The languor of their eyes, the fire in their cheeks,
the seriousness of their faces, were three ardent songs.
They grazed each other furtively,
they bent their bodies on their hips.
And suddenly, they fell,
to finish the supple dance on the ground ...
Memory of Mnasidika, it was then that you appeared,
and everything, other than your image, was unwelcome.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Marvin J. Ward, (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:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 127