Abenddämmer | Wer ist’s, was ist’s, das seufzt und weint

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by Charles van Lerberghe (1861 - 1907)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Ce soir, à travers le bonheur

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG GER

Ce soir, à travers le bonheur,
Qui donc soupire, qu'est-ce qui pleure ?
Qu'est-ce qui vient palpiter sur mon cœur,
Comme un oiseau blessé ?

[Est-ce une plainte de la terre,]¹
Est-ce une voix future,
Une voix du passé ?
J'écoute, jusqu'à la souffrance,
Ce son dans le silence.

Île d'oubli, ô Paradis !
Quel cri déchire, dans la nuit,
Ta voix qui me berce ?
Quel cri traverse
Ta ceinture de fleurs,
Et ton beau voile d'allégresse ?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Fauré

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Charles Van Lerberghe, La Chanson d’Ève, Société du Mercure de France, 1904, 2e éd., page 190.

¹ omitted by Fauré.

Text Authorship:

by Charles van Lerberghe (1861 - 1907), no title, written 1903, appears in La Chanson d'Ève, in 4. Crépuscule, no. 2, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1904 [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 Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Crépuscule", op. 95 no. 9 (1906), published 1906 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from La Chanson d'Ève, no. 9, Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
by Paul Lacombe (1837 - 1927), "Ce soir, à travers le bonheur, qui donc soupire ?", op. 132 no. 2 (1907), published [1909] [ high voice and piano ], from La chanson d'Ève, no. 2, Éd. F. Durdilly, Ch. Hayet [sung text not yet checked]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 74

Abenddämmer

Language: German (Deutsch) after the French (Français)

Wer ist’s, was ist’s, das seufzt und weint
inmitten allen Glücks an diesem Abend?
Was flattert denn in meinem Herz
wie ein verwundet’ Vöglein?

Ist es der Erde Klagen,
ist es der Zukunft Stimme,
die Stimme aus dem Einst?
Ich lausche, bis es schmerzt.
den Tönen aus der Stille.

O Paradies, o Insel des Vergessens!
Welch Schrei zerreißt in dieser Nacht
denn deine Stimme, die mich wiegt?
Welch Schrei durchdringt 
dein Blütenband
und deinen schönen Freudenschleier?

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Charles van Lerberghe (1861 - 1907), no title, written 1903, appears in La Chanson d'Ève, in 4. Crépuscule, no. 2, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1904
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-06
Line count: 15
Word count: 76