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by François Villon (1431 - 1463)
Translation © by Laura Prichard
Dites‑moi où, n'en quel pays
Language: French (Français)
Available translation(s): ENG
Dites-moi où, n'en quel pays, Est Flora la belle Romaine, Archipiades, ne Thaïs, Qui fut sa cousine germaine, Echo, parlant quant bruit on mène Dessus rivière ou sur étang, Qui beauté eut trop plus qu'humaine ? Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ? Où est la très sage Héloïs, Pour qui fut châtré et puis moine Pierre Esbaillart à Saint-Denis ? Pour son amour eut cette essoine. Semblablement, où est la roine Qui commanda que Buridan Fût jeté en un sac en Seine ? Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ? La roine Blanche comme un lis Qui chantait à voix de sirène, Berthe au grand pied, Bietrix, Aliz, Haramburgis qui tint le Maine, Et Jeanne, la bonne Lorraine Qu'Anglais brûlèrent à Rouen ; Où sont-ils, où, Vierge souvraine ? Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ? Prince, n'enquerrez de semaine Où elles sont, ni de cet an, Que ce refrain ne vous remaine : Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ?
E. Vercoe sets lines 21-24
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François Villon (1431 - 1463), "Ballade des Dames du temps jadis", appears in Le Testament [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 Eugène Bouvy (1859 - 1944), "Dites moi", op. 3 no. 2, published [1893] [ high voice and piano ], from Chants sur d'anciennes paroles, no. 2, Paris, Éd. 'Au comptoir général de musique' V. Durdilly [sung text not yet checked]
- by Petr Eben (1929 - 2007), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", 1951, published 1958 [ voice and piano ], from Šestero piesní milostných, no. 6, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wim Franken (b. 1922), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", 1969, published 1969 [ tenor and piano ], from Cinq poèmes de François Villon, no. 2, Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Terje Bjørn Lerstad (b. 1955), "Ballade des dames du temps jadis", op. 176B no. 1 (1985) [ soprano and tenor or baritone and piano ], from François Solaire, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Walton Vercoe (b. 1941), "Et Jeanne, la bonne Lorraine", 1986, lines 21-24 [ mezzo-soprano or soprano and piano ], from stage composition Herstory III: Jehanne de Lorraine, no. 1, confirmed with composer's website [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Ballad of the ladies of long ago", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-13
Line count: 28
Word count: 162
Ballad of the ladies of long ago
Language: English after the French (Français)
Tell me where, or in what land, Is Flora, the beautiful Roman girl, Archipiades, or Thaïs, Who was her closest cousin, Echo, answering at a handclap Across the river and over the meadow, Whose beauty was superhuman? And where is the snow from last season? Where was the very wise Heloise, For whom was castrated, to his shame Peter Abelard at Saint-Denis? This enduring pain [was caused by] his love. Simlarly, where is the queen Who commanded that Buridan Be thrown in a sack, into the Seine? And where is the snow from last season? Queen Blanche, white as a swan, Who sang with a siren’s voice, Bertha Bigfoot, Beatrice, Alice, Arembourg, who rules Maine, And Joan [of Arc], the beautiful girl from Lorraine Who the English burned at Rouen; Where are they, where, reigning Virgin? And where is the snow from last season? Prince, don’t ask this week Where they are, nor this year, This refrain is all that I have left: And where is the snow from last season?
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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 François Villon (1431 - 1463), "Ballade des Dames du temps jadis", appears in Le Testament
This text was added to the website: 2016-04-15
Line count: 28
Word count: 171