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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.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875)
Translation © by Laura Prichard

Средь шумного бала, случайно
Language: Russian (Русский) 
Our translations:  DUT ENG ENG
Средь шумного бала, случайно,
В тревоге мирской суеты,
Тебя я увидел, но тайна
Твои покрывала черты.

Лишь очи печально глядели,
А голос так дивно звучал,
Как звон отдалённой свирели,
Как моря [играющий]1 вал.

Мне стан твой понравился тонкий
И весь твой задумчивый вид,
А смех твой, и грустный, и звонкий,
С тех пор в моём сердце звучит.

В часы одинокие ночи
Люблю я, усталый, прилечь;
Я вижу печальные очи,
Я слышу веселую речь,

И грустно я, грустно так засыпаю,
И в грёзах неведомых сплю...
Люблю ли тебя, я не знаю,
Но кажется мне, что люблю!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   P. Tchaikovsky 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Tchaikovsky: "бушующий" ("bushujushchij")

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

  • by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1851 [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 Aleksandra Dormidontovna Kochetova (1833 - 1902), "Средь шумного бала, случайно" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Grigory Andreyevich Lishin (1854 - 1888), "Средь шумного бала" [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Aleksandr Nikolayevich Shefer (1866 - 1914), "Средь шумного бала" [sung text not yet checked]
  • by A. D. Sheremetev (1859 - 1931), "Средь шумного бала" [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Boris Sergeyevich Sheremetyev (1822 - 1906), "Средь шумного бала" [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Anton Yulyevich Simon (1850 - 1916), "Средь шумного бала", op. 43 (Десять романсов) no. 8, published 1891 [ voice and piano ], Moscow: P. Jurgenson [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Средь шумного бала", op. 38 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six romances)) no. 3 (1878) [ voice and piano ], also set in German (Deutsch), also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Pendant une fête brillante" ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hermann Wolff (1845 - 1902) , "Im wogenden Tanze" ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
      • Go to the text.

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

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Sonja Van Lier) , "Temidden van het bal", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Jacob Wilde) , "Amid the din of the ball", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bruno Tutenberg) , "Inmitten des Balles"


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 96

In the midst of a noisy ball, by chance
Language: English  after the Russian (Русский) 
In the midst of a noisy ball, by chance,
Among the tumultuous whirl of life,
I caught a glimpse of you, but mystery
Veiled your features.

Your eyes betrayed your sadness,
But your voice rang out divinely,
Like the sound of distant pipes,
Or like the dancing waves of the sea.

I was entranced by your slender form,
Your pensive expression,
And your laughter, both sad and ringing,
Since then, echoes in my heart.

During the lonely hours of night
I love to lie down, to rest;
I see those sad eyes,
I hear that merry laugh,

And oh so wistfully, I drift off,
And sink into mysterious dreams...
Do I love you? I don’t know,
But it seems like I do!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Russian (Русский) 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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in Russian (Русский) by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1851
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-10-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 122

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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