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Au printemps l'Oiseau naît et chante: N'avez-vous pas ouï sa voix? Elle est pure, simple et touchante La voix de l'Oiseau - dans les bois! L'été, l'Oiseau cherche l'Oiselle; Il aime - et n'aime qu'une fois! Qu'il est doux, paisible et fidèle, Le nid de l'Oiseau - dans les bois! Puis, quand vient [l'automne]1 brumeuse Il se tait .... avant les temps froids. Hélas! qu'elle doit être heureuse La mort de l'Oiseau - dans les bois!
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View text without footnotes1 Massé: "la saison"
Text Authorship:
- by Gérard Labrunie (1808 - 1855), as Gérard de Nerval, "Dans les bois" [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Dans les bois", 1928 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Edgar Cosma (1925 - 2006), "Dans les bois", copyright © 1985 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Chansons en zigzag, no. 1, Lyon, À cœur joie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Octave Fouque (1844 - 1883), "Dans les bois", published [1879] [ medium voice and piano ], from Dix mélodies pour chant, no. 4, Paris, Éd. G. Hartmann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philip Lasser (b. 1963), "L'Oiseau dans les bois", published 1986 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les Visages de l'amour, no. 2, Éd. Rassel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Victor Massé (1822 - 1884), "Dans les bois" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Paul Paray (1886 - 1979), "Dans les bois", 1904 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Als boscos", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (David Jonathan Justman) , "In the woods", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 73
In the Spring the Bird is born and sings: Haven't you heard his voice? It is pure, simple and touching, The voice of the Bird - in the woods! In the Summer, the Bird seeks his Mate; He loves - and loves only once! How gentle, peaceful, and faithful it is, The nest of the Bird - in the woods! Then, when the misty season comes He is silent... before the cold weather. Alas! how happy must be The death of the Bird - in the woods!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by David Jonathan Justman, (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 Gérard Labrunie (1808 - 1855), as Gérard de Nerval, "Dans les bois"
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 84