by Aloysius Bertrand (1807 - 1841)
Translation © by Rollo Hugh Myers (1892 - 1985)
Le gibet
Language: English
Ah ! ce que j'entends, serait-ce la bise nocturne qui glapit, ou le pendu qui pousse un soupir sur la fourche patibulaire ? Serait-ce quelque grillon qui chante tapi dans la mousse et le lierre stérile dont par pitié se chausse le bois ? Serait-ce quelque mouche en chasse sonnant du cor autour de ces oreilles sourdes à la fanfare des hallali ? Serait-ce quelque escarbot qui cueille en son vol inégal un cheveu sanglant à son crâne chauve ? Ou bien serait-ce quelque araignée qui brode une demi-aune de mousseline pour cravate à ce col étranglé ? C'est la cloche qui tinte aux murs d'une ville sous l'horizon, et la carcasse d'un pendu que rougit le soleil couchant.
Note: this is a prose text. Line breaks have been added arbitrarily. The poem is preceded by the following quotation:
Que vois-je remuer autour de ce Gibet?
FAUST.
Text Authorship:
- by Aloysius Bertrand (1807 - 1841), "Le gibet", appears in Gaspard de la nuit, fantaisies à la manière de Callot et Rembrandt, in Pièces détachées [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 Will Eisma (b. 1929), "Le gibet", published 1971 [ baritone, instrumental ensemble of 8 instruments, and life-electronics ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Rollo Hugh Myers (1892 - 1985) , copyright © ; composed by Kevin Oldham.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 113
Le gibet
Language: English after the English
Ah! What is that sound I hear? Is it the night wind howling [ ... ]
This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.
Text Authorship:
- by Rollo Hugh Myers (1892 - 1985), copyright © [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Aloysius Bertrand (1807 - 1841), "Le gibet", appears in Gaspard de la nuit, fantaisies à la manière de Callot et Rembrandt, in Pièces détachées
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Kevin Oldham (1960 - 1993), "Le gibet", op. 3 no. 2 (1977) [ soprano and piano ], from Gaspard de la Nuit, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
This text was added to the website: 2019-11-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 118