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by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor

Désir de Mort
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Dans la pureté de tes yeux
Que nul souffle encor n'a ternie,
Luit un étang mystérieux,
Où dort une paix infinie.

Dans l'étang bleu de tes yeux dort
Une fraîcheur délicieuse :
Adorable serait la mort
En leur clarté silencieuse ! ...

Mort exquise, exquise langueur !
Oh ! ne plus penser, ne plus vivre ;
En cet étang laisser son cœur,
Comme un noyé qui se délivre !

Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor: L'Illusion, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1925, Page 118.


Text Authorship:

  • by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor, "Désir de Mort", written 1875, appears in L'Illusion, in 1. Chants de l'Amour et de la Mort, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1875 [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 Adolphe Biarent (1871 - 1916), "Désir de mort" [ voice and piano ], from Huit mélodies, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Paul Paray (1886 - 1979), "Désir de Mort", 1921, published 1923 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Quatre poèmes de J. Lahor, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Jobert [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Desire for Death", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2022-12-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 62

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