Un cygne | Un cygne avance sur l'eau

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Un cygne avance sur l'eau

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CAT ENG ENG ENG GER

Un cygne avance sur l'eau 
tout entouré de lui-même, 
comme un glissant tableau;
ainsi à certains instants
un être que l'on aime 
est tout un espace mouvant.

Il se rapproche, doublé, 
comme ce cygne qui nage,
sur notre âme troublée...
qui à cet être ajoute 
la tremblante image
de bonheur et de doute.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 40 [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 Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "Un cygne", op. 27 no. 2 (1950-1), published 1952 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies passagères, no. 2, Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
by Louis Durey (1888 - 1979), "Un cygne", op. 42 no. 5 (1932), published 1966 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 5, Éd. Le Chant du Monde [sung text checked 1 time]
by Manuel Pedro Ferreira (b. 1959), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", 1989, first performed 1990 [ soprano and piano ], from Três Canções de Rilke, no. 3, can be found on the CD Vocalizos (Movieplay, 1997) [sung text not yet checked]
by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "Un cygne", 1939 [ mixed chorus ], from Six Chansons, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Léon Orthel (1905 - 1985), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", op. 61 (Sept mélodies) no. 1 (1972), published 1972 [ voice and piano ], Amsterdam, Ed. Donemus [sung text checked 1 time]
by Cyril Plante (b. 1975), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", op. 107 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Cyril Plante (b. 1975), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", op. 13 (4 Mélodies d'après R.M. Rilke) no. 2 (1997) [ baritone and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Gérard Zinsstag (b. 1941), "Un cygne", 2015 [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello ], from Rilke-lieder, no. 2, Ricordi [sung text checked 1 time]

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

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: 53