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by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
Translation by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873 - 1924)

Le piano que baise une main frêle
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Le piano que baise une main frêle,
Luit dans le soir rose et gris vaguement,
Tandis qu'avec un très léger bruit d'aile,
Un air bien vieux, bien faible et bien charmant,
Rôde discret, épeuré quasiment,
Par le boudoir longtemps parfumé d'Elle.

Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce berceau soudain
Qui lentement dorlote mon pauvre être ?
Que voudrais-tu de moi, doux Chant badin ?
Qu'as-tu voulu, fin refrain incertain
Qui vas tantôt mourir vers la fenêtre 
Ouverte un peu sur le petit jardin ?

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, written 1872, appears in Romances sans paroles, in Ariettes oubliées, no. 5 [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 Charles Bordes (1863 - 1909), "Sur un vieil air", 1895, published 1902 [ voice and orchestra or piano ], Paris, Mergault [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Serge Bortkiewicz (1877 - 1952), "Le piano que baise une main frêle", op. 23 no. 4, published 1925 [ high voice and piano ], from Sept Poésies de Paul Verlaine = Sieben Gedichte von Paul Verlaine, no. 4, Leipzig, Milan: Éd. Elite No. 205 Edition D. Rahter (4408), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Marie-Rose Bresson , "Ariette oubliée", 1921 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Émile-Henri-J.-B. Defosse (1883 - 1956), "Romance sans paroles", published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 2, Paris, Rouart Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Bernard Foccroulle (b. 1953), "Le piano que baise une main frêle" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Roger Guyonnet , "Le piano que baise une main frêle", [1948] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Rodolphe-Adolphe-Joseph Herrmann (1875 - 1964), "Le piano que baise une main frêle", published 1938 [ voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, no. 12, Paris, Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Lou Koster (1889 - 1973), "Le piano que baise une main frêle", 1935, published [1955] [ voice and piano ], from 5 Mélodies [later 6 mélodies], no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Pavel Ivanovich Kovalev (1889 - 1951), "Le piano que baise une main frêle", op. 19 no. 2, published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Six chansons sur des poésies de Paul Verlaine, no. 2, Moscow [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Dinu Lipatti (1917 - 1950), "Le piano que baise une main frêle", op. 9 no. 4, published 1941 [ voice and piano ], from Cinq Mélodies sur des Poèmes de Paul Verlaine, no. 4, note: published in Romania as Cinci Lieduri pe Versuri de Verlaine, Bucarest, Editura muzicala [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Arthur Vincent Lourié (1891 - 1966), no title, alternate title: "Le piano qui baise", op. 5 no. 1 (1912), first performed 1914 [ voice and piano ], from Deux poèmes nach Paul Verlaine, no. 1, St. Petersburg, Tabiti, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Arthur Vincent Lourié (1891 - 1966), "Le piano qui baise", 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Verlaine, no. 1, Petrograd / Moscow, Государственное музыкальное издательство (Gosudarstvennoe muzykal’noe izdatel’stvo ) [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Guillemette Marrannes (b. 1954), "Le piano que baise une main frêle", 1999 [ high voice and piano ], from Sensation, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Frédéric Michel , "Le piano que baise une main frêle", published 1923 [ voice and piano ], from Dix mélodies, no. 9, Paris, Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli (1882 - 1949), "Ariette oubliée", op. 40 no. 2, published 1929 [ medium voice and piano ], from Quattro liriche, no. 2, Milan, Carisch [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Joseph Ryelandt (1870 - 1965), "Ariette oubliée", op. 88 (5 mélodies) no. 4 (1924) [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Joseph Ryelandt (1870 - 1965), "Ariette oubliée", 1924 [ voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Lazare Saminsky (1882 - 1959), "Ariette oubliée", op. 5 no. 1 (1914), published 1927 [ voice and piano ], from Cycle Verlaine, no. 1, Paris, Sénart ; also set in Russian and German [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Josef Bohuslav Foerster.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Serge Bortkiewicz (1877 - 1952) , "Das Klavier liebkost von dem Händchen" ; composed by Serge Bortkiewicz.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Viktor Gavrilovich Pergament.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873 - 1924) ; composed by Arthur Vincent Lourié.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Slovak (Slovenčina), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Vladimír Rusó.
    • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , copyright © 2019
  • GER German (Deutsch) ( Wolf von Kalckreuth, Graf) , no title


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: 80

Целует клавиши прелестная рука
Language: Russian (Русский)  after the French (Français) 
Целует клавиши прелестная рука;
И в сером сумраке, немного розоватом,
Они блестят; напев, на крыльях мотылька
(О, песня милая, любимая когда-то!),
Плывет застенчиво, испуганно слегка. —
И все полно ее пьянящим ароматом,

И вот я чувствую, как будто колыбель
Баюкает мой дух, усталый и скорбящий.
Что хочешь от меня, ты, песни нежный хмель"
И ты, ее припев, неясный и манящий
Ты, замирающий, как дальняя свирель,
В окне, растворенном на сад вечерний, спящий?

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

  • by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873 - 1924) [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, written 1872, appears in Romances sans paroles, in Ariettes oubliées, no. 5
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Arthur Vincent Lourié (1891 - 1966), "Целует клавиши прелестная рука", op. 5 no. 1 (1912), first performed 1914 [ medium voice and piano ], from Deux poèmes nach Paul Verlaine, no. 1, St. Petersburg, Tabiti, also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-12-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 72

Gentle Reminder

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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