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Dans la plaine les baladins S'éloignent au long des jardins Devant l'huis des auberges grises Par les villages sans églises Et les enfants s'en vont devant Les autres suivent en rêvant Chaque arbre fruitier se résigne Quand de très loin il lui font signe Ils ont des poids ronds ou carrés Des tambours des cerceaux dorés L'ours et le singe animaux sages Quêtent des sous sur leurs passage
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "Saltimbanques", written 1909, appears in Alcools, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1913 [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 Louis Bessières (1913 - 2011), "Saltimbanques", published 1952 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Caby (1905 - 1992), "Saltimbanques", 1939 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Olivier Greif (1950 - 2000), "Les saltimbanques", op. 3 (1965) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Honegger (1892 - 1955), "Saltimbanques", H. 12 no. 4 (1917), published 1921 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Six Poèmes de Guillaume Apollinaire, no. 4, Albert Zunz Mathot [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bohuslav Martinů (1890 - 1959), "Saltimbanques", 1930, from Trois Mélodies, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Rivier (1896 - 1987), "Saltimbanques", 1925-1926, published 1929 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], from Huit poèmes, no. 7, Éd. Maurice Sénart (Salabert) [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (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: 68
In the plain the travelling entertainers walk away along the gardens, in front of the doors of the gray taverns, through the villages with no churches. And the children go in front as the others follow, dreaming. Every fruit tree accepts defeat when from far off they point it out. They carry weights, round or square, and drums and gilded hoops. The bear and the monkey, obedient beasts, beg for coins wherever they pass.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Saltimbanques" = "Fairground Folk"Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2022 by Peter Low, (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. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "Saltimbanques", written 1909, appears in Alcools, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1913
This text was added to the website: 2022-04-22
Line count: 12
Word count: 74