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Marquise, vous souvenez-vous Du menuet que nous dansâmes? Il était discret, noble et doux Comme l'accord de nos deux âmes. Aux bocages le chalumeau A ces notes pures et lentes ; C'était un air du grand Rameau, Un vieil air des Indes galantes. [Triomphante]1, vous surpreniez Tous les coeurs et tous les hommages, Dans votre robe à grands paniers, Dans votre robe à grands ramages. Vous leviez, de vos doigts gantés Et selon la cadence douce, Votre jupe des deux côtés Prise entre l'index et le pouce. Plus d'une belle, à Trianon, Enviait, parmi vos émules, Le [manège]2 exquis et mignon De vos deux petits pieds à mules. [Et]3, distraite par le bonheur De leur causer cette souffrance, A la reprise en la mineur, Vous manquâtes la révérence.
C. Saint-Saëns sets stanzas 1, 3-6 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
C. Saint-Saëns sets stanzas 1, 3-6 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Saint-Saëns: "Rayonnante"
2 Saint-Saëns: "travail"
3 Saint-Saëns: "Mais"
Text Authorship:
- by François Coppée (1842 - 1908), "Menuet", written 1874, appears in Le cahier rouge, no. 8, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1874 [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 Antoine Banès (1856 - 1924), "Menuet", published [1881] [ voice and piano ], from 12 Mélodies, no. 10, Paris, Félix Mackar [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Diémer (1843 - 1919), "Menuet", published 1875 [ voice and piano ], from Vingt Mélodies, no. 6, Paris : Henri Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Menuet", published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], from Cinq Mélodies, no. 2, from Trois mélodies (1920), no. 2, Éd. "Au Ménestrel" Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel-Laurent Frontin (1878 - 1946), "Marquise", published [1901] [ voice and piano ], Paris, Demets [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanisław Niewiadomski (1857 - 1936), "Menuet", <<1895, published [1895] [ tenor and piano ], from Deux mélodies pour ténor, no. 1, Paris, Richault [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cornélie van Oosterzee (1863 - 1943), "Menuet", op. 25 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from Vieux airs de la marquise, no. 1, Mayence B. Schott's Söhne [sung text not yet checked]
- by Émile Pessard (1843 - 1917), "Vous souvenez-vous, Marquise", <<1889 [ voice and piano ], Paris, L. Bathlot & Veuve Héraud [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Marquise, vous souvenez-vous?", 1869, published 1870, stanzas 1,3-6 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Menuet", published >>1870, stanzas 1,3-6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by François Luc Joseph Thomé (1850 - 1909), as Francis Thomé, "Menuet", published 1910 [ reciter, violin, and piano ], Paris, Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 133
Marquise, do you remember the minuet that we danced? It was discreet, noble and gentle like the harmony of our two souls. In the groves the rustic pipes play those pure slow notes. It was an air by the great Rameau from his opera Les Indes Galantes. [You triumphed]1, you surprised and won all hearts and all compliments, in your dress with the crinoline hoops, your dress with the large floral patterns. With your gloved fingers, in time with the gentle rhythm, you lifted the left and right hems of your skirt clasped between thumb and forefinger. Many a fair young rival of yours in the Trianon Palace, envied the cute and exquisite [play]2 of your little feet in dancing shoes. [And]3 you, distracted by the pleasure you felt at making them suffer, when the music changed to A minor, failed to make the customary curtsey.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translation of title "Menuet" = "Minuet"
1 Saint-Saëns: "Radiant"
2 Saint-Saëns: "work"
3 Saint-Saëns: "But"
Text 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 François Coppée (1842 - 1908), "Menuet", written 1874, appears in Le cahier rouge, no. 8, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1874
This text was added to the website: 2022-05-25
Line count: 24
Word count: 151