Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Oh si i'estois en ce beau sein rauie De celui là pour lequel vois mourant : Si auec lui viure le demeurant De mes cours iours ne m'empeschoit enuie : Si m'acollant me disoit, chère Amie, Contentons nous l'un l'autre, s'asseurant Que ia tempeste, Euripe, ne Courant Ne nous pourra desioindre en notre vie : Si de mes bras le tenant acollé, Comme du Lierre est l'arbre encercelé, La mort venait, de mon aise enuieuse : Lors que souef plus il me baiseroit. Et mon esprit sur ses leures fuiroit. Bien ie mourrois, plus que viuante, heureuse.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Œuvres de Louise Labé, texte établi par Charles Boy, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1887, page 100.
Modernized form of the text:
Oh ! si j'étais en ce beau sein ravie De celui-là pour lequel vais mourant ; Si avec lui vive le demeurant De mes courts jours ne m'empêchait envie ; Si m'accolant, me disait : Chère Amie, Contentons-nous l'un l'autre, s'assurant Que jà tempête, Euripe, ni courant Ne nous pourra déjoindre en notre vie ; Si, de mes bras le tenant accolé, Comme du lierre est l'arbre encercelé, La mort venait, de mon aise envieuse, Lors que souef plus il me baiserait, Et mon esprit sur ses lèvres fuirait, Bien je mourrais, plus que vivante, heureuse.
Text Authorship:
- by Louise Labé (1526 - 1566), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 13, first published 1555 [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 Konrad Boehmer (b. 1941), "Bien je mourrois", published 1980 [ soprano, flute, and percussion ], from Je vis - je meurs, no. 3, Darmstadt, Tonos [sung text not yet checked]
- by André-Marie Cuvelier , "De celui la pour lequel vais mourant", 1940 [ medium voice and piano ], from Chansons pour Hélène, 8ème recueil, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Herberigs (1886 - 1974), "Ah si j'estois en ce beau sein ravie", 1953 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aribert Reimann (b. 1936), "Oh si i'estois en ce beau sein rauie", op. 10 no. 6 (1986), published 1988 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Neun Sonette der Louize Labé, no. 6, Mainz, B. Schott's Söhne; confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Viktor Ullmann (1898 - 1944), "Oh si j'estois en ce beau sein ravie", op. 34 no. 6, published 1941 [ soprano and piano ], from Six Sonnets de Louïze Labé, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Die vierundzwanzig Sonette der Louize Labé, Lyoneserin : 1555, no. 13 ; composed by Walther Prokop, Konrad Rötscher, Grete von Zieritz.
Other 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 text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 93
If I could lodge my head on the handsome chest of him who’s costing me my health and sense; if I could be his partner for the rest of this brief life, and no one took offence; if, while embracing me, he’d say: "Sweetheart, let’s be content to share one life and fate, vowing that never a rip-tide, storm nor strait will have the power to wrestle us apart!" if, while I clung too tight to ever shift, entwining him as ivy clasps a tree, Death were to sneak in, jealous of my bliss, and as he kept on gently kissing me, my soul were to leave my body in his kiss ... I’d then die happier than I ever lived.
About the headline (FAQ)
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Louise Labé (1526 - 1566), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 13, first published 1555
This text was added to the website: 2022-07-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 120