Grands bois, vous m'effrayez comme des cathédrales ; Vous hurlez comme l'orgue ; et dans nos cœurs maudits, Chambres d'éternel deuil où vibrent de vieux râles, Répondent les échos de vos De profundis. Je te hais, Océan ! tes bonds et tes tumultes, Mon esprit les retrouve en lui ; ce rire amer De l'homme vaincu, plein de sanglots et d'insultes, Je l'entends dans le rire énorme de la mer. Comme tu me plairais, ô nuit ! sans ces étoiles Dont la lumière parle un langage connu ! Car je cherche le vide, et le noir, et le nu ! Mais les ténèbres sont elles-mêmes des toiles Où vivent, jaillissant de mon œil par milliers, Des êtres disparus aux regards familiers.
Confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1861, in Spleen et Idéal, pages 178-179. Note: this was number 79 in the 1861 edition of Les Fleurs du mal but number 81 in subsequent editions.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Obsession", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 79, Paris, Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, first published 1861 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Gérard Bertouille (1898 - 1981), "Obsession", 1940 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Trois poèmes de Baudelaire, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Francès (1919 - 2012), "Obsession", published 2002 [ medium voice and piano ], from Paysages musicaux, no. 5, Paris, Éditions Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Kerry (b. 1961), "Obsession", 1985 [ voice and piano ], from Obsessions, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hyppolyte Mirande (1862 - 1938), "Obsession", published [1884] [ high voice and piano ], from Mélopées, no. 14, Paris, Éd. J. Naus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Montfort (d. 1941), "Obsession", published [1911] [ high voice and piano ], from Trois poèmes de Baudelaire, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugène Saeys , "Obsession" [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gaston Selz (1869 - 1953), "Obsession", copyright © 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], Éditions Voissière [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aimée Strohl (1865 - 1941), "Obsession", 1894 [ soprano and piano ], from Six Poésies de Baudelaire mises en musique, no. 3, Paris : Toledo & Ce. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Lev L'vovich Kobylinsky (1889 - 1947) ; composed by Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Haasz) , "Trýzeň"
- ENG English (Emily Wyatt) , "Obsession", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Cyril Meir Scott) , "Obsession", appears in The Flowers of Evil, London, Elkin Mathews, first published 1909
- GER German (Deutsch) (Stefan George) , "Besessenheit", appears in Die Blumen des Bösen, in Trübsinn und Vergeisterung, first published 1901
- POR Portuguese (Português) (Delfim Guimarães) , "Obsessão ", appears in As Flores do Mal
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-08-23
Line count: 14
Word count: 115
Ihr wälder macht wie grosse kirchen bange · Ihr heult wie orgeln · der verdammten herz Wo altes röcheln bebt und ewiger schmerz Antwortet eurem de-profundis-sange. Ich hasse dich o meer das laut sich blähet: Ich finde mich in dir! des lachers wut · Des unterjochten der mit schluchzen schmähet – Sein ungeheures lachen tönt die flut! O nacht · wie schön ich ohne stern dich fände! Bekannte sprache spricht der sterne strahl. Ich suche nur was nackt ist schwarz und kahl. Sogar die finsternisse sind mir wände Die mir zu tausenden entgegenschicken Entschwundene wesen mit vertrauten blicken.
Confirmed with Stefan George, Die Blumen des Bösen, Aus dem Zyklus: Trübsinn und Vergeisterung, , Berlin: Bondi, 1901, page 102.
Text Authorship:
- by Stefan George (1868 - 1933), "Besessenheit", appears in Die Blumen des Bösen, in Trübsinn und Vergeisterung, first published 1901 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Obsession", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 79, Paris, Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, first published 1861
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 98