Le Cheval
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG ENG
Mes durs rêves formels sauront te chevaucher,
Mon destin au char d'or sera ton beau cocher
Qui pour rènes tendus à frénésie,
Mes vers, les parangons de toute poésie.
First appeared in the revue La Phalange, June 15, 1908, in "La Marchande des quatre saisons ou le bestiaire mondain" no. 3 of 18, and later in the 1911 publication of "Le Bestiaire ou Cortège d'Orphée", Paris, Deplanche.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Claude Ballif (1924 - 2004), "Le Cheval", op. 1b no. 3 (1945-48), published 1994 [ voice and piano ], from Le Cortège d’Orphée, no. 3, Édition Durand & Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Régis Campo (b. 1968), "Le Cheval", 2007-08 [ soprano and orchestra or piano ], from Le Bestiaire, no. 11, Éd. Henry Lemoine (piano reduction) [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Carbon (b. 1951), "Le Cheval", op. 22 no. 2 (2002), copyright © 2008 [ soprano, horn, cello, piano ], from Le Bestiare, no. 2, Édition du compositeur (JC. Collections) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Cornman (1924 - 2008), "Le Cheval", 1972 [ medium voice and piano ], from Le Bestiaire (bêta) ou cortège d'Orphée, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Durey (1888 - 1979), "Le Cheval", op. 17a no. 3 (1919), from Le Bestiaire, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Rachel Laurin (b. 1961), "Le Cheval", op. 22 no. 6 (1992), copyright © 1992 [ medium voice and piano ], from Le Bestiaire, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "The Horse", 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: 4
Word count: 29
The Steed
Language: English after the French (Français)
My harsh, formal dreams will sidle up to you
My destiny will be to serve as the coachman for your golden chariot
Which will have for reins, stretched agitatedly,
My verses, the paragon of all poetry.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Laura Prichard, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-15
Line count: 4
Word count: 36
