by Ambroise-Paul-Touissaint-Jules Valéry (1871 - 1945)
Tes pas, enfants de mon silence
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG
Tes pas, enfants de mon silence, Saintement, lentement placés, Vers le lit de ma vigilance Procèdent muets et glacés. Personne pure, ombre divine, Qu'ils sont doux, tes pas retenus ! Dieux!... tous les dons que je devine Viennent à moi sur ces pieds nus ! Si, de tes lèvres avancées, Tu prépares, pour l'apaiser, À l'habitant de mes pensées La nourriture d'un baiser, Ne hâte pas cet acte tendre, Douceur d'être et de n'être pas, Car j'ai vécu de vous attendre, Et mon cœur n'était que vos pas.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Feuillets d'art, November 1921.
Text Authorship:
- by Ambroise-Paul-Touissaint-Jules Valéry (1871 - 1945), "Les Pas", written 1921, appears in Charmes, Paris, Éd. Gallimard, first published 1921 [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 Jean Absil (1893 - 1974), "Les Pas", op. 12 (1933-1937) [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], note: the opus number may be incorrect [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin C. S. Boyle , "Les Pas", op. 15 no. 2, published 2007, first performed 2008 [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Le passage des rêves, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Brown (1898 - 1988), "Tes Pas", 1936 [ high voice and piano ], Ambarès, Édition Mona Russel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre-Octave Ferroud (1900 - 1936), "Les Pas", 1929, published 1930 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois poèmes de Paul Valéry mis en musique par P.O Ferroud, no. 2, Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by François de La Rochefoucauld (flourished c1950), "Les Pas", published 1950 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies de François de La Rochefoucauld, poèmes de Paul Valéry - 1er recueil, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Auber [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dinu Lipatti (1917 - 1950), "Les Pas", 1945, published 1981 [ tenor and piano ], from Quatre Mélodies, no. 4, Muzicala Bucarest [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederic Mompou i Dencausse (1893 - 1987), "Les Pas", 1973 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], from Cinq Mélodies sur des Textes de Paul Valéry, no. 5, Max Eschig [sung text checked 1 time]
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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 86