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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Nous vivons sur un ancien sol d'échange
Language: French (Français) 
Nous vivons sur un ancien sol d'échange,
où tout se donne, tout se rend -,
mais notre cœur souvent échange l'Ange
contre la vanité d'un ciel absent.

Le pain naïf, l'outil de tous les jours,
l'intimité des choses familières,
qui n'est capable de les laisser pour
un peu de vide où l'envie prospère.

Mais même ce vide, si nous le tenons
bien contre nous, s'échauffe et s'anime,
et l'Ange, pour le rendre légitime,
l'entoure doucement d'un violon.

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: the poem is preceded by the following notes:

(en Février 1924)
(À Alice Bailly)

Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924, appears in Poèmes et Dédicaces, in Souvenirs de Muzot, no. 1 [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 Gregory Mertl , "Nous vivons sur un ancien sol d’échange", 1998, copyright © 2006, first performed 1999 [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet and piano ], from Quatre aperçus, no. 4, New York, NY : Society of Composers, Inc [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Maurice Verheul (b. 1964), "Souvenirs de Muzot, I", subtitle: "(Nous vivons sur un ancien sol d'échange)", MVWV 383 [ alto and piano ], from 6 songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2023-11-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 77

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