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Le vent d'automne, aux bruits lointains des mers pareil, Plein d'adieux solennels, de plaintes inconnues, Balance tristement le long des avenues Les lourds massifs rougis de ton sang, ô soleil ! La feuille en tourbillons s'envole par les nues ; Et l'on voit osciller, dans un fleuve vermeil, Aux approches du soir inclinés au sommeil, De grands nids teints de pourpre au bout des branches nues. Tombe, Astre glorieux, source et flambeau du jour ! Ta gloire en nappes d'or coule de ta blessure, Comme d'un sein puissant tombe un suprême amour. Meurs donc, tu renaîtras ! L'espérance en est sûre. Mais qui rendra la vie et la flamme et la voix Au coeur qui s'est brisé pour la dernière fois ?
Text Authorship:
- by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "La mort du soleil", appears in Poèmes barbares, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1862 [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 François Berthet (1873 - 1956), "La mort du soleil", op. 7 no. 1 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. E. Demets [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lucien Berton , "La mort du soleil", published [1904] [ high voice and piano ], Éd. Louis Rouhier [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charlotte Devéria, née Thomas (1856 - 1885), "La mort du soleil" [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, 3ème recueil, no. 14, Éd. "Au Ménestrel", Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fernand Masson (d. 1942), "La mort du soleil", published 1912 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Carl Selva [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "La Mort du Soleil", op. 347 (Drei Chorlieder nach Ch.-M-R. Leconte de Lisle für Frauenchor (SSAA) und Klavier) no. 2 (2022) [ SSAA chorus and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Rudi Spring (b. 1962), "La Mort du soleil", op. 96 no. 12 (2018) [ soprano and piano ], from Livre de Mélodies Françaises, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Death of the Sun", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "A nap halála"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 117
The autumn wind, like sounds from distant seas, Full of solemn farewells, of laments unheard, Sadly tosses asway along the avenues The heavy reddened thickets of your blood, O sun! The leaf takes whirling flight across the clouds; And one sees bobbing, in a ruby stream, As evening nears and inclines toward sleep, Great nests tinged with purple at bare branch's tip. Fall, glorious star, source and torch of the day! Your glory flows in gold sheets from your wounds, As a supreme love falls from a mighty breast. Die then, you will be reborn! The hope is sure. But who will give back life and fire and voice To the heart broken for the very last time?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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 Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "La mort du soleil", appears in Poèmes barbares, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1862
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 118