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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
Translation © by Ahmed E. Ismail
Le galop
Language: French (Français)
Agite, bon cheval, ta crinière fuyante, Que l'air autour de nous se remplisse de voix ! Que j'entende craquer sous ta corne bruyante Le gravier des ruisseaux et les débris des bois. Aux vapeurs de tes flancs mêle ta chaude haleine, Aux éclairs de tes pieds, ton écume et ton sang ! Cours, comme on voit un aigle, en effleurant la plaine Fouetter l'herbe d'un vol sonore et frémissant ! « Allons, les jeunes gens, à la nage! à la nage! » Crie à ses cavaliers le vieux chef de tribu ; Et les fils du désert respirent le pillage, Et les chevaux sont fous du grand air qu'ils ont bu ! Nage ainsi dans l'espace, ô mon cheval rapide, Abreuve-moi d'air pur, baigne-moi dans le vent ; L'étrier bat ton ventre, et j'ai lâché la bride. Mon corps te touche à peine, il vole en te suivant. Brise tout, le buisson, la barrière ou la branche ; Torrents, fossés, talus, franchis tout d'un seul bond ; Cours, je rêve, et sur toi, les yeux clos, je me penche... Emporte, emporte-moi dans l'inconnu profond!
L. Vierne sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5
Text Authorship:
- by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Le galop", written 1865, appears in Stances et Poèmes, in 1. Stances, in 4. Mélanges, no. 19, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866 [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-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Le galop" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Le Galop", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 5 (1869), published 1948 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Enescu (1881 - 1955), "Le galop", op. 4 no. 2 (1898), published 1899, first performed 1898 [ voice and piano ], from Trois Mélodies, no. 2, Éd. Enoch [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937), "Le galop", op. 29 no. 5 (1912), published 1913, stanzas 1-2,4-5 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], from Stances d'amour et de rêve, no. 5, Éd. Durand et Cie [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Marike Lindhout) , "Galop", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , "The gallop", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Kyle Gee) , "The gallop", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "The gallop", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 176
The gallop
Language: English after the French (Français)
Shake, good horse, your fleeing mane, That in the air around us filled with voices. Let me hear creak and snap under your noisy feet The gravel of streams and the debris of woods. With the air at your side mixes your hot breath, To the spark of your feet, your foam, and your blood, Run, as the eagle flies, brushing against the plain Whisking the grass in your sonorous and quivering flight. Let us go! Young men, swimming, swimming, Cries the old chief of the tribe to his knights, And the sons of the desert halt the pillaging, And the horses are crazy from the great air they have breathed. Swim also in space, o my fast horse, Shower me with pure air, bathe me in the wind, The stirrup hits your belly, and I have let slip the bridle. My body hardly touches yours, it flies, following you. Break everything, the bush, the fence, or the branch. Mountain streams, ditches, embankments, cleared in a single bound. Run, run, I dream and on you, my eyes closed, I hold myself, Carry me, carry me into the great unknown!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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 René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Le galop", written 1865, appears in Stances et Poèmes, in 1. Stances, in 4. Mélanges, no. 19, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866
This text was added to the website: 2004-05-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 189