by Émile Albert Kayenberg (1860 - 1929), as Albert Giraud
Translation by Andrew Porter
Arlequin
Language: French (Français)
[Plus beau que le]1 spectre solaire, Voici le très mince Arlequin, Qui chiffonne le casaquin De la servante atrabilaire. Afin d’apaiser sa colère, Il fait miroiter un sequin Plus beau que le spectre solaire, Voici le mince Arlequin. La vieille, empochant son salaire, Livre Colombine au faquin, Qui sur un grand ciel bleu turquin Se dessine et chante lanlaire, Plus beau que le spectre solaire.
View original text (without footnotes)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Confirmed with Albert Giraud, Héros et Pierrots, Paris, Librairie Fischbacher (Collection des poètes français de l’étranger), 1898, pages 97-98.
1 Prohaska: "Brillant comme un"; further changes may exist not shown above.Text Authorship:
- by Émile Albert Kayenberg (1860 - 1929), as Albert Giraud, "Arlequin", written 1884, appears in Pierrot lunaire, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1884 [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 Carl Prohaska (1869 - 1927), "Arlequin", op. 14 no. 5 [ medium voice and piano ], from Pierrot lunaire, no. 5, Zürich, Éd. Musikhaus Üni Verlag [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Andrew Porter , "Harlequin" ; composed by Nico Muhly.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Otto Erich Hartleben (1864 - 1905) , "Harlequin", appears in Pierrot lunaire, Berlin, Verlag Deutscher Phantasten, first published 1893 ; composed by Otto Vrieslander.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2019-04-24
Line count: 13
Word count: 66
Harlequin
Language: English after the French (Français)
Gleaming like a solar spectrum, The slender Harlequin Accosts the sad old servant And rumples her great cape. To quiet her quick temper He makes a sequin shine. Gleaming like a solar spectrum, The slender Harlequin. Now the sad old woman, pocketing her fee, Brings Columbine to the roguish knave. He sings out gleefully, Gleaming like a solar spectrum.
Text Authorship:
- by Andrew Porter , "Harlequin" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Émile Albert Kayenberg (1860 - 1929), as Albert Giraud, "Arlequin", written 1884, appears in Pierrot lunaire, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1884
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Nico Muhly (b. 1981), "Harlequin", 2015, first performed 2015 [ mixed chorus ], from Three Moon Songs, no. 1, St. Rose Music Publishing
Publisher: WiseMusic classical [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 59