×
Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
by Joachim du Bellay (1525 - c1560)
Translation © by David Jonathan Justman
À vous, trouppe légère
Language: French (Français)
Available translation(s): ENG
À vous, [trouppe]1 légère,
Qui d'aile passagère
Par le monde volez,
Et, d'un sifflant murmure
L'ombrageuse verdure
Doulcement esbranlez,
J'offre ces violettes,
Ces lis, et ces fleurettes,
Et ces roses icy,
Ces vermeillettes roses,
Tout freschement écloses,
Et ces oeilletz aussi.
De vostre doulce halaine
Éventez ceste plaine,
Éventez ce séjour:
Ce pendant que j'ahanne
À mon blé, que je vanne
À la chaleur du jour.
E. Moret sets stanzas 1-2
J. Altès sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Altès, Moret: "ombre"; further changes may exist not shown above.
Modernized spelling:
À vous, trouppe légère,
Qui d'aile passagère
Par le monde volez,
Et, d'un sifflant murmure
L'ombrageuse verdure
Doucement ébranlez,
J'offre ces violettes,
Ces lis, et ces fleurettes,
Et ces roses ici,
Ces vermeillettes roses,
Tout fraichement écloses,
Et ces oeillets aussi.
De votre douce haleine
Éventez cette plaine,
Éventez ce séjour:
Ce pendant que j'ahanne
À mon blé, que je vanne
À la chaleur du jour.
Authorship:
- by Joachim du Bellay (1525 - c1560), "D'un vanneur de bled aux vents", written c1549, appears in Divers Jeux Rustiques, no. 3 [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 Joseph Henry Altès (1826 - 1895), "Dédicace - Au lutin du foyer", op. 26 no. 1, published [1865?], stanzas 1-2 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from 15 Mélodies, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Simon Richault [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley, Sir (1903 - 1989), "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents", 1924, published 1926 [ high voice and piano ], from 3 Early Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Pierre Cettier (b. 1874), "Chanson d'un vanneur de blé", published 1922 [ medium voice and piano ], Éditions F. Durdilly, Ch. Hayet [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Chatillon (1937 - 2019), "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents", 1981 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by André-Marie Cuvelier , "D'un vanneur de blé, aux vents", 1943 [ medium voice and piano ], from Chansons pour Hélène, 8ème recueil, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Balfour Gardiner (1877 - 1950), "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents", 1896 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Herberigs (1886 - 1974), "D'un vanneur de bled aux vents", 1953 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustave Léon Huberti (1843 - 1910), "Un vanneur de blés au vent", subtitle: "Villanelle" [ high voice and piano ], from Huit mélodies, no. 5, Bruxelles: Schott Frères, also set in Dutch (Nederlands), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Rudolf (Ruud) Leopold Koumans (b. 1929), "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents", op. 28 no. 1 (1969) [ soprano, clarinet, and piano ], from Trois voeuz rustiques, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Manduell, Sir (1928 - 2017), "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents", 1956 [ voice and piano ], from Trois chansons de la Renaissance, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henri Martelli (1895 - 1980), "Un vanneur de blé aux vents", op. 20 no. 1, published 1925 [ high voice and piano ], from Sur des vers de la Pléïade, no. 1, Éd. Deiss & Crépin (Salabert) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Victor Massé (1822 - 1884), "La chanson du vanneur de blé" [ high voice and piano ], from Chants d'autrefois: recueil des premières mélodies de V. Massé, no. 3, Éditions Léon Grus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Emanuel Moór (1863 - 1931), "À vous, trouppe légère", op. 88a no. 5 [ voice and piano ], from Premier Recueil de Mélodies, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Moret (1871 - 1949), "À vous, ombre légère", published 1900, stanzas 1-2 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies [1900], no. 1, Éd. "Au Ménestrel" Heugel & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Moulaert (1875 - 1962), "À vous, troupe légère", 1939 [ medium voice unaccompanied ], from Poèmes de la Vieille France (4e recueil), no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges (Jerzy) Nawrocki , "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents", <<1971 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques Guillaume de Sauville de la Presle (1888 - 1969), "Le vanneur de blé" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexis Jean Hubert Rostand (1844 - 1919), as Jean Hubert, "D'un vanneur de blé aux vents" [ high voice and piano ], from Chants d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, trente deux mélodies, no. 14, Paris, Éd. Heugel & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel de Saint-Quentin (1846 - 1926), "Chanson d'un vanneur de blé aux vents" [ high voice and piano ], from Dix mélodies célèbres, no. 7, Paris, Éd. Fromont [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Emmanuel Hiel (1834 - 1899) ; composed by Gustave Léon Huberti.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Heinrich Ludwig Flemmich (1823 - 1890) ; composed by Gustave Léon Huberti.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Jonathan Justman) , "From a winnower of wheat to the winds", copyright ©, (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: 18
Word count: 66
From a winnower of wheat to the winds
Language: English after the French (Français)
To you, light troop, Who with wings of passage fly through the world, And with a whistling murmur Gently ruffle The shadowed greenery, I offer these violets, These lilies, and these little flowers, And these roses here, These ruddy roses, All freshly bloomed, And these carnations also. With your gentle breath Fan this plain, Fan this place of sojourn: While I breathe deeply over my wheat In the heat of the day.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by David Jonathan Justman, (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:
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Joachim du Bellay (1525 - c1560), "D'un vanneur de bled aux vents", written c1549, appears in Divers Jeux Rustiques, no. 3
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 72