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Accoudés sur la table et déjà noyés d’ombre, Du haut de la terrasse à pic sur la mer sombre, Les amants, écoutant l’éternelle rumeur, Se taisent, recueillis devant le soir qui meurt. Alcis songe, immobile et la tête penchée. Canope avec lenteur de lui s’est rapprochée Et, lasse, à son épaule a laissé doucement Comme un fardeau trop lourd glisser son front charmant. Tout s’emplit de silence… Au fond des cours lointaines On entend plus distinct le sanglot des fontaines ; Par endroits sur le port une lumière luit ; Et l’étrange soupir qui monte vers la nuit, Mystérieux aveu du cœur profond des choses, Ce soir, se fait plus doux de passer sur les roses. Alcis songe… Et la paix immense, la douceur Nocturne, l’infinie et calme profondeur, Le croissant et l’étoile, à sa base, qui tremble, Et la mer murmurante, et cette enfant qui semble, Avec son cou sur lui renversé sans effort, Comme morte d’amour parmi ses cheveux d’or, Tout l’exalte ! Une lente et solennelle ivresse Semble élargir jusqu’aux étoiles sa tendresse ! Frémissant, il se penche et contemple un long temps Le front uni voilé par les cheveux flottants, Et la bouche de rose où luit l’émail des dents, Et le beau sein qu’un rythme égal et lent soulève… Des feuillages au loin bruissent… La nuit rêve… Alcis, les yeux au ciel, avec un lent baiser Sur la bouche a [laissé]1 son âme se poser ; Et tout à coup son cœur semble en lui se briser ! Car il le sent, jamais, jamais plus dans sa vie, Il ne retrouvera l’adorable accalmie, La nuit et le silence, et cette mer amie, Et ce baiser, dans l’ombre, à Canope endormie.
Confirmed with Albert Samain Œuvres de Albert Samain, Paris, Mercure de France, 1921, in Le Chariot d’or. La Symphonie héroïque. Aux flancs du vase, pages 243-244.
1 Koechlin: "senti"Authorship:
- by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), "Le Sommeil de Canope", appears in Aux Flancs du Vase, no. 5, first published 1898 [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 Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), "Le Sommeil de Canope", op. 31 (Six mélodies) no. 1 (1901-1907), published c1910, orchestrated 1921 [ high voice and piano ], Éd. L. Philippo [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gustave Samazeuilh (1877 - 1967), "Le Sommeil de Canope", 1908, published 1909, first performed 1908 [ high voice and orchestra or piano ], Paris, Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Canope's Slumber", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Canopes Schlummer", copyright © 2004, (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: 34
Word count: 285
Leaning on the table and already in shadow, from the top of the steep terrace overlooking the dark sea, the lovers, listening to the eternal rumor, are silent and withdrawn, before the dying evening. Alcis dreams, immobile, head bent. Canope has drawn slowly closer to him and, weary, has softly laid her charming head on his shoulder like a burden too heavy for her. Everything fills with silence. Deep in the distant yards, the sob of fountains is heard more distinctly. A few lights are scattered throughout the port. And the strange sigh that rises from the night, mysterious confession from the deepest heart of things, this night, softens as it passes over the roses. Alcis dreams, and the immense peace, the sweetness of the night, the calm, infinite depth, the crescent with a trembling star at its base, and the murmuring sea, and this girl-child, who with her neck effortlessly thrown back on him, seems dead with love among golden tresses. Everything exalts him! A slow and solemn drunkenness seems to enlarge his tenderness to the stars. Shivering, he bends and contemplates for a long time the smooth brow veiled by floating hair, and the pink mouth where the teeth gleam, and the fair breast moved by a uniform and slow rhythm. Far away, leaves rustle. The night dreams. Alcis, his eyes on heaven, with a slow kiss on the mouth felt his soul alight, and suddenly his heart seems to break within him because he feels that never, never again will he feel the adorable calm, the night and silence, and this friendly sea, and this kiss in the shadows for a slumberinig Canope.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Faith J. Cormier, (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 Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), "Le Sommeil de Canope", appears in Aux Flancs du Vase, no. 5, first published 1898
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-15
Line count: 34
Word count: 276