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by Louise Labé (1526 - 1566)
Translation Singable translation © by Willis Barnstone (b. 1927)

Pour le retour du Soleil honorer
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Pour le retour du Soleil honorer,
 Le Zephir, l'air serein lui apareille :
 Et du sommeil l'eau & la terre esueille,
 Qui les gardoit l'une de murmurer

En dous coulant, l'autre de se parer
 De mainte fleur de couleur nompareille.
 Ia les oiseaus es arbres font merueille,
 Et aus passans font l'ennui moderer :

Les Nynfes ia en mile ieus s'esbatent
 Au cler de Lune, & dansans l'herbe abatent :
 Veut tu Zephir de ton heur me donner,

Et que par toy toute me renouuelle ?
 Fay mon Soleil deuers moy retourner.
 Et tu verras s'il ne me rend plus belle.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Œuvres de Louise Labé, texte établi par Charles Boy, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1887, pages 101-102.

Modernized version:

Pour honorer le retour du Soleil,
le Zéphir lui prépare l'air serein :
et il éveille l'eau et la terre du sommeil,
qui les gardait l'une de murmurer,

en coulant doux, I'autre de se parer
de mainte fleur de couleur sans-pareille.
Déjà les oiseaux dans les arbres font merveille,
et apaisent la souffrance des passants :

Les Nymphes s'ébattent déjà en mille jeux
au clair de Lune, et écrasent l'herbe en dansant :
veux-tu, Zéphir, me donner de ton bonheur,

pour que je sois par toi toute renouvelée ?
Fais revenir mon Soleil vers moi,
et tu verras s'il ne me rend pas plus belle.

Text Authorship:

  • by Louise Labé (1526 - 1566), no title, written 1552, appears in Sonnets, no. 15 [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 André Bon (b. 1947), "Pour le retour du soleil honorer", 1981 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Michel Bosc (b. 1963), "Pour le retour du Soleil honorer", op. 206 no. 12 (2006) [ high voice, guitar, mandole, mandolin ], from Le Jardin de Louise Labé, Suite, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Henri-Pierre Poupard (1901 - 1989), as Henri Sauguet, "Printemps", 1927, published 1928 [ high voice and piano ], from Six sonnets de L. Labé, no. 5, Éd. Rouard Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Willis Barnstone (b. 1927) , "XV", copyright © ; composed by Judith Cloud.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Die vierundzwanzig Sonette der Louize Labé, Lyoneserin : 1555, no. 15, Leipzig, Insel-Verlag, first published 1917 ; composed by Walther Prokop.
    • Go to the text.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 97

To honor the return of sparkling sun
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
To honor the return of sparkling sun
 [ ... ]

About the headline (FAQ)

This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.

Text Authorship:

  • Singable translation by Willis Barnstone (b. 1927), "XV", copyright © [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Louise Labé (1526 - 1566), no title, written 1552, appears in Sonnets, no. 15
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Judith Cloud (1954 - 2023), "Sonnet XV: To Honor the Return of Sparkling Sun", 2013 [ voice and piano ], from Black Day, Bright Day, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

This text was added to the website: 2022-12-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 106

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