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Ange plein de gaieté, connaissez-vous l'angoisse, La honte, les remords, les [sanglots]1, les ennuis, Et les vagues terreurs de ces affreuses nuits Qui compriment le cœur comme un papier qu'on froisse ? Ange plein de gaieté, connaissez-vous l'angoisse ? Ange plein de bonté, connaissez-vous la haine, Les poings crispés dans l'ombre, et les larmes de fiel, Quand la Vengeance bat son infernal rappel, Et de nos facultés se fait le capitaine ? Ange plein de bonté, connaissez-vous la haine ? Ange plein de santé, connaissez-vous les Fièvres, Qui, le long des grands murs de l'hospice blafard, Comme des exilés, s'en vont d'un pied traînard, Cherchant le soleil rare, et remuant les lèvres ? Ange plein de santé, connaissez-vous les Fièvres ? Ange plein de beauté, connaissez-vous les rides, Et la peur de vieillir, et ce hideux tourment De lire la secrète horreur du dévouement Dans [des]2 yeux où longtemps burent nos yeux avides ? Ange plein de beauté, connaissez-vous les rides ? Ange plein de bonheur, de joie et de lumières, David mourant aurait demandé la santé Aux émanations de ton corps enchanté ! -- Mais de toi je n'implore, ange, que tes prières, Ange plein de bonheur, de joie et de lumières !
L. Vierne sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5
Confirmed with Revue des Deux Mondes, seconde série de la nouvelle période, tome dixième, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, 1855, pages 1087-1088. Also confirmed with Les Fleurs du mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1857, pages 94-95. Punctuation and formatting follows 1855 edition, with the exception of the spelling "gaîté" in lines 1 and 5, which has been changed to "gaieté".
First published in Revue des Deux Mondes, seconde série de la nouvelle période, tome dixième, 1855. Also appears in Les Fleurs du mal as number 40 in the 1857 edition and 44 or 45 in subsequent editions.
1 Vierne: "regrets"2 Vierne: "les"
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Réversibilité", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 44, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, first published 1855 [author's text checked 3 times 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 Maurice Rollinat (1846 - 1903), "Réversibilité" [ voice and piano ], from Six Mélodies sur des poésies de Baudelaire, no. 5, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937), "Réversibilité", op. 45 no. 2 (1921), published 1924, stanzas 1-2,4-5 [ voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire, no. 2, Éd. Salabert (Maurice Sénart) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Haasz) , "Zpětnost"
- ENG English (Corinne Orde) , "Reversibility", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Reversibilità", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Geoffrey Wieting , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 194
Angel full of gaiety, do you know the anguish, The shame, the remorse, the regrets, the troubles, And the vague terrors of those awful nights That crush the heart like a scrunched up piece of paper? Angel full of gaiety, do you know anguish? Angel full of goodness, do you know the hatred, The clenched fists in the shadow and the bitter tears When vengeance beats its infernal call to arms And makes itself the commander of our faculties? Angel full of goodness, do you know hatred? Angel full of beauty, do you know the wrinkles, And the fear of growing old, and that hideous torment Of reading the secret horror of devotion In those eyes where our eager eyes drank for so long? Angel full of beauty, do you know of wrinkles? Angel full of happiness, joy and light, The dying David would have asked for health When presented with the emanations from your enchanted body; But from you, angel, I beg only your prayers, Angel full of happiness, joy and of light.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2007 by Corinne Orde, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Réversibilité", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 44, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, first published 1855
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-20
Line count: 20
Word count: 174