The Sleep of Falcons | Sated with azure, they sleep

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le sommeil des faucons

Language: French (Français) after the Arabic (العربية)

Our translations: ENG

Repus d’azur, ils dorment.
Du sang macule encore leur bec, 
et leurs serres étreignent le barreau d'ivoire. 

Ainsi dors-tu quelquefois, rassasiée d'amour,
la bouche meurtrie, 
et tes bras noués autour de mon corps.

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: H. Piazza, 1919, p.62.

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le sommeil des faucons", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 61, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- 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 Marcel Bernheim (1892 - 1963), "Le sommeil des faucons", published 1925 [ high voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes Arabes extraits du “Jardin des Caresses” de Franz Toussaint, no. 5, Paris, Éditions Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968), "Le sommeil des faucons", published 1923 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes Arabes, no. 10, Paris, Éd. Jobert [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Sleep of Falcons", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2024-11-09
Line count: 6
Word count: 33

The Sleep of Falcons

Language: English after the French (Français)

Sated with azure, they sleep. 
Blood still stains their beaks,
and their talons embrace the ivory bar. 

Thus do you sometimes sleep, satiated with love,
your mouth bruised,
and your arms knotted around my body.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le sommeil des faucons", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 61, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-02-26
Line count: 6
Word count: 35