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Tremble argenté, tilleul, bouleau... La lune s'effeuille sur l'eau... Comme de longs cheveux peignés au vent du soir, L'odeur des nuits d'été parfume le lac noir. Le grand lac parfumé brille comme un miroir, [La]1 rame tombe et se relève, Ma barque glisse dans le rêve. Ma barque glisse dans le ciel, Sur le lac immatériel... Des deux rames que je balance, L'une est Langueur, l'autre est Silence. En cadence les yeux fermés, Rame, ô mon cœur, ton indolence A larges coups lents et pâmés. Là-bas la lune écoute, accoudée au côteau, Le silence qu'exhale en glissant le bateau... Trois grands lys frais coupés meurent sur mon manteau. Vers tes lèvres, ô Nuit voluptueuse et pâle, Est-ce leur âme, est-ce mon âme qui s'exhale ? Cheveux des nuits d'argent peignés aux longs roseaux... Comme la lune sur les eaux, Comme la rame sur les flots, Mon âme s'effeuille en sanglots !
G. Fauré sets stanzas 1-4, 6-9
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 Fauré: "Ma"
Text Authorship:
- by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), "Accompagnement", written 1893, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897 [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 Boulnois (1884 - 1918), "Accompagnement", published 1913 [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éditions Maurice Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Delafosse (1874 - 1951), "Barcarolle - Nocturne", published 1904 [ vocal duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano with piano ], from Six mélodies pour une ou deux voix et piano, no. 6, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "La lune s'effeuille sur l'eau", published 1905 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Musiques sur l'eau, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Accompagnement", op. 85 no. 3 (1902), published 1903, stanzas 1-4,6-9 [ medium voice and piano ], Éditions Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jane Fonssagrives , "Lac immatériel", <<1909 [ medium voice and piano ], from Cinq mélodies, poèmes d'Albert Samain, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "Accompagnement", op. 46 no. 2 (1993), published 2014 [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder nach Texten von Albert Samain, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), [adaptation] ; composed by Charles Koechlin.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (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: 23
Word count: 151
Silver poplar, linden, birch... The moon unveils itself over the water... Like long tresses combed in the evening breeze, The scent of summer nights perfumes the dark lake. The great perfumed lake shines like a mirror, [The]1 oar falls and rises again, My boat glides in the dream. My boat glides in the sky, On the immaterial lake... Of the two oars I swing, One is Lassitude, the other is Silence. Rhythmically, with eyes closed, Row, O my heart, your indolence In broad strokes, slow and languid. Over there the moon listens, leaning on the hillside, To the silence that the boat exhales as it glides... Three large freshly cut lilies die on my mantel. Towards your lips, O voluptuous and pale Night, Is it their soul, is it my soul that is exhaled? Tresses of silvery nights combed into long reeds... Like the moon on the waters, Like the oar on the swells, My soul unveils itself in sobs!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesTranslations of titles:
"Accompagnement" = "Accompaniment"
"Barcarolle - Nocturne" = "Nocturnal Barcarolle"
"La lune s'effeuille sur l'eau" = "The moon unveils itself over the water"
"Lac immatériel" = "Immaterial Lake"
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 Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), "Accompagnement", written 1893, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-24
Line count: 23
Word count: 162