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by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer
S'il est un charmant gazon
Language: French (Français)
S'il est un charmant gazon Que le ciel arrose, Où [brille]1 en toute saison Quelque fleur éclose, Où l'on cueille à [pleine main]2 Lys, chèvrefeuille et jasmin, J'en veux faire le chemin Où ton pied se pose ! S'il est un sein bien aimant Dont l'honneur dispose ! Dont le ferme dévoûement N'ait rien de morose, Si toujours ce noble sein Bat pour un digne dessein, J'en veux faire le coussin Où ton front se pose ! S'il est un rêve d'amour, Parfumé de rose, Où l'on [trouve chaque jour]3 Quelque douce chose, Un rêve que Dieu bénit, Où l'âme à l'âme s'unit, Oh ! j'en veux faire le nid Où ton cœur se pose !
F. Liszt sets stanzas 1, 3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
F. Liszt sets stanzas 1, 3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
F. d'Erlanger sets stanzas 1, 3
C. Widor sets stanzas 1, 3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Poésies de Victor Hugo: Odes & Ballades, Les Orientales, Les Feuilles d'Automne, Les Chants du Crépuscule, Les Voix Intérieures, Les Rayons & Les Ombres, Paris, Hetzel, 1880, p. 67.
1 Fauré: "naisse"2 d'Erlanger: "pleines mains"
3 d'Erlanger: "trouve à chaque pas"
Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), title 1: "S'il est un charmant gazon", title 2: "Nouvelle chanson sur un vieil air", appears in Les Chants du Crépuscule, no. 22, first published 1834 [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 Giulio Alary (1814 - 1891), "Le chemin, le coussin et le nid" [ medium voice and piano ], from 20 Mélodies, Vol. II, no. 9, Paris, Éd. Durand & Schoenewerk [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Henry Altès (1826 - 1895), "Nouvelle chanson", op. 26 no. 3, published [1865?] [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from 15 Mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Simon Richault [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jules Arnoud (1847 - 1890), "Nouvelle chanson" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frédéric Binet (1862 - 1918), "S'il est un rêve d’amour !" [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Durand & Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Diémer (1843 - 1919), "Chanson" [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Nouvelle chanson sur un vieil air", 1870-1880 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frédéric d'Erlanger, Baron, dit Regnal (1868 - 1943), "S'il est un charmant gazon", published 1895, stanzas 1,3 [ voice and piano ], from Album of Six Songs, no. 5, London: Willcocks & Co., also set in English [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Rêve d'amour", op. 5 no. 2 (1862?), first performed 1874 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by César Franck (1822 - 1890), "S'il est un charmant gazon", FWV. 78 (1847), rev. 1855-7 [ female voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jan Karol Gall (1856 - 1912), "Chanson d'Amour", op. 14 no. 1, published 1891 [ voice and piano ], Krakau, Krzyżanowski, also set in Polish (Polski) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lucien Hillemacher (1860 - 1909) and by Paul Hillemacher (1852 - 1933), "Chanson" [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, 1er volume, no. 5, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugène Hutoy (1844 - 1889), "S'il est un charmant gazon", published 1885 [ high voice and piano ], Liège (Belgique), Veuve L. Muraille [sung text not yet checked]
- by Théodore Jadoul (b. 1848), "S'il est un charmant gazon" [ medium voice and piano ], from 10 Mélodies, no. 4, Éd. Veuve Léopold Muraille [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Ketten (1848 - 1883), "J'en veux faire le chemin", published [1878] [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Charles François Kreutzer (1817 - 1868), "Nouvelle Chanson" [ high voice and piano ], from 26 mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 10, Éd. Richault [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anatole Lionnet (1832 - 1896), "Rêve d'amour", published <<1888 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Édition Lemoine et Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "S'il est un charmant gazon", S. 284 no. 1 (1844), published 1844, stanzas 1,3 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Schlesinger, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "S'il est un charmant gazon", S. 284 no. 2 (1849-59), published 1859, stanzas 1,3 [ tenor and piano ], also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Georges Eugène Marty (1860 - 1908), "Chanson", published [1886], first performed 1890 [ medium voice and piano ], from Six mélodies, no. 1, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912), "Nouvelle chanson sur un vieil air", 1869 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Mathias (1826 - 1910), "Chanson de Victor Hugo", published 1888 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (1862 - 1901), "Une vieille chanson ", published 1891 [ medium voice and piano ], The Boston Music Company, also set in English [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Pillaut (1833 - 1903), "Nouvelle chanson", <<1866 [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marc de Ranse (1881 - 1951), "S'il est un charmant gazon" [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Robert (1874 - 1943), "Chanson", 1892, published 1925 [ high voice and piano ], from Huit Mélodies, no. 5, Aire-sur-l'Adour (Landes), Éd. H. Labastie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexis Jean Hubert Rostand (1844 - 1919), "Chanson" [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, no. 1, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel de Saint-Quentin (1846 - 1926), "S'il est un charmant gazon" [ medium voice and piano ], from Dix mélodies célèbres, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Fromont [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "S'il est un charmant gazon", 1915, published 1915 [ high voice and piano ], Éd. Durand; second version; an undated MS possibly from 1870 exists with the title "Chanson", presumably the first version [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Paul Vidal (1863 - 1931), "S'il est un charmant gazon", published 1892 [ voice and piano ], from Dix mélodies, no. 4, Paris, A. Leduc [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Anselm Vinée (1847 - 1921), "Nouvelle Chanson sur un vieil air", op. 4 no. 3, published [1893] [ voice and piano ], from Sept Mélodies sur des vers de Victor Hugo, no. 3, Éd. Durdilly [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Marie Jean Albert Widor (1844 - 1937), "S'il est un charmant gazon", op. 37 no. 2, stanzas 1,3 [ high voice and piano ], from Quarante mélodies, no. 14, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Francis Charles Philips (1849 - 1921) ; composed by Frédéric d'Erlanger, Baron, dit Regnal.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874) ; composed by Franz Liszt.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Peter Martin Cornelius Rübner.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Polish (Polski), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Jan Karol Gall.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Olga Platonovna Weiss (1865 - 1935) ; composed by Arseny Nikolayevich Koreshchenko.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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
- CHI Chinese (中文) (Yen-Chiang Che) , "如果有一個迷人的草地", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "If there be a lovely grassy plot", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Charles Fonteyn Manney) , "If I knew a meadow fair", first published 1911
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Enrico Magnani) , "Sogno d'amore", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 116
If there is a charming lawn
Language: English after the French (Français)
If there is a charming lawn which heaven waters, where [shining]1 in every season is some blooming flower, Where one picks hands full of lilies, honeysuckle and jasmine, I would like to make of it a pathway where your foot might step! If there is a loving breast where honor lives! Whose firm devotion is never morose, If always this noble breast beats for a worthy purpose, I wish to make of it the cushion on which your head might rest! If there is a dream of love perfumed with roses, where every day we find some sweet thing, a dream that God blesses, where souls are united, oh! I wish to make of it the nest where your heart might remain!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of title(s):
"Rêve d'amour" = "Dream of love"
"Chanson d'Amour" = "Song of love"
"Une vieille chanson " = "An old song"
"S'il est un charmant gazon" = "If there is a charming lawn"
"Le chemin, le coussin et le nid" = "The pathway, the cushion, and the nest"
"Nouvelle chanson" = "New song"
"S'il est un rêve d’amour !" = "If it is a dream of love!"
"Chanson" = "Song"
"Nouvelle chanson sur un vieil air" = "New song on an old air"
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Amy Pfrimmer, (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:
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), title 1: "S'il est un charmant gazon", title 2: "Nouvelle chanson sur un vieil air", appears in Les Chants du Crépuscule, no. 22, first published 1834
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 122