by
Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
À l'ombre aiguë du cyprès, mes deux...
Language: French (Français) after the Arabic (العربية)
À l'ombre aiguë du cyprès, mes deux lévriers dorment,
comme des flèches dans un carquois.
Referme doucement la porte, et viens les caresser :
ta main fera passer dans leurs rêves la fraîcheur
d'un ruisseau du Liban.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, p.30
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Alfred Cozanet (1870 - 1938), as Jean d'Udine, "Les lévriers", published 1929 [ high voice and piano ], from Sept poèmes arabes extraits du Jardin des Caresses de Franz Toussaint, no. 2, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968), "Le sommeil des lévriers", published 1923 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes Arabes, no. 5, Paris, Éd. Jobert [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irène Fuerison (1875 - 1931), "Le sommeil des lévriers", op. 93 no. 4 (1926), published 2020 [ voice and piano ], from Le jardin des caresses, no. 4, Höflich, München [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sylvain Vouillemin (1910 - 1995), "Le sommeil des lévriers" [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2023-05-24
Line count: 5
Word count: 36
In the pointed shadow of the cypress, my...
Language: English after the French (Français)
In the pointed shadow of the cypress, my two greyhounds are sleeping,
like arrows in a quiver.
Close the door softly, and come stroke them:
your hand will introduce into their dreams the coolness
of a Lebanese stream.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Les lévriers" = "The Greyhounds"
"Le sommeil des lévriers" = "The Sleep of Greyhounds"
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:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-25
Line count: 5
Word count: 38
