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Pour que ton rire [pur]1, jeune, tendre et léger,
S'épanouisse en fleur sonore,
Il faut qu'avril verdisse aux pousses du verger,
Plus vertes d'aurore en aurore,
Il faut que l'air égal annonce le printemps
Et que la première hirondelle
Rase d'un vol aigu les roseaux de l'étang
Qui mire son retour fidèle !
Mais, quoique l'écho rie à ton rire avec toi,
Goutte à goutte et d'une eau lointaine,
N'entends-tu pas gémir et répondre à ta voix
La plainte faible des fontaines ?
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Hahn: "clair"
Authorship
- by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936), "Épigramme", written 1902, appears in La Cité des eaux, in Odes et poésies, no. 9, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1902 [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 Adolphe Borchard (1882 - 1967), "Épigramme", published 1914 [ high voice and piano ], Éd. Maurice Senart & Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Reynaldo Hahn (1874 - 1947), "Les fontaines", published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies - 2ème volume, no. 13, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The fountains", copyright © 2018
- GER German (Deutsch) (Elaine Marie Ortiz-Arandes) , copyright © 2015, (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: 12
Word count: 83
In order for your [pure]1 laughter - young, tender, and light - To open up sonorously, like a flower, April must turn the orchard green with buds, Growing more green from one dawn to the next; The pleasant air must announce the spring, And the first swallow, In powerful flight, must skim the reeds of the pond That reflects its loyal return! But although the echo of your laughter laughs with you, [There is] a dripping of far-off water... Do you not hear moaning and responding to your voice The faint lament of the fountains?
Translation of title "Les fontaines" = "The fountains"
Authorship
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2018 by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive -- https://www.lieder.net/For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
- a text in French (Français) by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936), "Épigramme", written 1902, appears in La Cité des eaux, in Odes et poésies, no. 9, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1902
This text was added to the website: 2018-01-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 95