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Chaque coquillage incrusté Dans la grotte où nous nous aimâmes A sa particularité, L'un a la pourpre de nos âmes Dérobée au sang de nos coeurs Quand je brûle et que tu t'enflammes; Cet autre affecte tes langueurs Et tes pâleurs alors que, lasse, Tu m'en veux de mes yeux moqueurs; Celui-ci contrefait la grâce De ton oreille, et celui-là Ta nuque rose, courte et grasse; Mais un, entre autres, me troubla.
Authorship
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "Les coquillages", appears in Fêtes galantes, no. 9, first published 1869 [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 Gérard Condé (b. 1947), "Les coquillages", 1973, published 2001 [ reciter and piano ], from Fêtes galantes, récitation accompagnée au piano, no. 6, Éd. Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
- by Antonio Lima Fragoso (1897 - 1918), "Les coquillages", 1917, published 1972 [ voice and piano ], from Cançoes do sol poente - Poèmes Saturniens, no. 4, Lisbonne, Éd. Valentim de Carvalho [sung text not yet checked]
- by Werner (Erich) Josten (1885 - 1963), "Les coquillages", published 1931 [ voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies de Paul Verlaine, no. 3, Paris, Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre-Yvan Jouffroy , "Les coquillages", [1949] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fernand Ochsé (1879 - 1944), "Les coquillages", 1908, published 1913 [ voice and piano ], from Le Parc, no. 7, Berlin, Fürstner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jósef-Zygmunt Szulc (1875 - 1956), "Les coquillages", op. 83 (Dix mélodies sur des poésies de Verlaine) no. 7, published 1907 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Rouart Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Škeble"
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The seashells", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-12
Line count: 13
Word count: 72
Each encrusted seashell In the cave where we loved one another Has its defining characteristic, One, the purple of our souls Stolen from the blood of our hearts When I burn and so that you ignite; This other one affects your languor And your pallor so that, weary, You became annoyed by my mocking eyes; This one mimics the grace Of your ear, and that one Your pink neck, short and full; But one among the others troubled me.
Authorship
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 by Garrett Medlock, (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:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "Les coquillages", appears in Fêtes galantes, no. 9, first published 1869
This text was added to the website: 2020-04-28
Line count: 13
Word count: 79