Ô ces autels où l'on mettait des fruits
Language: French (Français)
Ô ces autels où l'on mettait des fruits
avec un beau rameau de térébinthe
ou de ce pâle olivier -, et puis
la fleur qui meurt, écrasée par l'étreinte.
Entrant dans cette vigne, trouverait-on
l'autel naïf, caché par la verdure ?
La Vierge même bénirait la mûre
offrande, égrainant son carillon.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete French Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint Paul: Greywolf Press, 1986, Page 110.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "O these altars", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 50
O these altars
Language: English after the French (Français)
O these altars where fruits were placed
with a fine sprig of terebinth
or of this pale olive tree — and then
the dying flower, crushed by an embrace.
Entering this vineyard, would one find
the altar unspoiled, hidden by greenery?
Even the Virgin would bless the ripe
offering, chiming forth her carillon.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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:
This text was added to the website: 2025-06-11
Line count: 8
Word count: 53