by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
Translation by Bergen Weeks Applegate (b. 1865)
La lune est rouge au brumeux horizon
Language: French (Français)
La lune est rouge au brumeux horizon ; Dans un brouillard qui danse la prairie S'endort fumeuse, et la grenouille crie Par les joncs verts où circule un frisson ; Les fleurs des eaux referment leurs corolles ; Des peupliers profilent aux lointains, Droits et serrés, leurs spectres incertains ; Vers les buissons errent les lucioles ; Les chats-huants s'éveillent, et sans bruit Rament l'air noir avec leurs ailes lourdes, Et le zénith s'emplit de lueurs sourdes. Blanche, Vénus émerge, et c'est la Nuit.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Paul Verlaine, Poëmes saturniens, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1866, in Paysages tristes, pages 59-60.
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "L'heure du berger", written 1866, appears in Poèmes saturniens, in 3. Paysages tristes, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Charles Bordes (1863 - 1909), "L'heure du berger", 1886, published 1902 [ medium voice and piano ], from Paysages tristes, no. 3, Paris, Mergault ; later published 1912, Paris, Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Émile-Henri-J.-B. Defosse (1883 - 1956), "L'heure du berger", op. 20 (1910?), published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 4, Paris, Rouart Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Henry Louis) Reginald De Koven (1859 - 1920), "L'heure du berger", op. 90 (Songs) no. 1, published 1894 [ voice and piano ], New York, Schirmer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Doyen (1882 - 1935), "L'heure du berger", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Sur des poèmes de Paul Verlaine, no. 4, Paris, Leduc Bertrand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Malcolm Drummond , "L'heure du berger", published 1977 [ three-part chorus a cappella ], Lyon, À cœur joie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Petr Eben (1929 - 2007), "L'heure du berger", 1946 [ voice and piano ], from Deux chants sur textes étrangers [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Alexandrovitch de Hartmann (1885 - 1956), "L'heure du berger", op. 69 no. 6, published 1941 [ voice and piano ], from Paysages tristes, no. 6, Paris, Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marguerite Marsa , "L'heure du berger", published 1926 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Maurice Sénart
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Michael Matthews , "L'heure du berger", published 1975 [ mezzo-soprano or contralto, english horn, guitar, 2 percussions, and double bass ], from Three songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "L'heure du berger", op. 57 no. 5 (1995), published 2001 [ SATT chorus ], from Sieben Chansons zu vier Stimmen nach Texten von Paul Verlaine, no. 5, Goldbach [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "L'heure du berger", op. 362 no. 2 (2024) [ SSAATTBB chorus ], from Trois Nocturnes für achtstimmigen Chor (SSAATTBB), no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean-Frédéric Perrenoud (b. 1912), "L'heure du berger", published 1958 [ voice and piano ], Paris, J.-F. Perrenoud [sung text not yet checked]
- by Guy Sacre (b. 1948), "L'heure du berger", 1984, published 1997 [ medium voice and piano ], from 3 Poèmes de Verlaine, no. 2, Édition Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Kurt Schindler (1882 - 1935), "Heure du berger", op. 7 no. 1, copyright © 1906 [ voice and piano ], Berlin : A. Fürstner, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937), "L'heure du berger", op. 18 no. 1 (1897), published 1902 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Philip Wilby (b. 1949), "L'heure du berger", copyright © 1988, first performed 1983 [ medium voice and piano ], from Ten songs of Paul Verlaine for medium voice and piano, Cycle II : Paysages Tristes, no. 4, Chester Music [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Fr. Hrúbin ; composed by Lubor Bárta.
- 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 Kurt Schindler (1882 - 1935) ; composed by Kurt Schindler.
- 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):
- ENG English (Corinne Orde) , "The shepherd's hour", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "The shepherd's hour", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Bergen Weeks Applegate) , "The Shepherd's Hour", appears in Poems Saturnine, in 3. Somber Landscapes, no. 6
- GER German (Deutsch) (Pierre Mathé) , "Die Schäferstunde", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Pásztoróra", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Pásztoróra", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Bronisława Ostrowska) , "Przedwieczerz", Kraków, J. Mortkowicz, first published 1911
Research team for this page: Corinne Orde , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 79
The Shepherd's Hour
Language: English after the French (Français)
The moon is red upon the eastern sky, In mists that dance the smoky meadow lies; Afar one hears the frog that shrilly cries Among the reeds where twilight zephyrs die. The marsh flowers close beside the water's edge; The poplars profile on the skies' far rim, Serried and straight, their specters vague and dim; While the wandering firefly seeks the hedge. The screech-owls waking take their noiseless flight, Beating the black air with their heavy wings; The sky is filled with dully shining things, White, Venus glistens — it is Night.
Confirmed with Bergen Applegate, Paul Verlaine: His Absinthe-Tinted Song, Chicago, Ralph Fletcher Seymour, The Alderbrink Press, 1916, page 58.
Text Authorship:
- by Bergen Weeks Applegate (b. 1865), "The Shepherd's Hour", appears in Poems Saturnine, in 3. Somber Landscapes, no. 6 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "L'heure du berger", written 1866, appears in Poèmes saturniens, in 3. Paysages tristes, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2022-02-27
Line count: 12
Word count: 92