Sweeter than roses, or cool evening breeze
On a warm flowery shore, was the dear kiss,
First trembling made me freeze,
Then shot like fire all o'er.
What magic has victorious love!
For all I touch or see since that dear kiss,
I hourly prove, all is love to me.
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):
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sweeter than roses", 1948 [ voice and piano ], a realization of the Purcell song. Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Sweeter than roses", Z. 585 no. 1 (1695), from the incidental music to Pausanius, the Betrayer of his Country, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Michael Tippett (1905 - 1998), "Sweeter than roses", note: this is a realization of a Purcell song. [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wim Zwaag (b. 1960), "Sweeter than roses", 2003 [ soprano and cello ], from Music for a while, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Més dolç que les roses ", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Plus doux que les roses", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Malcolm Wren
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 7
Word count: 50
Plus doux que les roses ou que la brise fraîche du soir
Sur une rive tiède et fleurie
Fut le premier baiser.
D'abord tremblant il me fit geler,
Puis atteint tout entier comme par un feu.
Quelle magie a l'amour victorieux !
Car tout ce que je touche ou vois
Depuis ce cher baiser
À toute heure je l'éprouve, tout est amour pour moi.