Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée ! (Gautier, set by Georges Albert Baudoüin, Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet, Émile Bourgeois, Montserrat Campmany i Cortés, Auguste Cœdès, Paul Combes, Arthur Coquard, Paul-Charles-Marie Curet, as Paul Puget, Félicien César David, Joseph Depret, Charlotte Devéria, née Thomas, Alberto Ghislanzoni, Manuel Giró, Lucien Hillemacher, Paul Hillemacher, Léon Charles François Kreutzer, Louis Lacombe, Paul-Jean-Jacques Lacome d'Estalenx, Ernest Lavigne, Charles Lefebvre, John Parrott, Édouard Pascal, Felipe Pedrell, Émile Pessard, Jules Philipot, Albert Renaud, Gaston Sarreau, Jacques-Michel Zoubaloff) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

by Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872)

Reviens, reviens, ma bien‑aimée !

Language: French (Français)

Available translation(s): ENG GER ITA

Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée !
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée,
Loin de ton sourire vermeil.

Entre nos cœurs [tant de]¹ distance ;
Tant d'espace entre nos baisers.
Ô sort amer! ô dure absence !
Ô grands désirs inapaisés !

D'ici là-bas que de campagnes,
Que de villes et de hameaux,
Que de vallons et de montagnes,
À lasser le pied des chevaux !

Au pays qui me prend ma belle,
Hélas! si je pouvais aller ;
Et si mon corps avait une aile
Comme mon âme pour voler !

Par-dessus [les]² vertes collines,
Les montagnes au front d'azur,
Les champs rayés et les ravines,
J'irais d'un vol rapide et sûr.

Le corps ne suit pas la pensée;
Pour moi, mon âme, va tout droit,
Comme une colombe blessée,
[T'abattre]³ au rebord de son toit.

Descends dans sa gorge divine,
Blonde et fauve comme de l'or,
Douce comme un duvet d'hermine,
Sa gorge, mon royal trésor ;

Et dis, mon âme, à cette belle :
«[Tu sais bien qu'il compte les jours!]⁴
Ô ma colombe! à tire d'aile,
Retourne au nid de nos amours.»

G. Bizet sets stanzas 1, 2, 4-6, 8
E. Lavigne sets stanzas 1, 2, 4-6, 8
H. Berlioz sets stanzas 1-3
J. Depret sets stanzas 1, 2, 6, 8 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
L. Kreutzer sets stanzas 1-3
P. Lacome d'Estalenx sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5, 6, 8

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Théophile Gauthier, La comédie de la mort, Desessart editeur, Paris, 1838, page 283.

¹ Berlioz: "quelle"
² Bizet, David, Lavigne: "nos"
³ Berlioz, Pedrell: "S'abbatre"
⁴ Lavigne: appears as the last line of this verse.

Authorship

by Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872), "Absence", written 1838, appears in La Comédie de la Mort, Paris, Éd. Desessart, first published 1838 [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 Georges Albert Baudoüin (1841 - 1890), "Absence", published 1889-1896 [high voice and piano], from Six mélodies, no. 3, Éd. Mackar & Noël [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869), "Absence", op. 7 no. 4 (1840), stanzas 1-3 [voice and orchestra or piano], from Les Nuits d'Été, no. 4, also set in German (Deutsch) [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875), "Absence", op. 21 no. 13 (1872), published 1873, stanzas 1,2,4-6,8 [soprano and piano], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 13, Paris, Choudens [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Émile Bourgeois (1849 - 1922), "Reviens, ma bien-aimée", published [1889] [high voice and piano], from Six mélodies, no. 4, Ed. H. Tellier [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Montserrat Campmany i Cortés (1901 - 1995), "L'absence", 1921 [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Auguste Cœdès (1835 - 1884), "L'absence - Romance", published 1875 [soprano and piano], from Soirées d'automne, no. 1, Paris, A. Leduc [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Paul Combes , "Absence", published 1899 [high voice and piano], from 2 Mélodies, no. 1, Bordeaux, Henri Riffeau [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Arthur Coquard (1846 - 1910), "Absence", published <<1881 [high voice and piano], from 12 Mélodies pour chant avec accompagnement de piano, no. 9, Éd. Léon Escudier [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Paul-Charles-Marie Curet (1848 - 1917), as Paul Puget, "Absence", published 1884 [medium voice and piano], from Vingt mélodies, Vol. 2, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Henry Lemoine [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Félicien César David (1810 - 1876), "Reviens! Reviens!", 1845?, published 1846 [high voice and piano], from Les perles d'Orient, no. 1 [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Joseph Depret , "Reviens, reviens !", published 1888, stanzas 1,2,6,8 [high voice and piano], from [21] Mélodies pour chant avec accompagnement de piano, no. 2, Paris, H. Tellier [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Joseph Depret , "Absence", published 1887 [mezzo-soprano and piano], from Sept mélodies, no. 4, Paris, H. Tellier [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Charlotte Devéria, née Thomas (1856 - 1885), "Absence", published 1877 [tenor or soprano and piano], from 16 Mélodies pour chant avec accompagnement de piano, no. 11, Paris [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Alberto Ghislanzoni (1892 - 1984), "Absence", published 1927 [high voice and piano], Rome, Edizione Musicale Arminoa [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Manuel Giró (1848 - 1916), "Absence", 1878, published 1878-1880 [voice and piano], from Tras los montes - Nouvelles mélodies espagnoles, no. 14, Paris, Heugel & fils [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Lucien Hillemacher (1860 - 1909) and by Paul Hillemacher (1852 - 1933), "Reviens, ma bien-aimée !", published 1889 [voice and piano], from Vingt mélodies, vol. 2, no. 16, Paris, A. Leduc [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Léon Charles François Kreutzer (1817 - 1868), "Absence", published 1847, stanzas 1-3 [high voice and piano], from 26 mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 12, Paris, Richault [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Louis (Trouillon) Lacombe (1818 - 1884), "Absence" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Paul-Jean-Jacques Lacome d'Estalenx (1838 - 1920), "Absence", published [1867], stanzas 1-2,4-5,6,8 [voice and piano], from Six nouvelles mélodies, no. 2, Paris, Éd. "Au Ménestrel" Henri Heugel [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Ernest Lavigne (1851 - 1909), "Absence", published 1901, stanzas 1,2,4-6, 8 [medium voice and piano], Montreal, S. Park [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Charles Lefebvre (1843 - 1917), "Absence", published c1873 [voice and piano], from Six poésies mises en musique, no. 3, Paris, G. Hartmann [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by John Parrott , "Absence", subtitle: "Barcarolle", published 1889 [voice and piano], Paris, H.-A. Tellier [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Édouard Pascal , "Absence - Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée", published 1874 [soprano or tenor and piano], from 25 Morceaux de chant, 2^ème recueil, no. 18, Imprimerie de Arony [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Felipe Pedrell (1841 - 1922), "Absence", published 1877 [high voice and piano], from Consolations - 12 Mélodies sur des poésies de Théophile Gautier, no. 9, Milan: Francesco Lucca [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Émile Pessard (1843 - 1917), "Absence", published 1882 [tenor or soprano and piano], Paris [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Jules Philipot (1824 - 1897), "Absence", op. 130, published 1874 [high voice and piano], from Poèmes et Chants, Poésies de Théophile Gautier, no. 18, Paris, Léon Grus [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Albert Renaud (1855 - 1924), "Absence" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Gaston Sarreau (1850 - 1935), "L'absence", published 1882, Paris, G. Hartmann [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Jacques-Michel Zoubaloff (1876 - 1941), "Absence", copyright © 1925 [medium voice and piano], from Quatre poésies de Théophile Gautier, no. 1, Paris, Léon Grus [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Theodore Baker (1851 - 1934) GER GER ITA ; composed by Arthur Hyde.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Peter Cornelius (1824 - 1874) , "Trennung" [an adaptation] ENG ENG ITA ; composed by Hector Berlioz.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English [singable] (Samuel Byrne) , "Absence"

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Last modified: 2016-08-27 19:21:30
Line count: 32
Word count: 191