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Frêle comme un harmonica, L'eau pure des vasques soupire ; La même étoile en feu se mire Dans nos verres de vieux muscat. Ton col superbe et délicat De Clorinde ou de Lindamire Sort tout entier, pour qu'on l'admire, D'un brocart de pontificat. Dans le soir de magnificence, Les richesses de ta présence Evoquent l'âge Florentin ; Et vers le ciel fin de turquoise Monte des coupes du festin, Suave, un songe de framboise.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Albert Samain, Œuvres choisies, Paris: Mercure de France, 1928, page 34.
Text Authorship:
- by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), no title, written 1893, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, in 1. Les Heures d'été, no. 2, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897 [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 René-Emmanuel Baton (1879 - 1940), as Rhené-Baton, "Frêle comme un harmonica", op. 14 no. 2 (1907), published 1908-1910 [ high voice and piano ], from Les heures d'été, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacques Guillaume de Sauville de la Presle (1888 - 1969), "Frêle comme un harmonica", published 1922 [ voice and piano ], from Heures d'été, no. 2, Éd. Rouart Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques Vaucamps , "Frêle comme un harmonica", published 1919 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les Heures d'été, no. 2, Éd. Albert Zunz Mathot [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Waterman (1886 - 1966), "Frêle comme un harmonica", copyright © 1927 [ voice and piano ], from Heures d'été, no. 3, Paris : Costallat [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-01-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 72
As faint as a harmonica Sighs the pure water in the bowls; The same blazing star is reflected In our glasses of old muscatel. Your splendid and dainty collar, Like Clorinda's or Lindamire's, Emerges in full, for all to admire, From a pontifical brocade. In the magnificent evening The richness of your presence Evokes the Florentine age; And towards the fine turquoise sky From the banquet's goblets there rises, Sweetly, a dream of raspberry.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Frêle comme un harmonica" = "As faint as a harmonica"
Note for stanza 4, line 3, "raspberry": the French word framboise can refer either to the fruit or to a liqueur made from it.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 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.
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), no title, written 1893, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, in 1. Les Heures d'été, no. 2, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897
This text was added to the website: 2026-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 74