Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Le ciel si pâle et les arbres si grêles Semblent sourire à nos costumes clairs Qui vont flottant [légers]1, avec des airs De nonchalance et des mouvements d'ailes. Et le vent doux ride l'humble bassin, Et la lueur du soleil qu'atténue L'ombre des bas tilleuls de l'avenue, Nous parvient bleue et mourante à dessein. Trompeurs exquis et coquettes charmantes, Cœurs tendres, mais affranchis du serment, Nous devisons délicieusement, Et les amants lutinent les amantes, De qui la main imperceptible sait Parfois donner un soufflet, qu'on échange Contre un baiser sur l'extrême phalange Du petit doigt, et comme la chose est Immensément excessive et farouche, On est puni par un regard très sec, Lequel contraste, au demeurant, avec La moue assez clémente de la bouche.
Confirmed with Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1869, pages 9-10.
Notes: All ampersands (&) as appear in the first publication are changed to "et". "très-sec" as appears in the first publication is changed to "très sec".
1 omitted by K. SorabjiAuthorship:
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "À la promenade", appears in Fêtes galantes, no. 5, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1869 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Gérard Condé (b. 1947), "À la promenade", 1973, published 2001 [ reciter and piano ], from Fêtes galantes, récitation accompagnée au piano, no. 4, Éd. Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fernand Ochsé (1879 - 1944), "À la promenade ", 1908, published 1913 [ voice and piano ], from Le Parc, no. 3, Berlin, Fürstner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kaikhosru Sorabji, born Leon Dudley Sorabji (1892 - 1988), "À la promenade", KSS 37 no. 2 (1924), published 1924 [ voice and piano ], from Trois fêtes galantes de Verlaine, no. 2, London, Curwen [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johannes Schlaf (1862 - 1941) , "Auf der Promenade" ; composed by Artur Immisch.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "Strolling", written 2002, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "À la promenade", written c2005, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "La passeggiata", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 124
Il cielo così pallido, le piante assai sottili, sembrano sorridere alla nostra veste chiara che lieve ondeggia, manifestando un'aria d'indifferenza e un lieve moto d'ali. Un dolce vento increspa l'umile sorgente e si fa più pallida, al bagliore del sole, l'ombra dei bassi tigli, lungo il viale, che sembra coprirci apposta d'un azzurro morente. Squisiti mentitori e deliziose civette, con teneri cuori, ma liberi da giuramenti, noi conversiamo deliziosamente, mentre ogni amato stuzzica l'amante. E la mano di lei talvolta, in modo lieve, posa sull'altro un schiaffo per ricambiare un bacio dato sul mignolo nell'estrema falange; e poiché, in verità, una tale cosa è immensamente audace e troppo esagerata, lui resta punito da un'occhiata assai aspra, che tuttavia appare già smentita, dal sorriso clemente delle labbra.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2010 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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:
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "À la promenade", appears in Fêtes galantes, no. 5, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1869
This text was added to the website: 2010-03-23
Line count: 20
Word count: 126