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Un cygne avance sur l'eau tout entouré de lui-même, comme un glissant tableau; ainsi à certains instants un être que l'on aime est tout un espace mouvant. Il se rapproche, doublé, comme ce cygne qui nage, sur notre âme troublée... qui à cet être ajoute la tremblante image de bonheur et de doute.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 40 [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 Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "Un cygne", op. 27 no. 2 (1950-1), published 1952 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies passagères, no. 2, Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Louis Durey (1888 - 1979), "Un cygne", op. 42 no. 5 (1932), published 1966 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 5, Éd. Le Chant du Monde [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Manuel Pedro Ferreira (b. 1959), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", 1989, first performed 1990 [ soprano and piano ], from Três Canções de Rilke, no. 3, can be found on the CD Vocalizos (Movieplay, 1997) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "Un cygne", 1939 [ mixed chorus ], from Six Chansons, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Léon Orthel (1905 - 1985), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", op. 61 (Sept mélodies) no. 1 (1972), published 1972 [ voice and piano ], Amsterdam, Ed. Donemus [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Cyril Plante (b. 1975), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", op. 107 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Plante (b. 1975), "Un cygne avance sur l'eau", op. 13 (4 Mélodies d'après R.M. Rilke) no. 2 (1997) [ baritone and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gérard Zinsstag (b. 1941), "Un cygne", 2015 [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello ], from Rilke-lieder, no. 2, Ricordi [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "A swan moves across the water", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "A swan", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 53
A swan advances over the water all wrapped up in itself like a gliding tableau. Thus at certain moments a being that one loves seems just a moving space. He draws near, doubled like that swan who swims across our troubled soul, who adds to this being the trembling image of happiness and of doubt.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Un cygne" = "A Swan"
"Un cygne avance sur l'eau" = "A swan advances over the water"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2001 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. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 40
This text was added to the website: 2025-05-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 55