by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
The sea is fleck'd with bars of gray
Language: English
The sea is fleck'd with bars of gray, The dull dead wind is out of tune, And like a wither'd leaf the moon Is blown across the stormy bay. Etched clear upon the pallid sand The black boat lies: a sailor boy Clambers aboard in careless joy, With laughing face and gleaming hand. And overhead the curlews cry, Where through the dusky upland grass The young brown-throated reapers pass, Like silhouettes against the sky.
About the headline (FAQ)
Appeared in Pan, April 1881, as one of Impressions.
Text Authorship:
- by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Les Silhouettes" [author's text not yet checked 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 Richard James Brooks (b. 1942), "Les Silhouettes", 2009, first performed 2009 [ high voice and piano ], from Impressions, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951), "Les Silhouettes", published 1913 [ medium voice and piano ], from Four Songs for a Medium Voice, no. 1, New York, London, Boston : G. Schirmer; note: arranged 1943 for voice and orchestra [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Harold Vincent Jervis-Read (1883 - 1945), "The Silhouettes" [ voice and piano ], from Four Impressions, no. 2, Ascherberg & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Morris (b. 1964), "Les Silhouettes", 2002 [ mezzo-soprano, piano, violin ad libitum ], from Impressions, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Balch Nevin (1892 - 1943), "Silhouettes", published 1936 [ 2 sopranos and alto ], Gamble Hinged Music Co., Chicago [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicolas Slonimsky (1894 - 1995), "Silhouettes", published 1927 [ soprano and piano ], from Impressions, 2 songs for soprano and piano, no. 1, White-Smith Music Publishing Co., New York [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Arie Gijsbert Schuyer.
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: 74
Les Silhouettes
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Die See liegt grau und bäumt sich matt Des Windes Flöten sind verstimmt und über trägen Wassern schwimmt der Mond wie ein verwehtes Blatt Das schwarze Boot auf bleichem Sand hebt klar sich ab ein Schiffersohn umklettert diesen lieben Thron und lacht und reckt die helle Hand Brachvögel hoch die Kreise drehn dort wo durchs düstre Hochlandgrün braunbrüst’ge junge Schmitter ziehn und schwarz am hellen Himmel stehn.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), "Les Silhouettes"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Arie Gijsbert Schuyer (1881 - 1941), "Les Silhouettes", published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from 15 Gesänge, no. 1, from Impressions, no. 1, Offenbach am Main : Johann André [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-06-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 67