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by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849)
Translation by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898)

To the River ‑‑‑‑
Language: English 
Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of crystal, wandering water,
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty -- the unhidden heart --
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto's daughter;

But when within thy wave she looks --
Which glistens then, and trembles-
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
Her worshipper resembles;
For in his heart, as in thy stream,
Her image deeply lies --
His heart which trembles at the beam
Of her soul-searching eyes.

Text Authorship:

  • by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), "To the river", appears in The Raven and Other Poems, first published 1845 [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 Creighton Allen (1900 - 1969), "To the River ----", published 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Elliott Griffis (1893 - 1967), "To the River ----", published 1937 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Derek Healey (b. 1936), "To the River", op. 123 no. 5 (2010) [ high voice and piano ], from Thy Distant Fire: an Edgar Allan Poe Songbook, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Bertram Shapleigh (1871 - 1940), "To the River ----", op. 41 (Fünf Lieder) no. 5, published 1901 [ voice and piano ], also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898) , "À la rivière", appears in Les Poèmes d'Edgar Poe, first published 1889 ; composed by Albert Huybrechts.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Hermann Schneider (1860 - 1930) ; composed by Bertram Shapleigh.
      • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-09-29
Line count: 14
Word count: 76

À la rivière
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Belle rivière ! dans ton cours de cristal 
clair et brillant, vagabonde eau, 
tu es un emblême de l'éclat 
de la beauté, -- du cœur qui ne se cache, -- 
des détours enjoués de l'art 
chez la fille du vieil Alberto ;

Mais qu'elle regarde dans ton flot, 
qui tremble soudain et resplendit --
alors le plus joli des ruisseaux 
ressemble à son adorateur ;
car dans un cœur, comme dans ta fuite, 
reste son image profonde, -- 
un cœur tremblant au rayonnement 
de ses yeux qui cherchent l'âme.

Text Authorship:

  • by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 - 1898), "À la rivière", appears in Les Poèmes d'Edgar Poe, first published 1889 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), "To the river", appears in The Raven and Other Poems, first published 1845
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Albert Huybrechts (1899 - 1938), "À la rivière", 1928 [ soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Trois poèmes d'Edgar Poe, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-03-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 82

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