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Seuls, tous deux, ravis, chantants, Comme on s'aime; Comme on cueille le printemps Que Dieu sème. Quels rires étincelants Dans ces ombres, [Pleines jadis]1 de fronts blancs, De coeurs sombres. On est tout frais mariés, On s'envoie Les charmants cris variés De la joie! [Purs ébas]2 mèlés Au vent qui frissonne. Gaîté que le noir couvent Assaisonne. On effeuille des jasmins Sur la pierre. Où l'abbesse joint les mains, En prière. Les tombeaux, de croix marqués, Font partie De ces jeux, un peu piqués Par l'ortie. On se cherche, on se poursuit, On sent croître Ton aube, Amour, dans la nuit Du vieux cloître. On s'en va se becquetant, On s'adôre, On s'embrasse à chaque instant, Puis encore, Sous les piliers, les arceaux, Et les marbres, C'est l'histoire des oiseaux Dans les arbres.
G. Fauré sets stanzas 1-4, 1, 5, 7-9
1 Fauré: "Jadis pleines"
2 Fauré: "Frais échos"
Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Dans les ruines d'une abbaye", appears in Les Chansons des rues et des bois, in 1. Livre premier : Jeunesse, in 6. L'Eternel petit roman, no. 15, first published 1865 [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 Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Dans les ruines d'une abbaye", op. 2 no. 1 (1866?), published 1869, stanzas 1-4,1,5,7-9 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by André Gédalge (1856 - 1926), "Dans les ruines d'une abbaye", op. 17 no. 2, published [1898] [ high voice and piano ], Éd. Énoch & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "A les ruïnes d’una abadia", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "In the ruins of an abbey", copyright © 2001, (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: 36
Word count: 133
Alone together, singing, enraptured, how we1 love one another! We harvest the springtime that God sows! What sparkling laughter fills these shadowy ruins which once housed pale foreheads and sombre hearts. We are newly wed, we exchange the charming, varied cries that spring from joy - these fresh echoes mingle with the quivering breeze, a gaiety to which the dark abbey adds zest. We pluck petals of jasmine on the marble sculpture where the abbess holds her hands in prayer. The tombs, marked by crosses, are a part of these games, and so are one or two stings from nettles. We play at hide-and-chase; we feel the morning of Love grow brighter in the night of the old cloister. We go along cuddling, adoring one another; at every moment we kiss, and kiss again; under the pillars, the arches and the statues, it's the story of the birds and the bees.
1 Translator's note: The French pronoun is not the unambiguous "nous". "On" could be spoken either by a participant - and translated "we" - or an observer, in which case the English should be "they".
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2001 by Peter Low, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Dans les ruines d'une abbaye", appears in Les Chansons des rues et des bois, in 1. Livre premier : Jeunesse, in 6. L'Eternel petit roman, no. 15, first published 1865
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 152