La perle | Je suis la fille de la mer blanche

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by Prinzessin Therese von Hohenlohe

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

La perla

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Sono del mare bianca la figlia,
son di conchiglia
pegno d'amor.
Nella nativa carcere oscura
vivo sicura
senza dolor.

Madre amorosa mi chiude in seno,
fronte sì piena
di voluttà.
Aura non beo, luce non veggo,
eppur non chieggo
più libertà.

Ahi! se per forza dal fondo mio
tolta son io,
tratta [lassù]¹,
a lume giungo, l'aer respiro,
ma già sospiro
per schiavitù!

In vil mercato passo venduta
e rivenduta
col nuovo sol,
chi non si cura di mia bellezza,
chi l'accarezza,
chi sua la vuol.

Finché per ultimo forse in un serto
di spin conserta
io brillerò,
e come lagrima pendula al ciglio,
il duol d'esiglio
accuserò.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Liszt

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Liszt : "la sù" (two scores checked)

Text Authorship:

by Prinzessin Therese von Hohenlohe [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 Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "La perla", S. 326 (1876) [voice and piano], also set in German (Deutsch) [ sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Theobald Rehbaum (1835 - 1918) ENG ENG FRE ; composed by Franz Liszt.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The pearl", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La perle", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-05-01
Line count: 30
Word count: 110

La perle

Language: French (Français) after the Italian (Italiano)

Je suis la fille de la mer blanche,
je suis du coquillage
le gage d'amour.
Dans ma prison obscure natale
je vis en sûreté
Sans douleur.

Une mère aimante me tient dans son sein,
le visage si plein
de volupté.
Je ne sens aucune brise, je ne vois aucune lumière,
pourtant je ne demande pas
plus de liberté.

Ah ! par la force de mon socle
je suis enlevée,
tirée vers le haut,
j'arrive à la lumière, je respire l'air,
mais déjà je soupire
pour l'esclavage !

Dans un vil marché je passe, vendue
et revendue
Chaque jour nouveau,
l'un ne se soucie pas de ma beauté,
un autre la caresse,
un autre la veut.

Jusqu'enfin peut-être dans une couronne
d'épines accrochée
je brillerai,
et comme une larme suspendue au cil,
la douleur de l'exil
j'accuserai.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Italian (Italiano) by Prinzessin Therese von Hohenlohe
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-03
Line count: 30
Word count: 134