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Agite, bon cheval, ta crinière fuyante, Que l'air autour de nous se remplisse de voix ! Que j'entende craquer sous ta corne bruyante Le gravier des ruisseaux et les débris des bois. Aux vapeurs de tes flancs mêle ta chaude haleine, Aux éclairs de tes pieds, ton écume et ton sang ! Cours, comme on voit un aigle, en effleurant la plaine Fouetter l'herbe d'un vol sonore et frémissant ! « Allons, les jeunes gens, à la nage! à la nage! » Crie à ses cavaliers le vieux chef de tribu ; Et les fils du désert respirent le pillage, Et les chevaux sont fous du grand air qu'ils ont bu ! Nage ainsi dans l'espace, ô mon cheval rapide, Abreuve-moi d'air pur, baigne-moi dans le vent ; L'étrier bat ton ventre, et j'ai lâché la bride. Mon corps te touche à peine, il vole en te suivant. Brise tout, le buisson, la barrière ou la branche ; Torrents, fossés, talus, franchis tout d'un seul bond ; Cours, je rêve, et sur toi, les yeux clos, je me penche... Emporte, emporte-moi dans l'inconnu profond!
L. Vierne sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5
Text Authorship:
- by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Le galop", written 1865, appears in Stances et Poèmes, in 1. Stances, in 4. Mélanges, no. 19, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866 [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 (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Le galop" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Le Galop", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 5 (1869), published 1948 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Enescu (1881 - 1955), "Le galop", op. 4 no. 2 (1898), published 1899, first performed 1898 [ voice and piano ], from Trois Mélodies, no. 2, Éd. Enoch [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937), "Le galop", op. 29 no. 5 (1912), published 1913, stanzas 1-2,4-5 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], from Stances d'amour et de rêve, no. 5, Éd. Durand et Cie [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Marike Lindhout) , "Galop", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , "The gallop", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Kyle Gee) , "The gallop", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "The gallop", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 176
Shake, fine steed, your flowing mane, let the air around us be filled with voices, let me hear crunching beneath your noisy hooves the gravel of riverbeds and the undergrowth of woods; Blend your warm breath with the steam from your flanks, with the flashing of your feet, your foam, and your blood! Gallop as one sees an eagle, gliding over the plain, whips the grass with the sound of its rushing wings! "Come on, young warriors, let us swim, let us swim!" Shouts the old chieftain to his horsemen, and the sons of the desert breathe-in the steal, and the horses are drunk from the fresh air they drank. Swim thus in space, my swift steed, drench me with pure air, bathe me in the wind! The stirrup presses your belly, I've loosened the bridle; my body is scarcely touching you, it flies in your wake... Smash everything, bushes, barriers, branches; Torrents, ditches, banks, you clear them all in one bound! Gallop! I am dreaming and, eyes closed, I cling to you; carry me into the depths of the unknown!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 by Kyle Gee, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Kyle Gee. Contact: kyleanthonygee (AT) gmail (DOT) com
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Le galop", written 1865, appears in Stances et Poèmes, in 1. Stances, in 4. Mélanges, no. 19, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866
This text was added to the website: 2012-08-18
Line count: 20
Word count: 181