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Au-dessus des étangs, au-dessus des vallées, Des montagnes, des bois, des nuages, des mers, Par-delà le soleil, par-delà les éthers, Par-delà les confins des sphères étoilées, Mon esprit, tu te meus avec agilité, Et, comme un bon nageur qui se pâme dans l'onde, Tu sillonnes gaîment l'immensité profonde Avec une indicible et mâle volupté. Envole-toi bien loin de ces miasmes morbides ; Va te purifier dans l'air supérieur, Et bois, comme une pure et divine liqueur, Le feu clair qui remplit les espaces limpides. Derrière les ennuis et les [sombres]1 chagrins Qui chargent de leur poids l'existence brumeuse, Heureux celui qui peut d'une aile vigoureuse S'élancer vers les champs lumineux et sereins ; Celui dont les pensers, comme des alouettes, Vers les cieux le matin prennent un libre essor, — Qui plane sur la vie, et comprend sans effort Le langage des fleurs et des choses muettes !
Confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1857, in Spleen et Idéal, pages 17-18. First appeared in Journal d'Alençon, May 17, 1857.
1 L. Freitas Branco and J. Harvey: "vastes"Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Élévation", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 3, first published 1857 [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 Rodolphe Théophile Cahen d'Anvers, marquis de Torre Alfina , as Armand Bolsène, "Élévation" [ mezzo-soprano or tenor and piano ], from Frissons d'au delà, no. 1, Éd. E. Fromont [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean-Guy Bailly (1925 - 2009), "Élévation", 1992 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois Poèmes de Baudelaire 2, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maxime Belliard (1888 - 1986), "Élévation", published [1925] [ high voice and piano ], Édition Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicolas Chevereau (b. 1989), "Élévation", 2015, published 2017, first performed 2016 [ baritone and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire pour baryton et piano, no. 5, Sampson (France), Éd. Delatour [sung text not yet checked]
- by Luis de Freitas Branco (1890 - 1955), "Élévation", 1909, published 1997 [ high voice and piano ], from Canções Francesas, no. 6, Lisboa, Éd. Musicoteca [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jonathan Harvey (1939 - 2012), "Élévation", 1975, from Correspondances, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Dominique Lemaître (b. 1953), "Élévation", 2016, published 2017 [ medium voice and piano ], Lyon, Édition Rubin [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincent Minazzoli , "Élévation", 1989 [ high voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Plante (b. 1975), "Élévation", op. 111 no. 2, published 2006 [ high voice and piano ], from Cycle Baudelairien, no. 2, Édition du compositeur [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Haasz) , "Vzlet"
- ENG English (Emily Wyatt) , "Elevation", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POR Portuguese (Português) (Delfim Guimarães) , "Elevação", appears in As Flores do Mal
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 146
Above ponds, above valleys, Mountains, woodlands, clouds, seas, Beyond the sun, beyond the ether, Beyond the confines of the starry spheres, My spirit, you move with agility, And, like a good swimmer who is enraptured in the waves, You joyfully furrow through the deep vastness With an indescribable and masculine sensuality. Fly far, far from this morbid fog; Go and purify yourself in the upper air, And drink, like a pure and divine liquor, The bright fire which fills the clear spaces. Beyond the boredom and the immense vexations Which burden with their weight murky existence, Happy is he who can, on vigorous wing, Launch out towards the fields, luminous and serene; He whose thoughts, like larks, Towards the morning skies take wing freely, - Who glides over life, and understands without effort The language of flowers and voiceless things!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 by Emily Wyatt, (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 French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Élévation", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 3, first published 1857
This text was added to the website: 2012-10-09
Line count: 20
Word count: 139