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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Eugène Manuel (1823 - 1901)
Translation © by Jordyn Elizabeth Beranek

Si vous voulez chanter
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Si vous voulez chanter,
il faut croire d'abord!
croire en Dieu qui créa le monde 
et l'harmonie qui d'un de ses rayons
allume son genie
et se revèle à lui 
dans le plus humble accord,
si vous voulez chanter,
il faut croire d'abord, 

si vous voulez combattre,
il faut croire d'abord, 
il faut que le lutteur affirme la justice, 
il faut pour le devoir qu'il s'offr' en sacrifice
et qu'il soit le plus pur 
s'il n'est pas le plus fort, 
si vous voulez combattre,
il faut croire d'abord, 

si vous voulez aimer,
il faut croire d'abord, 
croire d l'âme immortelle aux amours infinies
pour la terre et le ciel également bénies
croire au serment sacré
qui survit à la mort. 
Si vous voulez aimer
il faut croire d'abord.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Eugène Manuel (1823 - 1901), "Viatique", written 1888, appears in Poèmes du foyer et de l'École, Paris, Calmann Lévy, first published 1888 [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 Cécile Chaminade (1857 - 1944), "Viatique", published 1895 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Viatique", published 1909 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies [1909], no. 3, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Jean-Baptiste Faure (1830 - 1914), "Croyance" [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano or organ ], from Quatrième recueil de vingt mélodies, no. 11, Édition Heugel 'Au Ménestrel' [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Éric-Paul Steker (1898 - 1978), "Viatique", op. 21 (Six Mélodies) no. 6 (1942), published 1963 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 7, Nice, Éditions Georges Delrieu et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Bertha Frensel Wegener-Koopman (1874 - 1953), "Viatique", published 1926, from Deux Chansons, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Jordyn Elizabeth Beranek) , "Viatique", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: John Versmoren

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 128

Viatique
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
If you want to sing,
It is necessary to believe first!
To believe in God who created the world
and the harmony that one of its rays
lights his genius
and reveals itself to him in the most humble agreement.
If you want to sing,
it is necessary to believe first!

If you want to fight,
it is necessary to believe first,
it is necessary that the fighter affirm the justice,
it is necessary to offer itself in sacrifice
and that it is the most pure
if it is not the most strong.
If you want to fight,
it is necessary to believe first!

If you want to love,
it is necessary to believe first,
To believe in the immortal soul, of infinite love
from the earth and from the sky
equally blessed
to believe in the sacred oath
that survives death.
If you want to love,
It is necessary to believe first!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2013 by Jordyn Elizabeth Beranek, (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 Eugène Manuel (1823 - 1901), "Viatique", written 1888, appears in Poèmes du foyer et de l'École, Paris, Calmann Lévy, first published 1888
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2013-03-25
Line count: 25
Word count: 153

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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