C'était au début du printemps | C'était au début du printemps

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by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

То было раннею весной

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG ENG FRE

То было раннею весной,
трава едва всходила,
ручьи текли, не парил зной,
и зелень рощ сквозила;

Труба пастушья поутру
ещё не пела звонко,
и в завитках ещё в бору,
был папоротник тонкий;

То было раннею весной,
в тени берёз то было,
когда с улыбкой предо мной
ты очи опустила...

То на любовь мою в ответ
ты опустила вежды!
О жизнь! о, лес! о, солнца свет!
О, юность! о, надежды!

И плакал я перед тобой,
на лик твой глядя милый;
то было раннею весной,
в тени берёз то было!

То было в утро наших лет!
О, счастье! о слёзы!
о, лес! о, жизнь! о, солнца свет!
О, свежий дух берёзы!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• N. Rimsky-Korsakov

N. Rimsky-Korsakov sets stanzas 1, 3-6

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Text Authorship:

by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1871 [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 Vladimir Fyodorovich Kazimir , "То было раннею весной" [sung text not yet checked]
by Aleksandr Borisovich Matyukhin (b. 1947), "То было раннею весной" [sung text not yet checked]
by Nikolay Sergeyevich Potolovsky (1878 - 1927), "То было раннею весной" [sung text not yet checked]
by Rigelman , "То было раннею весной" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 - 1908), "То было раннею весной", op. 43 no. 4 (1897), stanzas 1,3-6 [ voice and piano ], from Весной (Vesnoj), no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Aleksandr Nikolayevich Shefer (1866 - 1914), "То было раннею весной" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "То было раннею весной", op. 38 (Шесть романсов = Shest' romansov (Six romances)) no. 2, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
by Sergey Vladimirovich Yuferov (1865 - 1927), "То было раннею весною" [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , no title ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
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Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ottokar Nováček.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 109

C'était au début du printemps

Language: French (Français) after the Russian (Русский)

C'était au début du printemps,
L'herbe se montrait à peine,
Les ruisseaux coulaient, il ne faisait pas trop chaud,
Les bosquets devenaient verts ;

Le pipeau du berger dans le matin
ne chantait pas encore d'une voix sonore,
dans la forêt les enroulements
des fougères étaient encore serrés ;

C'était au début du printemps,
et à l'ombre des bouleaux,
quand devant moi avec un sourire,
tu as baissé les yeux...

En réponse à mon amour pour toi
Tu as baissé les yeux...
Ô vie ! ô forêt ! ô lumière du soleil !
Ô jeunesse ! ô espoirs !

J'ai pleuré devant toi,
en regardant ton doux visage ;
c'était au début du printemps,
et à l'ombre des bouleaux !

C'était le matin de notre vie !
Ô bonheur ! ô larmes !
ô forêt ô vie ! ô lumière du soleil !
ô fraîche senteur des bouleaux !

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to French (Français) copyright © 2013 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 Russian (Русский) by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875), no title, first published 1871
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-03-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 134