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En Bohême était une Reine, Douce soeur du Roi de Thulé, Belle entre toutes les Reines, Reine par sa toute Beauté. Le grand Trouvère de Bohême Un soir triste d'automne roux Lui murmura le vieux: je t'aime !... -- Âmes folles et cœurs si fous !... Et la Très Belle toute blanche Le doux Poète tant aima Que sur l'heure son âme blanche Vers les étoiles s'exhala... Les grosses cloches de Bohême Et les clochettes de Thulé Chantèrent l'hosana suprême [Pour]1 la Reine morte d'aimer...
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Roland de Marès, Ariettes douloureuses, Paris, Leon Vanier, 1893, pages 60-61.
1 Ravel: "De"Authorship
- by Roland de Marès (1874 - 1955), "Complainte de la Reine de Bohême", appears in Ariettes douloureuses, Paris, Leon Vanier, first published 1893 [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 Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), "Ballade de la reine morte d'aimer", M. 4 (1893). [voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Ballad of the queen who died of love", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , François Le Roux
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 84
In Bohemia1, once there was a queen, Gentle sister to the King of Thule2, With beauty surpassing all other queens, Queen by her beauty alone. The great Bohemian trouvère3 One sad evening in red autumn Murmured the old refrain: »I love you!« O foolish souls and crazed hearts!... And the pure white beauty Was so loved by the gentle poet That at that instant her white soul Expired and floated to the stars... The great bells of Bohemia And the little bells of Thule Pealed the final Hosanna Of the Queen [who] died of love.
1 Ancient Bohemia was settled by Gallic tribes fleeing from Italian invasions. Their leaders fought alongside Hannibal, but were eventually defeated by the Romans.
2 Thule was reputed to be the northernmost island at the end of the world in ancient and medieval geographies. Thomas Weekles set a description of it in his madrigal Thule, the Period of Cosmography.
3 trouvères - Medieval poet-composers who wrote love songs in Northern French dialects (c1100-1300)
Authorship
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2013 by Laura Prichard, (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:
- a text in French (Français) by Roland de Marès (1874 - 1955), "Complainte de la Reine de Bohême", appears in Ariettes douloureuses, Paris, Leon Vanier, first published 1893
This text was added to the website: 2013-06-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 95