by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer (1852 - 1923)
Translation Singable translation by Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi (1877 - 1944)
When you in sickness lie
Language: English
When you in sickness lie, No more the field is green, nor blue the sky ; No more invisible and lovely things The forest haunt with songs and rustling wings ; Back from my stricken sense the world recedes, And beauty's garden is a patch of weeds. Then can I [catch]1 in music's blithest tone Nought but the closing cadence of a moan; Then can I joy no more in sound unheard Save in the silence of the written word; The melodies that once could charm my ear Forbode some final dissonance of fear. Earth has no health, when health from you is fled; No angel stands between the quick and death; The awful unity of life and death Is sacramental in your labouring breath; And as I watch you I can hear Him call Who is the king of Nothing or of All. But ah! your nature surely cannot owe To that grim tyrant such an overthrow; You seem a creature of an alien strain From force and fate, and unallied to pain; Could you but meet their Master, little while Would lapse ere you had won him to a smile.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Albéniz: "hear"
Authorship
- by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer (1852 - 1923), "In sickness and in health", appears in Musa Verticordia, first published 1904 [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 Isaac Albéniz (1860 - 1909), "In sickness and health", 1908, published 1909 [medium voice and piano], from Four songs, no. 1, also set in French (Français) [ sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi (1877 - 1944) SPA ; composed by Isaac Albéniz.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger) , "Pour le meilleur et pour le pire", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfredo García) , "En la salud y en la enfermedad", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Alfredo García
Text added to the website: 2008-12-06 00:00:00
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:01
Line count: 24
Word count: 192
Quand je te vois souffrir
Language: French (Français) after the English
Quand je te vois souffrir J'oublie les verts jardins, le bleu du ciel, Les êtres invisibles gracieux, Dont l'incessant babil remplit les bois Loin de mes sens perclus le monde fuit. Les parcs en fleur me semblent désolés. Lors, la plus douce mélodie n'est plus Rien qu'une plainte qui monte et s'éteint. Lors je me berce, non de sons rêvés Mais du silence d'un poème lu ; Les chants harmonieux que tant j'aimais Ne sont que dissonances et terreurs ! le monde entier languit de ta douleur Nul ange ne vient désarmer la mort, Ô sœurs mystérieuses, Vie et Mort Qui de vous chante dans ce souffle brûlant? Je crois entendre l'appel de Celui Qui est le roi du monde et du néant. Mais toi, très chère, vas-tu succomber Aux lois cruelles de ce dur tyran ? Tu sembles n'être point soumise aux coups Du sort jaloux, être affranchie du mal ; S'il te voyait, le Maître tu saurais Bientôt par ta jeunesse le désarmer !
Authorship
- Singable translation by Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi (1877 - 1944) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- a text in English by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer (1852 - 1923), "In sickness and in health", appears in Musa Verticordia, first published 1904
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Isaac Albéniz (1860 - 1909), "Quand je te vois souffrir", 1908, published 1909 [medium voice and piano], from Four songs, no. 1, also set in English [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
Text added to the website: 2015-09-29 00:00:00
Last modified: 2015-09-29 14:17:59
Line count: 24
Word count: 166