by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
Un grand sommeil noir
Language: French (Français)
Un grand sommeil noir Tombe sur ma vie : Dormez, tout espoir, Dormez, toute envie ! Je ne vois plus rien, Je perds la mémoire Du mal et du bien... Ô la triste histoire ! Je suis un berceau Qu'une main balance Au creux d'un caveau : Silence, silence !
About the headline (FAQ)
Originally titled Berceuse (Cellulairement, no. 8).
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, written 1873, appears in Sagesse, in Sagesse III, no. 5, first published 1880 [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 José André (1881 - 1944), "Un grand sommeil noir ", 1905, published 1928 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies et chansons, no. 1, Paris, Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Antoine (1892 - 1918), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1875-77 [ medium voice and piano ], from Deux poèmes de Verlaine, no. 2, Éd. Muraille [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Arham (flourished 1911-1917), "Un grand sommeil noir", <<1914 [ voice and piano ], from Douze mélodies, 3e série, no. 54, Paris, Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Aubert (1877 - 1968), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1949 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by H. Baston-Couat, Madame , "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1929 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Roudanez [sung text not yet checked]
- by Armand Bernaert (1888 - 1950), "Un grand sommeil noir", [1920] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by François Berthet (1873 - 1956), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 14 no. 6 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Rouart-Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Serge Bortkiewicz (1877 - 1952), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 23 no. 3, published 1925 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sept Poésies de Paul Verlaine = Sieben Gedichte von Paul Verlaine, no. 3, Leipzig, Milan: Éd. Elite No. 205 Edition D. Rahter (4408), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nadia Boulanger (1887 - 1979), "Désespérance", 1902 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nadia Boulanger (1887 - 1979), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1906 [ voice and piano ], lost (a different version from the one of 1902) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Félix Bousquet , "Un grand sommeil noir", published [1921] [ voice and piano ], Paris, Jamin [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marguerite Canal (1890 - 1978), "Un grand sommeil noir" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Canteloube (1879 - 1957), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 5 (1903), published 1903 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre Chépélov (b. 1979), "Un grand sommeil noir", 2005, from Zweisprachstück, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Suzanne Coquelin (flourished c1912), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1910, published 1911 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Édouard Jouve [sung text not yet checked]
- by André-Marie Cuvelier , "Un grand sommeil noir" [ low voice and piano ], from Chansons pour Hélène, 4ème recueil, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lucien Darras (b. 1922), "Un grand sommeil noir", published [1945] [ voice and piano ], Paris, J. Rousselot [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fidès Devriès (1852 - 1941?), "Tristesse", published 1907 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Doyen (1882 - 1935), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Sur des poèmes de Paul Verlaine, no. 2, Paris, Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Blair Fairchild (1877 - 1933), "Sommeil noir", published c1908 [ voice and piano ], Firenze, Bratti, Lavilla et Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Flé , "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1898 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poésies mises en musique, no. 11, Édition du Mercure de France [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dirk Foch (1886 - 1940), "Silence, silence", op. 13 no. 3, published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Trois chants, no. 3, New York, Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gérard Frasca , "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 4 no. 2 (1946) [ soprano and piano ], from Deux mélodies pour soprano, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marius-François Gaillard (1900 - 1973), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1918 [ voice and piano ], from Six mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Costallat [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eduardo García Mansilla (1871 - 1930), "Silence, silence" [ voice and piano ], from Cinq poèmes, no. 5, Paris, Grus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel Grovlez (1879 - 1944), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1909, published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from Sagesse, no. 4, Paris, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Honegger (1892 - 1955), no title, alternate title: "Un grand sommeil noir", H. 184 no. 3 (1944), published 1947 [ low voice and piano ], from Romances choisies, quatre chansons pour voix grave, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Salabert [sung text checked 1 time]
- misattributed to André Jolivet (1905 - 1974), "Un grand sommeil noir", note: this setting does not exist - Varèse's song was once erroneously included in a CD of complete Jolivet songs, so the misattribution has multiplied across the internet [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léo Kok (1893 - 1992), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1935 [ voice and piano ], from Sept mélodies retrouvées, no. 2, éd. G.L.M. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pavel Ivanovich Kovalev (1889 - 1951), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 19 no. 1, published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Six chansons sur des poésies de Paul Verlaine, no. 1, Moscow [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philippe Krawczyk , "Un grand sommeil noir", [1956] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Guillaume Landré (1905 - 1968), "Un grand sommeil noir" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raoul Laparra (1876 - 1943), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1909 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles-Hilaire Laurent (1877 - 1941), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1909 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Siéver [sung text not yet checked]
- by Narcisse Prosper Zacharie Lavenant (1877 - 1946), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1908 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. E. Moullé [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Vincent Lourié (1891 - 1966), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1917 [ voice and piano ], from Verlaine, no. 3, Petrograd / Moscow, Государственное музыкальное издательство (Gosudarstvennoe muzykal’noe izdatel’stvo ) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mathilde Martinon , "Chansons tristes II", published [1929] [ medium voice and piano ], from Chansons tristes, no. 2, Éd. B. Roudanez [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alberto Mazzuoli , "Romance" [ medium voice and piano ], from Pagine d'Album, Otto Melodie per Canto e Pianoforte, no. 2, Milan, Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frédéric Michel , "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1923 [ voice and piano ], from Dix mélodies, no. 8, Paris, Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michel-Francou , "Un grand sommeil noir" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "Berceuse", op. 85 no. 1 (2001), published 2002 [ eight-part chorus (SSAATTBB chorus) ], from Sieben Chansons zu acht Stimmen nach Texten von Paul Verlaine, no. 1, Goldbach [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugeniusz de Morawski (1876 - 1948), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1920 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Rouart, Lerolle et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges (Jerzy) Nawrocki , "Un grand sommeil noir", <<1971 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carolus Dietmar Oberstadt (1871 - 1940), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 7 no. 3, published 1916 [ voice and piano ], from Chansons âpres et douces, no. 3, Paris, Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norman Houston O'Neill (1875 - 1934), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 26 no. 1 (1907), published 1907 [ voice and piano ], from Two French Songs, no. 1, London, Avison, also set in English [sung text not yet checked]
- by Héctor Panizza (1875 - 1967), "Sagesse, III", op. 24 no. 9, published 1899 [ voice and piano ], from Neuf poésies de Paul Verlaine, no. 9, Milan, Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard Panouillot , "Un grand sommeil noir", [1952] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Antonio Parera (1890 - ?), "Un grand sommeil noir" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paule Perrin (1906 - 1959), "Un grand sommeil noir", [1959] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jeanne-Eugénie Philippon , "Un grand sommeil noir", [1927] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Pollonnais (d. 1932), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1897 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Vve Richault mère [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marta Ptaszyńska (b. 1943), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1977, published 1979 [ female voice, flute and harp ], Krakow, PWM Édition ; with English text by K. Flores - text a mix of French and English [sung text not yet checked]
- by René Rabey (1878 - 1958), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), "Un grand sommeil noir", M. 6 (1895), published 1953, Paris, Durand ; later published by Salabert, 1975 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wilhelm Rettich (1892 - 1988), "Silence", op. 60 no. 1 [ voice and orchestra ], from Paul Verlaine chante. Cinq poésies pour une voix et orchestre, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Rettich (1892 - 1988), "Silence", op. 60a no. 1 [ voice and string trio ], from Paul Verlaine chante. Quatre poésies pour une voix et trio à cordes, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Denise Isabelle Roger (b. 1924), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1963, copyright © 1978, first performed 1973 [ high voice and piano ], from Trois Poèmes de Paul Verlaine, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léo Sachs (1856 - 1930), "Mélancolie", published 1902 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lazare Saminsky (1882 - 1959), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 5 no. 3, published 1914 [ voice and piano ], from Cycle Verlaine, no. 3, Moscow ; Paris, Sénart ; also in German and Russian [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustave Sandré (1843 - 1916), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 56 no. 2, published 1897 [ voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies sur des poésies de Verlaine, no. 2, Paris, Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sebastian Benson Schlesinger (1837 - 1917), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 74 no. 1, published 1901 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Quinzard [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul-Louis-Camille Schlosser , "Un grand sommeil noir", [1940] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martha Helen Schmidt (b. 1956), "Un grand sommeil noir", copyright © 2008 [ high voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies for high voice and piano, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hélène-Azuna Semama (1885 - 1939), as Hélène Servoz, "Un grand sommeil noir", [1932] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by James Martin Simon (1880 - 1944), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1935 [ voice and piano ], from Deux Mélodies de Paul Verlaine, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ludwig-Wolfgang Simoni , "Un grand sommeil noir", 1961 [ voice and piano ], from Trois poèmes tristes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971), "La bonne chanson", op. 9 no. 2 (1910), published 1911, orchestrated 1951 [ bass and orchestra ], from Dva stikhotvorenija Verlena, no. 2, Moscow, Jurgenson, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jósef-Zygmunt Szulc (1875 - 1956), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 83 (Dix mélodies sur des poésies de Verlaine) no. 3, published 1907 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Rouart Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Tortelier (1914 - 1990), "Un grand sommeil noir", [1942] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edgard Varèse (1883 - 1965), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1906, published 1906, Paris, Salabert (Roudanez) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937), "Un grand sommeil noir", op. 38 no. 2 (1916), published 1924 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Spleens et Détresses, no. 2, Paris, Salabert [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Victor Vreuls (1876 - 1944), "Un grand sommeil noir", 1902, published 1905 [ voice and orchestra or piano ], from Triptyque, no. 3, Bruxelles, Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Axel Raoul Wachtmeister (1865 - 1947), "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Trois (puis Quatre) Mélodies sur des poèmes de Paul Verlaine, no. 3, Paris, Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre Zeppilli , "Un grand sommeil noir", published 1920 [ high voice and piano ], from Deux mélodies, no. 2, Paris, Éd. F.D. Marchetti [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Harry Graham ; composed by Norman Houston O'Neill.
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- Also set in English, a translation by Ashmore Kyle Paterson Wingate (1881 - 1926?30) , appears in Poems by Verlaine, London and Newcastle, Walter Scott Publishing Company, first published 1904 ; composed by Cecil Coles.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920) , "Ruhe", subtitle: "Auf die Nachricht vom Tode des Dichters", appears in Weib und Welt ; composed by Pierre Chépélov, Fritz Koegel, Rudolf Mengelberg, Josef Tal, Richard Trunk, Hermann Karl Josef Zilcher.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi (1877 - 1944) ; composed by Victor Vreuls.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Serge Bortkiewicz (1877 - 1952) , "Ein schwarzer düst’rer Traum" ; composed by Serge Bortkiewicz.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Cäsar Flaischlen (1864 - 1920) , "Still!", appears in Aus den Lehr- und Wanderjahren des Lebens, in Höhen-entlang, in Übertragungen ; composed by Hans Hermann, Philippine Schick.
- Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Lőrinc Szabó (1900 - 1957) ; composed by József Soproni.
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- Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Mihály Babits (1883 - 1941) ; composed by József Soproni.
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- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Stepan Nikolayevich Mitusov (1878 - 1942) ; composed by Igor Stravinsky.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Vassily Vasilyevich Nechayev.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Valentina Iosifovna Ramm (1888 - 1968) ; composed by Anatoly Nikolayevich Aleksandrov.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873 - 1924) , no title, first published 1911 ; composed by Emil Cooper, Grigory Abramovich Kreyn, Aleksandr Ivanovich Yurasovsky.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Fyodor Kuzmych Teternikov (1863 - 1927) , no title, written 1897 ; composed by Aleksandr Abramovich Kreyn.
- Also set in Slovak (Slovenčina), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Vladimír Rusó.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Píseň"
- ENG English (Corinne Orde) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Egy álom", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 46