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La froidure paresseuse De l'yver a fait son temps; Voicy la saison joyeuse Du délicieux printemps. La terre est d'herbes ornée, L'herbe de fleuretes l'est; La feuillure retournée Fait ombre dans la forest. De grand matin, la pucelle Va devancer la chaleur, Pour de la rose nouvelle Cueillir l'odorante fleur. Pour avoir meilleure grace Soit qu'elle en pare son sein, Soit que présent elle en fasse A son amy, de sa main: Qui, de sa main l'ayant uë Pour souvenance d'amour, Ne la perdra point de vuë, La baisant cent fois le jour. Mais oyez dans le bocage Le flageolet du berger, Qui agace le ramage Du rossignol bocager. Voyez l'onde clere et pure Se cresper dans les ruisseaux; Dedans, voyez la verdure De ces voisins arbrisseaux. La mer est calme et bonasse; Le ciel est serein et cler, La nef jusqu'aux Indes passe; Un bon vent la fait voler. Les menageres avetes Font çà un doux fruit, Voletant par les fleuretes Pour cueillir ce qui leur duit. En leur ruche elles amassent Des meilleures fleurs la fleur, C'est à fin qu'elles en fassent Du miel la douce liqueur. Tout resonne des voix nettes De toutes races d'oyseaux, Par les chams, des alouetes, Des cygnes, dessus les eaux. Aux maisons, les arondelles, Les rossignols, dans les boys, En gayes chansons nouvelles Exercent leurs belles voix. Doncques, la douleur et l'aise De l'amour je chanteray, Comme sa flame ou mauvaise, Ou bonne, je sentiray. Et si le chanter m'agrée, N'est-ce pas avec raison, Puis qu'ainsi tout se recrée Avec la gaye saison?
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Text Authorship:
- by Jean-Antoine de Baïf (1532 - 1589), "Du printemps" [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- by André Caplet (1879 - 1925), "Du printemps", 1925 [ high voice and flute ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques Durand (1865 - 1928), "Du Printemps", 1926, published 1926 [ vocal duet for mezzo-soprano and baritone with piano ], Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (1849 - 1895), "Printemps !", op. 24 no. 2 [ medium voice and piano ], from Nouvelles chansons du vieux temps, no. 2, Éd. Louis Gregh [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Vredenburg (1904 - 1976), "Du printemps", 1952, published 1955 [ voice and piano or harpsichord ], Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Wyatt) , "In spring", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-25
Line count: 56
Word count: 261
The cold sloth Of winter has had its time; Now is the joyous season Of delightful spring. Plants decorate the ground, And little flowers the plants; The leaves are back And make shade in the forest. Early in the morning, the maid Goes out before the heat To pluck from the new rose Its perfumed flower. To have a finer look Whether she adorns her breast with it Or makes a gift of it To her lover, from her own hand; He, taking it from her hand As a remembrance of love, Will never lose it from sight, Kissing it hundreds of times a day. Ah, hear in the copse The shepherd's flute Which upsets the building-works Of the nesting nightingale. See the clear, pure water Bubbling in the streams; Within them, see the greenery Of their branching neighbours. The sea is calm and gentle, The sky serene and bright, The ship sails off to the Indies; A fair wind makes it fly. The housekeeping bees Make here their sweet produce, Flitting among the flowers To garner their due. In their hive they gather in The best from the best flowers, So that with it they can make That sweet liquor, honey. Everywhere resound the clear voices Of all kinds of birds, In the meadows the larks, The swans on the waters, In the houses the swallows, The nightingales in the woods, All raise their sweet voices In happy new songs. So, I shall sing of the sadness And the pleasure of love, As I feel its flame Now painful, now sweet. And if singing pleases me, Is there not good reason Since everything amuses itself this way In this happy season?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2013 by David Wyatt, (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 Jean-Antoine de Baïf (1532 - 1589), "Du printemps"
This text was added to the website: 2013-05-07
Line count: 56
Word count: 282