Text & Translation
Aurore
French source:
Armand Silvestre
Abeilles d’or qu’attire un invisible miel,
Et l’aube, au loin tendant la candeur de ses toiles,
Trame de fils d’argent le manteau bleu du ciel.
Du jardin de mon cœur qu’un rêve lent enivre
S’envolent mes désirs sur les pas du matin,
Comme un essaim léger qu’à l’horizon de cuivre,
Appelle un chant plaintif, éternel et lointain.
Ils volent à tes pieds, astres chassés des nues,
Exilés du ciel d’or où fleurit ta beauté
Et, cherchant jusqu’à toi des routes inconnues,
Mêlent au jour naissant leur mourante clarté.
Dawn
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Golden bees tempted by invisible honey,
And the distant dawn, stretching its guileless veils,
Weaves silver threads through the sky’s blue cloak.
From the garden of my dream-enraptured soul,
My desires take wing as morning appears,
Like a delicate swarm called to the copper horizon
By a sad, never-ending and distant song.
They fly to your feet, stars banished from the sky,
Exiled from the golden heavens where your beauty thrives,
And, seeking to reach you by untried paths,
They mingle their dying light with the dawning day.
Aurore
French source:
Armand Silvestre
Dawn
English source:
Richard Stokes
Des jardins de la nuit s’envolent les étoiles,
Stars take wing from the gardens of night –
Abeilles d’or qu’attire un invisible miel,
Golden bees tempted by invisible honey,
Et l’aube, au loin tendant la candeur de ses toiles,
And the distant dawn, stretching its guileless veils,
Trame de fils d’argent le manteau bleu du ciel.
Weaves silver threads through the sky’s blue cloak.
Du jardin de mon cœur qu’un rêve lent enivre
From the garden of my dream-enraptured soul,
S’envolent mes désirs sur les pas du matin,
My desires take wing as morning appears,
Comme un essaim léger qu’à l’horizon de cuivre,
Like a delicate swarm called to the copper horizon
Appelle un chant plaintif, éternel et lointain.
By a sad, never-ending and distant song.
Ils volent à tes pieds, astres chassés des nues,
They fly to your feet, stars banished from the sky,
Exilés du ciel d’or où fleurit ta beauté
Exiled from the golden heavens where your beauty thrives,
Et, cherchant jusqu’à toi des routes inconnues,
And, seeking to reach you by untried paths,
Mêlent au jour naissant leur mourante clarté.
They mingle their dying light with the dawning day.
Composer
Gabriel Fauré
"Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his…
Poet
Armand Silvestre
Paul-Armand Silvestre, French poet and conteur, was born in Paris. He studied at the École polytechnique with the intention of entering the army, but in 1870 he entered the department of finance. He had a successful official career, was decorated…