Eau vivante
French source:
Charles van Lerberghe
Eau vivante,
Qui, du sein de la terre,
Jaillis en ces bassins et chantes!
Ô fontaine divine et pure,
Les plantes aspirent
Ta liquide clarté;
La biche et la colombe en toi se désaltèrent.
Et tu descends par des pentes douces
De fleurs et de mousses,
Vers l’océan originel,
Toi qui passes et vas, sans cesse, et jamais lasse
De la terre à la mer et de la mer au ciel.
Spring water
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Spring water,
Who, from the heart of the earth,
Surges into these pools and sings!
O divine, pure fountain,
The plants breathe in
Your liquid limpidity;
The doe and the dove quench in you their thirst.
And you descend by the gentle banks
Of flowers and moss
Towards the primeval ocean,
You who come and go, without cease or fatigue,
From the land to the sea and from the sea to the sky.
Eau vivante
French source:
Charles van Lerberghe
Spring water
English source:
Richard Stokes
Que tu es simple et claire,
How simple and clear you are,
Eau vivante,
Spring water,
Qui, du sein de la terre,
Who, from the heart of the earth,
Jaillis en ces bassins et chantes!
Surges into these pools and sings!
Ô fontaine divine et pure,
O divine, pure fountain,
Les plantes aspirent
The plants breathe in
Ta liquide clarté;
Your liquid limpidity;
La biche et la colombe en toi se désaltèrent.
The doe and the dove quench in you their thirst.
Et tu descends par des pentes douces
And you descend by the gentle banks
De fleurs et de mousses,
Of flowers and moss
Vers l’océan originel,
Towards the primeval ocean,
Toi qui passes et vas, sans cesse, et jamais lasse
You who come and go, without cease or fatigue,
De la terre à la mer et de la mer au ciel.
From the land to the sea and from the sea to the sky.
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
Charles van Lerberghe
Charles van Lerberghe was a Flemish (Belgian) symbolist poet writing in French. His poetry was set by Gabriel Fauré in the song cycles La chanson d'Ève and Le jardin clos. Taken from Wikipedia. To view the full article, please click here.