Les chemins de l'amour
French source:
Jean Anouilh
Ont gardé de notre passage
Des fleurs effeuillées
Et l’écho sous leurs arbres
De nos deux rires clairs.
Hélas! des jours de bonheur,
Radieuses joies envolées,
Je vais sans retrouver traces
Dans mon coeur.
Chemins de mon amour,
Je vous cherche toujours,
Chemins perdus, vous n’êtes plus
Et vos échos sont sourds.
Chemins du désespoir,
Chemins du souvenir,
Chemins du premier jour,
Divins chemins d’amour.
Si je dois l’oublier un jour,
La vie effaçant toute chose,
Je veux dans mon coeur qu’un souvenir
Repose plus fort que l’autre amour.
Le souvenir du chemin,
Où tremblante et toute éperdue,
Un jour j’ai senti sur moi brûler tes mains.
The Paths of Love
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Have retained from our passing
The flowers that shed their petals
And the echo beneath their trees
Of our clear laughter.
Alas! no trace of those happy days,
Those radiant joys now flown,
Can I find again
In my heart.
Paths of my love,
I search for you ceaselessly,
Lost paths, you are no more
And your echoes are muted.
Paths of despair,
Paths of memory,
Paths of our first day,
Divine paths of love.
If one day I must forget,
Since life obliterates everything,
I wish for my heart to remember one thing,
More vivid than the other love,
To remember the path
Where trembling and quite distracted,
I one day felt on me your passionate hands.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Les chemins de l'amour
French source:
Jean Anouilh
The Paths of Love
English source:
Richard Stokes
Les chemins qui vont à la mer
The paths that lead to the sea
Ont gardé de notre passage
Have retained from our passing
Des fleurs effeuillées
The flowers that shed their petals
Et l’écho sous leurs arbres
And the echo beneath their trees
De nos deux rires clairs.
Of our clear laughter.
Hélas! des jours de bonheur,
Alas! no trace of those happy days,
Radieuses joies envolées,
Those radiant joys now flown,
Je vais sans retrouver traces
Can I find again
Dans mon coeur.
In my heart.
Chemins de mon amour,
Paths of my love,
Je vous cherche toujours,
I search for you ceaselessly,
Chemins perdus, vous n’êtes plus
Lost paths, you are no more
Et vos échos sont sourds.
And your echoes are muted.
Chemins du désespoir,
Paths of despair,
Chemins du souvenir,
Paths of memory,
Chemins du premier jour,
Paths of our first day,
Divins chemins d’amour.
Divine paths of love.
Si je dois l’oublier un jour,
If one day I must forget,
La vie effaçant toute chose,
Since life obliterates everything,
Je veux dans mon coeur qu’un souvenir
I wish for my heart to remember one thing,
Repose plus fort que l’autre amour.
More vivid than the other love,
Le souvenir du chemin,
To remember the path
Où tremblante et toute éperdue,
Where trembling and quite distracted,
Un jour j’ai senti sur moi brûler tes mains.
I one day felt on me your passionate hands.
Composer
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (F7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodies, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Read the full…
Poet
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' classical drama, that…
Performances
Previously performed at:
- Oxford Lieder at Fairlight Hall: Olivia Boen & Sholto Kynoch 15 May 2022
- Oxford Lieder at Rye Creative Centre: Olivia Boen & Sholto Kynoch 14 May 2022
- Oxford Lieder at Cedars Hall: Olivia Boen & Sholto Kynoch 12 May 2022
- Song at Wolfson: Olivia Boen & Sholto Kynoch 05 May 2022
- Song at Wolfson / Anna Cavaliero: Britten, Korngold, Poulenc, Bartók and Walton 30 Jan 2020
- Oxford Lieder at Fairlight Hall / Anna Cavaliero: Britten, Korngold, Poulenc, Bartók and Walton 26 Jan 2020
- Felicity Lott / Eugene Asti 04 Mar 2016