Songs

L'hiver a cessé

by Gabriel Fauré From La bonne chanson (1894) Op. 61

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Text & Translation

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L'hiver a cessé
French source: Paul Verlaine

L'hiver a cessé : la lumière est tiède
Et danse, du sol au firmament clair.
Il faut que le coeur le plus triste cède
À l'immense joie éparse dans l'air.

J'ai depuis un an le printemps dans l'âme
Et le vert retour du doux floréal,
Ainsi qu'une flamme entoure une flamme,
Met de l'idéal sur mon idéal.

Le ciel bleu prolonge, exhausse et couronne
L'immuable azur où rit mon amour
La saison est belle et ma part est bonne
Et tous mes espoirs ont enfin leur tour.

Que vienne l'été ! Que viennent encore
L'automne et l'hiver ! Et chaque saison
Me sera charmante, ô Toi que décore
Cette fantaisie et cette raison !

Winter is over
English translation © Richard Stokes

Winter is over, the light is soft
And dances up from the earth to the clear sky.
The saddest heart must surrender
To the great joy that fills the air.

For a year I have had spring in my soul,
And the green return of sweet May,
Like flame encircling flame,
Adds an ideal to my ideal.

The blue sky prolongs, heightens, and crowns
the steadfast azure where my love smiles.
The season is fair and my lot is happy
And all my hopes are at last fulfilled.

Let summer come! Let autumn
And winter come too! Each season
Will delight me, O you graced with
Imagination and good sense!

Translation © Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)

L'hiver a cessé
French source: Paul Verlaine

Winter is over
English source: Richard Stokes

L'hiver a cessé : la lumière est tiède
Winter is over, the light is soft
Et danse, du sol au firmament clair.
And dances up from the earth to the clear sky.
Il faut que le coeur le plus triste cède
The saddest heart must surrender
À l'immense joie éparse dans l'air.
To the great joy that fills the air.

J'ai depuis un an le printemps dans l'âme
For a year I have had spring in my soul,
Et le vert retour du doux floréal,
And the green return of sweet May,
Ainsi qu'une flamme entoure une flamme,
Like flame encircling flame,
Met de l'idéal sur mon idéal.
Adds an ideal to my ideal.

Le ciel bleu prolonge, exhausse et couronne
The blue sky prolongs, heightens, and crowns
L'immuable azur où rit mon amour
the steadfast azure where my love smiles.
La saison est belle et ma part est bonne
The season is fair and my lot is happy
Et tous mes espoirs ont enfin leur tour.
And all my hopes are at last fulfilled.

Que vienne l'été ! Que viennent encore
Let summer come! Let autumn
L'automne et l'hiver ! Et chaque saison
And winter come too! Each season
Me sera charmante, ô Toi que décore
Will delight me, O you graced with
Cette fantaisie et cette raison !
Imagination and good sense!

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

Paul Verlaine

Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry. Born in Metz, Verlaine was educated at the Lycée Impérial…

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