Text & Translation
Sainte
French source:
Stéphane Mallarmé
Le santal vieux qui se dédore
De la viole étincelant
Jadis selon flûte ou mandore
Est la Sainte pâle, étalant
Le livre vieux qui se déplie
Du Magnificat ruisselant
Jadis selon vêpre et complie:
À ce vitrage d›ostensoir
Que frôle une harpe par l’Ange
Formée avec son vol du soir
Pour la délicate phalange
Du doigt que, sans le vieux santal
Ni le vieux livre, elle balance
Sur le plumage instrumental,
Musicienne du silence.
Saint
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
The old sandalwood of flaking gilt
Of the viol that sparkled
Once to flute or mandola,
Stands the pale saint, displaying
The ancient unfolded book
Of the Magnificat that glistened
Once to vespers and compline:
At this monstrance-glass
Brushed by a harp which the Angel
Forms in his evening flight
For the delicate finger-
Tip that, lacking the old sandalwood
And the ancient book, she poises
On the instrumental plumage,
Musician of silence.
Sainte
French source:
Stéphane Mallarmé
Saint
English source:
Richard Stokes
À la fenêtre recélant
At the window that harbours
Le santal vieux qui se dédore
The old sandalwood of flaking gilt
De la viole étincelant
Of the viol that sparkled
Jadis selon flûte ou mandore
Once to flute or mandola,
Est la Sainte pâle, étalant
Stands the pale saint, displaying
Le livre vieux qui se déplie
The ancient unfolded book
Du Magnificat ruisselant
Of the Magnificat that glistened
Jadis selon vêpre et complie:
Once to vespers and compline:
À ce vitrage d›ostensoir
At this monstrance-glass
Que frôle une harpe par l’Ange
Brushed by a harp which the Angel
Formée avec son vol du soir
Forms in his evening flight
Pour la délicate phalange
For the delicate finger-
Du doigt que, sans le vieux santal
Tip that, lacking the old sandalwood
Ni le vieux livre, elle balance
And the ancient book, she poises
Sur le plumage instrumental,
On the instrumental plumage,
Musicienne du silence.
Musician of silence.
Composer
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel was a French composer, pianist and conductor. In the 1920s and 1930s he was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. He was one of the first composers to acknowledge the potential of recording in making…
Poet
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé (18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early…