Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Que tu es simple et claire, 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. Souvent, à l'heure où l'ombre te couvre Ô source, je me penche sur toi, Et j'y laisse flotter mes cheveux et mes doigts, Que tu entraînes et entr'ouvres, Mais tu te caches, tu fuis en eux, Et c'est moi-même que je trouve En te cherchant, Nymphe aux yeux bleus.
G. Fauré sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Charles van Lerberghe (1861 - 1907), no title, written 1903, appears in La Chanson d'Ève, in 1. Premières paroles, no. 20, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1904 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Eau vivante", op. 95 no. 6 (1906), published 1906, stanzas 1-3 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from La Chanson d'Ève, no. 6, Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Herberigs (1886 - 1974), "Que tu es simple et claire eau vivante...", 1922 [ medium voice and piano ], from La chanson d'Ève - 1er recueil, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Pieter van der Woel) , "Levend water", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "Living water", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 126
Wie schlicht und klar bist du, lebendig’ Wasser, das singend aus dem Schoß der Erde in diese Becken quillt. O köstlich reiner Quell; die Pflanzen atmen deine lichte Klarheit ein, die Hirschkuh und die Taube stillen ihren Durst an dir. Sanft strömst du zwischen Blüt’ und Moos dem ew’gen Meere zu. Du kommst und gehst ohn’ Unterlass und nimmermüd vom Land zum Meere und vom Meer zum Himmel … Oft, Quell, wenn dich der Schatten deckt, beug’ ich mich über dich und lass’ auf dir mein Haar und meine Hände treiben, auf dass du sie mitziehst und ausbreitest, doch du versteckst dich und fliehst ihnen. Ich selbst bin es, der suchend dich dann findet, Nymphe mit den blauen Augen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Eau vivante" = "Lebendiges Wasser"Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles van Lerberghe (1861 - 1907), no title, written 1903, appears in La Chanson d'Ève, in 1. Premières paroles, no. 20, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1904
This text was added to the website: 2015-02-06
Line count: 20
Word count: 119