by
Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)
Quand je te vois, seule, assise, à part...
Language: French (Français)
Quand je te vois, seule, assise, à part toi,
Toute [amusée]1 avecque ta pensée,
La tête un peu encontre bas baissée,
Te retirant du vulgaire et de moi,
Je veux souvent, pour rompre ton émoi,
Te saluer, mais ma voix offensée
De trop de peur se retient amassée
Dedans [ma]2 bouche et me laisse tout coi.
Souffrir ne puis les rayons de ta vue,
Craintive au corps mon âme tremble émue,
Langue ni voix ne font leur action.
Seuls mes soupirs, seul mon triste visage
Parlent pour moi, et telle passion
De mon amour donne assez témoignage.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• G. Boni About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Boni: "amassée"
2 Boni: "la"
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Quand je te vois", 2007 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Guillaume Boni (c1530 - c1594), "Quand je te voy seule assise a par toy", published 1607 [ vocal quartet ], from Sonnets de Pierre de Ronsard mis en musique à 4 parties, II, no. 13, Paris, Pierre Ballard [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Judith Cloud (1954 - 2023), "Quand je te vois, seule..." [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Quatre mélodies de Ronsard, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Martin (1890 - 1974), "Quand je te vois, seule, assise, à part toi", 1921 [ mezzo-soprano, flute, viola, and cello ], from Quatre sonnets à Cassandre, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Emanuel Moór (1863 - 1931), "Quand je te vois", op. 88a no. 7 [ voice and piano ], from Premier Recueil de Mélodies, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "When I see you sitting all by yourself", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Peter Low
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 99
When I see you sitting all by yourself
Language: English after the French (Français)
When I see you sitting all by yourself,
engrossed in your thoughts,
with your head somewhat lowered,
withdrawn from the crowd and from me,
then I often want to greet you, to interrupt
your moodiness; but my weakened voice,
excessively fearful, stays back
in my mouth, leaving me mute.
I cannot stand the brilliance of your appearance;
my soul quivers timorously in my body;
my tongue and vocal cords do not function.
Only my sighs, only my sad face
speak for me; and such passion
gives sufficient evidence of my love.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Peter Low, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 91