La Chanson des Lavandieres

À quoi bon entendre
Les oiseaux des bois?
L'oiseau le plus tendre
Chante dans ta voix.

Que Dieu montre ou voile
Les astres des cieux!
La plus pure étoile
Brille dans tes yeux.

Qu'avril renouvelle
Le jardin en fleur!
La fleur la plus belle
Fleurit dans ton coeur.

Cet [oiseau]1 de flamme,
Cet astre du jour,
Cette fleur de l'âme,
S'appelle l'amour!

by Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885) , "La Chanson des Lavandieres", from Ruy Blas, Act 2, Scene 1, published 1838

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) , "Ruy Blas"
by Léo Delibes (1836-1891) , "Sérénade de Ruy-Blas", 1879.
by Victor Massé (1822-1884) , "La chanson des Lavandieres", published 1861. [duettino for soprano and mezzo-soprano]
by Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901) , "La chanson des Lavandieres", op. 5 (Five songs) no. 2, published 1889.
by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829-1894) , "Liebeswunder", published 1879? [voice and piano], Leipzig, Senff; [sic] for title, found in Sitsky, Larry Anton Rubinstein: an annotated catalog of piano works and biography
by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) , "À quoi bon entendre les oiseaux des bois?", 1868, published 1868. [voice and piano]
by Louis [Ludwig] Spohr (1784-1859) , "À la bien aimée", WoO. 100 (1839). [voice and piano], also set in German

by Louis [Ludwig] Spohr (1784-1859) , "An die Geliebte", WoO. 100 (1839), also set in French

by (Jakob Ludwig) Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) , "Lied aus Ruy Blas", op. 77 no. 3 (1839), two sopranos and piano
by Frank Valentin Van der Stucken (1858-1929) , "Serenade", op. 17 (Acht Lieder) no. 8, published 1892. [low voice and piano]

ENG English (Richard Stokes)
SPA Spanish (Alberto Bonati)
DUT Dutch [singable] (Jos. Van de Vijver)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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