Poem by Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer.

IPA Guide and translation by Valerie Dzielski:

[muv* dɔ mɲɛ jɛs̜ts̜ɛ zɔd:dal̹i]

Mów do mnie jeszcze, z oddali, z oddali,

Speak to me still from distance

Speak to me still from a distance

[gwɔs tfuj m̹i pwɨɲɛ* na pɔv̹ɛts̜nɛj fal̹i]

Głos twój mi płynie na powietrznej fali.

Voice yours me flows on air waves

Your voice flows to me on air waves

[jak k̹atɛm kaz̜dɨm swɔvɛm tfɨm ɕɛ p̹ɛs̜ts̜ɛ]

Jak kwiatem, każdym słowem twym się pieszczę,

Like flower every word your oneself caress

With every word you caress me like a flower

[muv* dɔ mɲɛ jɛs̜ts̜ɛ pwɨnɔw᷈ntsɛ kum̹ɛ swɔva]

Mów do mnie jeszcze, te płynące ku mnie słowa

Speak to me still, the flowing toward me word

Speak to me still, your words flowing to me

[sɔw᷈ jaɡbɨ mɔdlitfa ps̜ɨ trumɲɛ]

Są jakby modlitwa przy trumnie.

They’re as if prayer by coffin

As if praying by a coffin

[i f sɛrtsu ɕm̹ɛrʈɕi vɨvɔwujɔw᷈ drɛs̜ts̜ɛ]

I w sercu śmierci wywołują dreszcze,

And in heart death induce chills

And in the dead heart induce chills

[muv dɔ mɲɛ jɛs̜ts̜ɛ]

Mów do mnie jeszcze!

Speak to me still

Speak to me still!

*While normally pronounced [muf], because this is diction for singing and it’s place in the phrase next to the voiced [d], the word “mów” should in this case be pronounced ending with the voiced [v].

*The written letter “y” is a unique sound in Polish. Here we use the symbol [ɨ] as it’s the symbol used by Polish linguists. Remember it is different from the Russian pronunciation associated with the symbol. It is a mid palate vowel similar to the English pronunciation of the symbol [ɪ].

z erotykow (from Erotica)

Poem by Józef Waśniewski (1859 - 1897)

Three-Layered Translation by Valerie Dzielski

I zamiast słońc i gwiazd, aniele ty mój drogi,

Instead of suns and stars angel you my dear

Instead of suns and stars my dear angel

Ja tylko łzy i łzy dziś składam ci pod nogi.

I only tears and tears today I-make-you/I pledge under feet

I only offer you tears and tears at your feet today

Przebacz, że duszy mej ubogie są tak zdroje,

Forgive that soul mine poor are thus/yes source

Forgive my poor soul, it is really the source

Lecz przyjmij chociaż łzy, bo łzy te, to łzy moje.

but/yet recieve/get although/at least tears because tears these these tears mine

But at least receive these tears because these tears are mine

The Queen’s Face on the Summery Coin

by Robert Horan

The queen’s face on the summery coin

Was never golden nor more regal,

Than his body’s bright and busting bugle

Where once it walked between the stripes of rain.

The birds swing in their apply cages

And the solid sun will walk

Through straw houses where honey rages,

Churning the light to chalk.

The wind shines on the woody grove.

We live in a copper clock where on the hour

A polished bell divides the stem and flow’r

And drains the ghost-built body of its love.

Like the deaf, list’ning for a silence that follows no sound,

Or the sick, swung in the balance between wound and wound;

There is too much eye to see

All but the nearest disorder.

In the sable shadow of this harbor

He lies him down among the singing bees.

Manon’s aria from Massenet’s Manon.

Translations by Valerie Dzielski

From Manon

Composer: Massenet

Librettist: Henri Meilhac

Allons! Il le faut! Pour lui-même…

Come on! He/it the must for himself

Come on? It is necessary (I must do it)! For his sake...

Mon pauvre chevalier!

My poor knight

My poor knight!

Oui, c'est lui que j'aime!

Yes, it is him that I love

Yes, it’s him that I love!

Et pourtant, j'hésite aujourd'hui!

And yet/however/but I hesitate today

And yet, I hesitate today!

Non, non!... Je ne suis plus digne de lui!

No, no I not am more dignified/worthy of him

No, no!... I am not worthy of him!

J'entends cette voix qui m'entraîne

I hear that voice who me takes/sweeps/pulls/drags

I hear that voice that pulls me

contre ma volonté:

Against my will/drive/passion

Against my will:

Manon, Manon, tu seras reine...

Manon, Manon, you will be queen

Manon, Manon, you will be queen...

Reine... par la beauté!

Queen by/through/via the beauty

Queen… by your beauty!

Je ne suis que faiblesse et que fragilité...

I not am what/that/who weakness/inadequate and that fragility

I am nothing but weakness and fragility

Ah! malgré moi je sens couler mes larmes…

Ah! despite/in spite of me/myself I sense flow my tears

Ah! In spite of myself I feel the flow of my tears...

Devant ces rêves effacés,

In front of/outside/before those/these dreams barely visible/indistinct/erased

Beyond those vanishing dreams

L' avenir aura-t-il les charmes

the/it future/prospects will there be the charms

In the future there will be the charms

de ces beaux jours déjà passés?

Of these/those beautiful days already/yet past

Of those beautiful days yet to pass

(Peu à peu elle s'est approchée de la table toute servie.)

(Little by little she approaches the table all served/ set up for a meal)

Adieu, notre petite table,

Goodbye, our little table,

qui nous réunit si souvent!

who/which/that we gather/join so often/frequently

Who we gathered around so often!

Adieu, notre petite table,

Goodbye, our little table,

si grande pour nous cependant!

So big/large for us however/yet/nevertheless/even so/nonetheless

So big for us though!

On tient, c'est inimaginable...

somebody/someone/you/one/we hold/keep/retain/got it is unimaginable/unthinkable

One thinks, it’s unimaginable

Si peu de place… en se serrant…

So little/small of place/space/room to/in self/ squeeze/compress/tighten

So little space… to squeeze oneself into...

Adieu, notre petite table,

Goodbye, our little table,

Un même verre était le nôtre,

A same glass/drink was the ours

We used the same glass

chacun de nous, quand il buvait

Each of us when he drinks

Each of us when we drank

y cherchait les lèvres de l'autre …

at/to/he/it searches/looks for the lips of the other

We searched for the lips of the other

Ah! pauvre ami, comme il m'aimait!

Ah poor friend like/as/how/since he me loves

Ah! Poor friend, how he loves me!

Adieu, notre petite table, adieu!

Goodbye, our little table, goodbye!

Susanna’s recitative and aria from Le Nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart.

Poem by Adam Mickiewicz

Translation by Valerie Dzielski

Nad wodą wielką i czystą

Above water great and clear

Stały rzędami opoki,

Steady rows rocks (mountains)

I woda tonią przejrzystą

and water sink/drown transparent

Odbiła twarze ich czarne;

Reflect faces their black

-

Nad wodą wielką i czystą

Above water great and clear

Przebiegły czarne obłoki,

Cunning black clouds

I woda tonią przejrzystą

and water sink/drown transparent

Odbiła kształty ich marne;

Reflect shapes their feeble

-

Nad wodą wielką i czystą

Above water great and clear

Błysnęło wzdłuż i grom ryknął,

Flash along the thunder shout

I woda tonią przejrzystą

and water sink/drown transparent

Odbiła światło, głos zniknął.

Reflect light, voice vanish

-

A woda, jak dawniej czysta,

And water, how formerly clear

Stoi wielka i przejrzysta.

Stood great and transparent

-

Tę wodę widzę dokoła

These waters behold around

I wszystko wiernie odbijam,

and whole (all around) faithfully reflect

I dumne opoki czoła,

and proud rocks brow

I błyskawice - pomijam.

and lightning - ignored

-

Skałom trzeba stać i grozić,

Cliffs must stand and threaten

Obłokom deszcze przewozić,

Clouds rain carry

Błyskawicom grzmieć i ginąć,

Lightning blast and perish

Mnie płynąć, płynąć i płynąć -

Me flow/swim/float/sail