La Vie D'une Rose

La vie d’une rose SOMMCD 0600 Songs by Jules Massenet (1842-1912) Céleste Series Sally Silver soprano Christine Tocci mezzo-soprano *duet **solo La vie Richard Bonynge piano d’une rose 1 Sérénade d’automne 2:35 bo Le sais-tu? 2:16 2 Passionnément 2:44 bp La dernière chanson 2:27 3 L’heure solitaire* 3:31 bq Aux étoiles* 4:15 Songs by 4 Nuit d’Espagne 3:11 br Chanson pour elle 2:25 5 Souhait 2:19 bs Être aimé 1:56 Jules Massenet 6 La mélodie des baisers** 1:59 bt Salut, printemps!* 3:28 7 Rien ne passe! 2:14 bu Le coffret d’ébène 2:30 8 La vie d’une rose 4:15 cl Vous aimerez demain 3:13 (Quatre mélodies Op.12, No.3) (Poème d’avril, No.5) 9 Le poète et le fantôme* 3:06 cm Joie!* 2:52 • bl Puisqu’elle a pris ma vie 1:50 cn L’âme des fleurs 1:40 Sally Silver (Poème d’amour, No.4) co Les fleurs* 3:29 bm Dieu créa le désert 3:49 cp Le petit Jésus 2:57 soprano bn La dernière lettre de Werther à Charlotte 4:08 cq Amoureux appel 2:15 (Expressions Lyriques, No.5)** Total duration: 71:41 Christine Tocci mezzo-soprano Recorded at National Opera Studio, London on April 4-7, 2017 Producer: Jeremy Silver Recording Engineer: Anthony Philpott Front cover: The Pink Rose (oil on canvas) by Charles-Amable Lenoir (1860-1926). Richard Bonynge Private Collection. Photo © Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images Design: Andrew Giles Booklet Editor: Michael Quinn piano

DDD © &  2019 SOMM RECORDINGS · THAMES DITTON · SURREY · ENGLAND Made in the EU women of letters, but also those whom one might ironically call “society singers”. La vie d’une rose This diversity shows that Massenet composed as much for professional sopranos Songs by Jules Massenet and mezzos as for the world of the salon with its enlightened amateurs of variable talent. For all that, Massenet’s songs are of pretty consistent quality, showing little Massenet’s Mélodies evidence that he changed approach according to his intended audience. Just like the world of his operas or orchestral works, the world of Massenet’s songs The mélodies of Massenet form an essential part of his output with some 285 songs contains numerous themes. Love, of course, takes a special place, but this is in no currently identified. Massenet’s work is often characterized by its eclecticism, as way peculiar to Massenet alone. Unfortunately, still today, the composer at his much in its content as in its form: its variety of subjects, aesthetic tendencies and most melodic suffers from being only associated with lighter music, inspired by vocal or orchestral invention are all equally signs of the richness of his works. But the “‘listening ladies’ of the salon” but this ignores the many titles which, alone thinking in this way can be a double-edged sword. In spite of the unquestionable or in groups, hold the key to wider horizons, such as the invitation to travel, the renown of the composer, critics did not refrain from criticizing this virtue as a sign exaltation of nature, other periods of history, the evocation of religion, fantasy and of weakness – “with Massenet you find everything – and that’s a problem!” But could the reference to traditional songs from the provinces of France. it be otherwise with a composer known to have loved experimenting and searching for more and greater musical and emotional depths? Massenet’s songs are not only wide-ranging in their subjects but in their forms, in which he developed a broad palette. The songs of his youth, not so different What is valuable about Massenet’s work, and particularly of his operas which from traditional romances, alternating verses and refrains then stringing together account for his current reputation, applies just as much to his songs, numerous yet, verses with identical settings, become increasingly freer in his artistic maturity. with one or two exceptions, hardly known. The introduction of a sort of Sprechstimme particularly for his last muse, the We have an image of Massenet, man of the theatre, feverishly pacing up and down singer Lucy Arbell, completes this evolution. Neither did he hesitate to add other the stage, wings and proscenium of opera houses to keep an eye on the preparation instruments to the basic structure of voice and piano, and the cello was a particular and performances of his works. Massenet, the song composer, was, in his own words, favourite. Occasionally, he orchestrates his songs. Whether in cycles or as stand- rather more at home in salons – this “bourgeois artist at the fireside” as he liked to alone compositions, his songs sometimes take the form of vocal duets, trios or even describe himself. If posterity characterizes him as the composer of women, then this quartets. Some are arrangements of pieces for piano or orchestra, or arias from is so much more the case in his mélodies. Of the hundred or so dedicatees known operas. So here, as well, one could never accuse Massenet of conforming or being for his songs, a large majority are women – singers, wives of artistic collaborators, repetitive in his musical approach.

2 3 A last extremely important element for our understanding of the mélodies he celebrates in the glimmer of the stars the survival of love in contrast to the of Massenet is the relationship between music and text. The composer was faded roses given in the past. La vie d’une rose (‘The life of a rose’, DO 370) is the unquestionably mindful of verse prosody and the careful matching of the vocal monologue of the blood-red flower, symbol of fleeting beauty, sacrificed for love line. His detractors have sometimes accused him of choosing relatively weak poems of the beloved. Le sais-tu? (‘Do you know?’, DO 236) combines the springtime simply to support his melodies. This is to forget that for Massenet, just as for Brahms charms of the woodland birds and the sweetly smelling rose, pledge of a constantly or Debussy, the text is taken to be one of two inseparable elements – the other renewing attachment. The rose was also one of the ‘codes’ between Massenet and the being the musical support – which, by osmosis, aim for the transformation of an mezzo-soprano Lucy Arbell, his final muse. ambience, an atmosphere or an emotion. However, with La mélodie des baisers (‘The song of kisses’, DO 250), it is the In the end, armed with these different characteristics and just like the man who countless lilacs which spread in clusters of grand arpeggios, followed by lighter and wrote them, the songs of Massenet represent experimentation and transition. Far shorter chords, marking the fleeting moment before a final, grandiloquent take- from being understood as belonging to the end of one century, they look forward off. Vous aimerez demain (‘You will love tomorrow’, DO 180/ DO C.VI, 5) offers into the next. the promise of a nascent or renewed love. Throughout three verses, the vocal line develops in soft waves to its ethereal conclusion on a bed of repetitive left-hand This second disc curated by Sally Silver and Richard Bonynge for SOMM Recordings, rising arpeggios. Likewise, Sérénade d’automne (‘Autumn serenade’, DO 334) here with the participation of mezzo-soprano Christine Tocci, offers a fresh sample welcomes the permanence of love, beyond the seasons, beyond time, in a kind of of 25 mélodies which perfectly illustrate the points already laid out. perpetual motion. After nightfall, the stars are guaranteed to shine in the duet Aux Springtime, nature, flowers, birds, trees – all sing here in the harmony of an exalted étoiles (‘To the stars’, DO 122), the voices gliding lightly over the sparkling vellum young love. The duetJoie! (‘Joy!’, DO 233/DO C.XV, 5) presents a wonderfully and the subtle harmonic shifts of the piano accompaniment. idyllic setting. Singing and hopping on jaunty rhythms, the little bird announces Often tender and bucolic, the sense of love that Massenet depicts in music the timing of the dance and of a betrothal. The stream answers him against the becomes at times ardent and fiery. Thus,Passionnément (‘Passionately’, DO 286) backdrop of a revitalized nature. begins with loud, tormented chords, then develops into grand arpeggios which “Queen amongst flowers” (René de Buxeuil), the rose is omnipresent in Massenet’s get progressively impassioned and only subside in the final bars. There is similarly evocations of love. In L’âme des fleurs (‘The souls of the flowers’, DO 102), which no lack of loving ardour in Souhait (‘Desire’, DO 349), where the poet, to quench he dedicated to the soprano Sibyl Sanderson, his first real muse – “seduced by her his fever, dreams of becoming the blood in the lips or the gold in the hair of his perfumed grace and her tenderly melodic softness” as he writes in the score – beloved. Être aimé (‘To be loved’, DO 196) is an ode to intensely close love, in

4 5 which the voice takes its sweeping flight above grand arpeggiated chords which C.III, 5) with its unusual Sprechstimme specially conceived by Massenet for Lucy punctuate the line in the piano. Arbell in the cycle Expressions Lyriques, takes up the moonlight theme from Act I of Werther. Just as in the letter scene of this opera, this melody reflects the In the same way, Amoureux appel (‘Loving call’, DO 109) proposes the union characters: Charlotte who reads, Werther who writes. The dramatic tension grows of bodies and hearts, built upon big vertical chords which are intoxicating and progressively according to the outpouring of the poet’s feelings until the final obsessive, and which paradoxically confer on this melody a note of troubling goodbye, laden with dark omens. Who knows if it isn’t Werther again in dialogue strangeness. The duetL’heure solitaire (‘The solitary hour’, DO 214) points the with the shadow of death in the duet Le poète et le fantôme (‘The poet and the way to total serenity with its soft, fluid melodic lines on a bed of crystalline piano p h a n t o m’, DO 298)? This piece, entirely sung, with its strange twilight atmosphere, octaves. Massenet highlights the contralto as the principal voice to lend more velvet has a certain similarity with Schubert’s Death and the Maiden. to the light of the setting sun. The impressionistic atmosphere is magnified inRien ne passe! (‘Nothing fades’, DO 322) in which the almost jazzy harmony develops a Past love is also central to Puisqu’elle a pris ma vie (‘Since she has taken my life’, bittersweet languidness expressing ever-constant vows of love. In a similar aesthetic, DO 312/DO C.V, 4). Rapidly passing time is immediately translated into a fast prelude the duet Salut, printemps! (‘Greetings, oh Spring!’, DO 328), underpinned by a with harmonies full of torment. Starting undecided, the melody resolutely adopts the gentle swaying motion, celebrates springtime love and seduction. minor mode before returning to the major to evoke the eternal “flower of memory”. Similarly, La dernière chanson (‘The final song’, DO 169) rests the inevitability Other aspects of love are also frequently developed by Massenet – whether of separation on an accompaniment which sways between consonant chords and melancholy, unrequited feelings, or even love that has perished. Alternating longer dissonant chords, as if to emphasise the illusion of romantic stability. between one state of mind and another, Les fleurs (‘Flowers’, DO 205) are in turn presented as joyful or sad. From a calm carpet of harmonies they burst out in Le coffret d’ébène (‘The ebony casket’, DO 158) contains, in its own words, “les bouquets on the subject of joy and love. The subject darkens as mourning, the tristesses d’un souvenir” (‘the sorrows of a memory’) and the echo of the lover’s arrival of winter, despair and painful memories take centre stage. Chanson pour voice. This strange melody has a medieval quality in its modal writing punctuated elle (‘Song for her’, DO 152), with a troubadour accompanying himself on guitar with grand arpeggios which might be played on a lute or harp. Its surprisingly wide or mandolin, beautifully encapsulated in piano gruppetti, exposes the hopes and tessitura, the silences in the vocal line and the spoken quality of the declamation of the inconstancies of love. text cannot help remind one of certain of the pieces Massenet wrote for Lucy Arbell. After tender medieval reminiscences come Romantic desires. La dernière lettre Journeys also feature in the thematic index of Massenet’s songs. Under the pretext de Werther à Charlotte (‘Final letter from Werther to Charlotte’, DO 170/DO of evoking an atmosphere for love, the composer transports us under Andalusian

6 7 skies with Nuit d’Espagne (‘A Spanish Night’, DO 212). The admirer reminds the SALLY SILVER soprano young girl who is making him wait that it is important to make use of the brief time available. This type of ‘espagnolade’ cannot but recall the friendship which tied the Sally Silver’s repertoire spanned Handel to young Massenet to one of the great ambassadors of the genre, Pauline Viardot, née Thomas Ades and newly commissioned García. Dieu créa le désert (‘God created the desert’, DO 175) appears to be both works, but she was perhaps best known a throw-back to the orientalism dear to Massenet’s composer-peer Félicien David, for bel canto and French roles. She but also a reminiscence of the solitary wanderings of Athanaël in Thaïs (1894). It recently made her debut as Eleonora ends on a surprising metaphor, opposing the solitude of the desert to the family, a in Donizetti’s Il Furioso all’isola di San gift from God. Domingo (‘Wild Man of the West Indies’) with English Touring Opera. Sussie Ahlburg Photograph: Indeed, the sacred is not absent from the songs of Massenet. There are around 10 pieces in which the text as well as the music are more suggestive of ‘spiritual songs’ She recently appeared in Moscow with rather than genuinely religious pieces. Among them, Le petit Jésus (‘Little Jesus’, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa- DO 292) is dedicated to Gisèle Boyer, daughter of the author of the text, and Pekka Salonen in the Russian première Massenet’s god-daughter. The vocal line in crotchets and quavers rests upon of Shostokovich’s opera Orango, and intermittent vertical chords, falling like the tears of a child. Undoubtedly, they are made appearances in concert with the those of the Infant Jesus, who when grown up will witness the ultimate suffering – Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and seeing his mother in tears at the foot of the cross. at Opera på Skaret in Sweden. Hervé Oléon © 2019 Some other concert highlights include Translation: Jeremy Silver © 2019 the world première of Songs of Five Rivers by Naresh Sohal with the BBC Symphony Orchestra; Mendelssohn Lobgesang with the London Symphony *DO numbers refer to the classification of Massenet’s works to be found in Massenet: Orchestra; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with l’Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn Catalogue Général des Oeuvres/Massenet: General Catalogue of Worksby Hervé and Ulster Orchestra; a concert of operatic mad scenes with Staatskapelle Weimar Oléon and Mary Dibbern (Pendragon Press, 2016). at Weimar Pelerinages Kunstfest and a Bel Canto Gala with US tenor Lawrence Brownlee in Cape Town.

8 9 In the UK, she performed to great critical acclaim the roles of Lucia in Lucia di RICHARD BONYNGE Lammermoor, Elvira I Puritani and Angelica Orlando with Scottish Opera and appeared with English National Opera as Annchen Der Freischütz and Mila in Richard Bonynge, AC, CBE, the world première of Jonathan Dove’s Palace in the Sky. Other British operatic was born in Sydney and studied appearances included Violetta La traviata at Belfast Grand Opera House, Donna piano at the New South Wales Elvira, Contessa and Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Da Ponte operas at Longborough Festival Conservatorium of Music and Opera and Elisabetta Maria Stuarda for Chelsea Opera Group. In season 2011/12 later with Herbert Fryer, a she sang the title role in Gounod’s Mireille at Cadogan Hall, Melissa Amadigi di pupil of Busoni, in London. He Gaula at Wigmore Hall and subsequently appeared for Music Theatre Wales as made his conducting début in Mother, Waitress and Sphinx in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek at the Buxton, Rome in 1962 with the Santa Cheltenham and Edinburgh Festivals. In 2013/2014, she performed in Greek at Cecilia Orchestra and has the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 since conducted at most of the and also made her role debut as Reiza in Weber’s Oberon at Cadogan Hall. world’s opera houses. He was Artistic Director of Vancouver Elsewhere in Europe, operatic roles included Gilda Rigoletto, Violetta La Opera and Musical Director traviata, Marguerite Les Huguenots, Olympia/Antonia/Stella/Giulietta Les Contes of Australian Opera. He was d’Hoffmann, Stonatrilla L’Opera Seria and Duchess Powder Her Face in France, awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1977, Officer of the Order Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands. of Australia in 1983, Companion of the Order of Australia in 2012, Commandeur Her collaboration with the conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge produced several de l’Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres, Paris in 1989 and made Socio d’onore of recordings: songs by Massenet, Balfe and Wallace, Wallace’s opera Lurline and two the R. Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna in 2007. He married the late soprano Joan cantatas by Sullivan – On Shore and Sea and Kenilworth. There is also another disc of Sutherland in 1954 and has one son. Massenet songs on SOMM Recordings (SOMMCD 0151) and Balfe’s opera Satanella. He has recorded over fifty complete operas, has made videos and DVDs of many Born in South Africa, Sally was based in London from 1998 where she sang operas and recorded numerous ballets. As a conductor Bonynge is widely regarded as numerous roles for all the major opera companies and was a recipient of the Opera being extraordinarily sympathetic to singers on the stage and his instinct, knowledge South Africa prize. and feel for voices has become legendary. Richard Bonynge is acknowledged as a scholar of bel canto, in 18th and 19th century opera and ballet music.

10 11 CHRISTINE TOCCI mezzo-soprano Her repertoire includes Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Siebel (Faust), L’enfant, La tasse chinoise, La chatte, L’écureuil and Un pâtre (L’enfant et les sortilèges), Javotte Christine Tocci’s recent engagements include (Manon), Polly (Die Dreigroschenoper), Martine (Le Médecin malgré lui), Gertrude her Netherlands Opera debut as Alisa (Lucia di (Hansel and Gretel) and Second Shopgirl (Der Silbersee). She has performed Lammermoor) and her return to Opéra de Marseille extensively in France, including several roles for the Festival de Saint-Céré and for to sing Second Maid (Elektra), Annio (La clemenza the opera houses of Dijon, Caen, Limoges, Tours, Reims and Massy. di Tito) and Annina (La traviata).

In recent seasons, Christine made her debuts at Opéra de Marseille as Oreste (La belle Hélène), Sally Silver: A Tribute Opéra de Toulon as Myrtale (Thaïs), Opéra National I first met Sally several years ago when she was auditioning forRigoletto . de Bordeaux as the Shepherd (Tannhäuser) and I was struck by her extreme musicality and her obvious love of singing. Opéra de Nice as Suzy (La rondine). I asked her to sing William Vincent Wallace’s Lurline and Michael William Other engagements include Lucinda/Armindo Balfe’s Satanella, which she brought immensely to life. (Mazzocchi’s L’egisto) under Jérôme Correas, Madame Verlaine Rimbaud in Marco-Antonio We discovered that we had many musical loves in common and together we Perez-Ramirez’ La Parole libérée in its world-premiere at the Opéra de Montpellier, recorded many songs of Wallace and Balfe and works of Arthur Sullivan. Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) for the Nationale Reisopera (both company and role I showed her some songs of Massenet and these touched her immensely. We début) and Concepcion (L’heure Espagnole) with the Gulbenkian Orchestra under recorded some seventy-five Massenet songs together and her sensibility to the Lawrence Foster. French language and her obvious love of the music shine through. Christine’s appearances have included Second Dame (Die Zauberflöte) for the Théâtre She worked hard and would never accept second best. As a colleague she was du Châtelet and Opéra de Montpellier, Sméraldine (The Love for Three Oranges) for adorable and her death has left a real void in the musical world and in the world Vlaamse Opéra and Berlin Komische Oper, and Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) of her family and many friends. She was greatly loved. I miss her immensely for Opéra de Rennes. She has also performed Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor), the both as a really serious colleague and a very treasured friend. Duenna and Sister Martha (Cyrano de Bergerac) alongside Roberto Alagna for Opéra Richard Bonynge AC CBE de Montpellier and Opéra de Monte Carlo.

12 13 Sérénade 1 d’automne Autumn serenade De toi, de toi seule j’implore From you, and only from you, I beg Augustine-Malvina Souville Blanchecotte (1830-78) Les mots qu’un sourire colore, For the words coloured by a smile, Les élans, les émois jaloux, The ecstasies, the pangs of jealousy, Non! tu n’as pas fini d’aimer, d’aimer, d’aimer; No! you have not ceased to love; Le baiser chaud, le regard tendre, The warm embrace, the tender look. Ta chanson d’avril dure encore: Your April song endures still: Et quand je ne ferais qu’attendre, And were I to do no more than wait, Ta jeune voix sait ranimer Your young voice can revive Tout attendre de toi m’est doux! All waiting for you is sweet! Nos douces, visions d’aurore! Our sweet, dawn visions. De toi tout m’est doux. From you, everything is sweet! Non! tu n’as pas fini d’aimer, d’aimer, d’aimer; No! you have not ceased to love; Les songes d’or que tu parsèmes The golden dreams that you scatter N’ont pu dans toi se refermer: Have not closed up inside you: L’heure 3 solitaire The solitary hour Ils t’enivrent, toujours les mêmes! They inebriate you, just as before! Jean Ader (1823-1900) Tu n’auras pas fini d’aimer… d’aimer… d’aimer You will not have ceased to love Viens rêver, viens rêver. C’est l’heure solitaire. Come and dream, come and dream! It is the solitary hour! Tant que tes yeux, pleins d’étincelles, As long as your eyes, full of sparkle, L’astre, vers son déclin, va finir sa carrière. The setting sun is going to complete its journey. Pourront sourire ou s’alarmer Can still smile or worry Le jour fuit pour s’éteindre en l’espace infini. The day runs off to snuff itself out in infinite space. Et que ton rêve aura des ailes! And your dream has wings! Mais nos cœurs pleins d’espoir vont renaître avec lui. But our hearts, full of hope, will be reborn with the day. C’est le rayon divin; c’est l’éternelle aurore, It’s divine light; it’s the everlasting dawn 2 Passionnément Passionately Qui se voile un instant pour reparaître encore. Which hides itself a moment only to reappear again. Charles Fuster (1866-1929) Écoute: tout nous dit d’espérer et d’aimer. Listen: everything is telling us to hope and to love. Tout recevoir de toi me charme: Every gift from you charms me Dans ces lieux recueillis, auguste sanctuaire, Gathered in this place, a lofty sanctuary, Je bois ton cœur dans une larme I imbibe your heart in a teardrop Viens entendre du soir la sublime prière. Come and hear the sublime prayer of evening. Et ton parfum sur tes chers doigts; And the scent on your dear fingers; Viens rêver, viens rêver, ici, sur cette grève. Come and dream, come and dream – here on this shore. Ta caresse aime ma caresse, Your caress loves my caress, Le flot bercé murmure, et le jour qui s’achève The waning tide is murmuring, and the closing day Et toute heure est enchanteresse And every hour is enchanting Teint la nappe des eaux. Sur la mer qui s’endort, Colours the surface of the water. On the drowsy sea, Du moment que je te la dois, From the moment you bestow it upon me. Vois vaguer lentement cet esquif vers le port, Watch this vessel drift slowly towards the port, En me donnant d’exquises heures, While granting me exquisite hours Céleste vision! Dans l’extase assoupies Celestial vision! Slumbering in ecstasy Tu m’en prépares de meilleures, You prepare for me even better ones. Nos deux âmes s’en vont vers d’immortelles vies. Our two souls set off towards eternal life. Je n’ai plus d’autre passion, I no longer have any other passion, Sens battre nos cœurs; c’est l’heure de s’aimer. Feel our hearts beating: it’s the time for loving. Car mon orageuse pensée For my raging brain Est maintenant débarrassée Is now relieved L’ombre descend sur nous; tout est plein de mystère. The darkness descends on us; everything is full of mystery. Du poids de son ambition. Of the weight of its ambition. L’air, comme un encens pur, s’élève de la terre. The air, like pure incense, rises from the earth.

14 15 Nuit 4 d’Espagne A Spanish Night J’ai vu s’entr’ouvrir I’ve seen your net curtain Louis Gallet (1835-98) ton rideau de gaze. Half opening. Tu m’entends, cruelle, You can hear me, cruel woman, L’air est embaumé, The air is balmy, et tu ne viens pas! Yet you won’t come! La nuit est sereine The night is serene Vois, la route est sombre Look, the path is dark Et mon âme est pleine And my soul is filled sous les rameaux enlacés! Under the entwined branches de pensers joyeux; With joyful thoughts; Viens! ô bien aimée, Come, beloved, Cueille en leur splendeur Gather in all their splendour Voici l’instant de l’amour! This is the moment of love! Tes jeunes années, Your years of youth, Viens! car l’heure est brève, Come! for the time is short, Dans les bois profonds, Into the deep woods Un jour effeuille And one day can decimate où les fleurs s’endorment, Where the flowers slumber les fleurs du printemps! The spring flowers! Où chantent les sources; And the streams sing Vite enfuyons nous! Let us quickly escape! Vois, la lune est claire Look, the moon is bright et nous sourit dans le ciel... And smiles on us from the sky… Souhait 5 Desire Les yeux indiscrets Prying eyes Jacques Clary Jean Normand (1848-1931) Ne sont plus à craindre. Are no longer to be feared. Si vous étiez fleur, ô ma bien aimée, If you were a flower, my love, Viens, la nuit protège Come, the night is protecting La fleur parfumée The perfumed flower ton front rougissant! Your blushing brow! Au corselet vert, On your green bodice, La nuit est sereine, The night is serene, Je serais zéphyr, et viendrais, fidèle, I would be the breeze and would come, faithfully, apaise mon cœur! c’est l’heure! Calm my heart! It is the time! Vous frôler de l’aile To brush you with my wing Dans le sombre azur, In the azure darkness En glissant dans l’air. While gliding through the air Les blondes étoiles The white stars Si, quelque beau soir, vous étiez l’étoile If, one fine evening, you were the star Écartent leurs voiles Move their veils aside Qui brille sans voile That shines unveiled pour te voir passer, To watch you pass. Dans les cieux discrets, In the discreet skies, Viens, ô bien aimée, Come, beloved, Je serais rayon, et dans ma lumière, I would be a moonbeam, and in my light, Voici l’instant de l’amour! This is the moment of love! Belle prisonnière, Beautiful prisoner, Je vous bercerais! I would cradle you!

16 17 Si vous deveniez la naïade blonde, If you became the blond naiad, Rien 7 ne passe! Nothing fades Moi, je serais l’onde I would be the wave Lucien Monrousseau Du ruisseau jaseur, From the garrulous stream Et vous charmerais, dans la grotte obscure, And I would charm you, in your dark cave, Rien ne passe, ma bien aimée, Nothing fades, my love, De mon doux murmure With my gentle murmuring Toujours… le buisson est fleuri, Forever… the bush remains in flower, Et de ma fraîcheur. And my coolness. La brise est toujours embaumée, The breeze is always perfumed, Et par le Temps rien n’est flétri. And nothing is ravaged by Time. Mais puisqu’aujourd’hui vous êtes la femme But since today you are the woman Qui séduit mon âme, Who seduces my soul, Toujours… pour nous est la jeunesse, Forever… for us is youth, Je serais heureux I would be happy A toi toujours est la beauté, To you forever is beauty, D’être seulement, pour calmer ma fièvre, Simply to be, to calm my fever, Et nos cœurs palpitent sans cesse And our hearts beat incessantly Le sang de vos lèvres, The blood in your lips, De vrai bonheur… de volupté… With true happiness… with sensuality… L’or de vos cheveux! The gold in your hair! Le soleil bannit le nuage The sun banishes the cloud Qui pourrait assombrir nos jours, Which could otherwise darken our days, Et, devant lui chassant l’orage, And, chasing away the storm before it, Met de sa flamme en nos amours. Places its flame inside our love. La 6 mélodie des baisers The song of kisses Autour de nous tout est sourire, Around us everything smiles André Alexandre (1860-1928) Enchantement et douce paix… Enchantment and gentle peace… Toujours est vrai ce qu’on veut dire: Our words remain forever true: Toujours les lilas fleuriront Lilacs will always bloom Serment d’amour dure à jamais… Love’s vow lasts evermore… Avec leurs sœurs les primevères. With their sisters, the primroses. Toujours les baisers chanteront, Kisses will always sing O doux rêve, ivresse infinie… O sweet dream, infinite intoxication… Lorsque les amants uniront When lovers combine Tout ici-bas est éternel, Everything here below is eternal, Avec leurs lèvres, leurs chimères. Their dreams with their lips. Et mon âme à ton âme unie And my soul, united with your soul, Sur la Terre a trouvé le Ciel. Has found Heaven on Earth. Dans tes regards il m’a semblé In your expression I seemed to see Voir passer un regret de l’heure fugitive… A passing regret for the fleeting hours. Plus près de moi ton front s’est rapproché, Your forehead came closer to me, Et d’un baiser j’ai doucement calmé And with a kiss I softly calmed Ton âme tremblante et pensive. Your trembling and pensive soul.

18 19 La 8 vie d’une rose The life of a rose Et vers le matin And towards morning Jules Ruelle (1834-92) À l’aube ravie And the ravishing dawn, S’effeuilla ma vie, My life was extinguished Par un beau matin, On a beautiful morning, Dans le blanc satin. In the satin white. Pimpante et ravie Excited and enthralled J’ai reçu la vie I received life Dans le vert satin. Inside the satin green. De ma beauté que j’étais fière! How proud I was of my beauty! Le 9 poète et le fantôme The poet and the phantom Pour mieux répandre ma senteur, So better to spread my scent Anonymous Je balançais ma tige altière; I swayed on my tall stem; Déjà le zéphir tentateur Immediately the teasing zephyr Le poète: Qui donc es-tu, forme légère Poet: So who are you, faint outline Murmurait: “ô ma belle rose, Murmured, “Oh, my beautiful rose, Que devant moi je vois toujours? that I constantly see before me? Ils seront bien longs tes beaux jours Your beautiful days will be long Le fantôme: Je n’appartiens plus à la terre: Phantom: I no longer belong to the earth: Si tu n’écoutes les amours If you ignore the lovers Je suis l’ombre de tes amours. I am the shadow of your love affairs. Qui vont t’admirer fraîche éclose”. Who admire you when you are newly opened”. Le poète: Ils sont bien morts les anciens charmes Poet: Those ancient charms are well dead Au zéphir je restai rebelle. I ignored the zephyr. Et je ris du temps où j’aimais. And I laugh at the time when I used to love. Deux amoureux passant par là Two lovers who happened to pass Alors me trouvèrent si belle Found me so beautiful Le fantôme: Je suis le spectre de tes larmes, Phantom: I am the spectre of your tears; Qu’entre leurs baisers me voilà; That I suddenly found myself between their embraces; Rappelle-toi quand tu pleurais. Remember when you would weep. Puis au sein de la bien-aimée Then, on the breast of the lovely maiden Le poète: Oui, j’ai souffert de durs martyres; Poet: Yes, I have suffered harsh times; Je devins un gage d’espoir, I became a token of hope. L’oubli seul a séché mes yeux. Only forgetting has dried my eyes. Et rose – moi – j’étais le soir And I – a rose – was perfumed Par son haleine parfumée. That evening by her breath. Le fantôme: Je suis l’âme de tes sourires: Phantom: I am the soul of your smiles: Rappelle-toi les jours heureux. Recall your happy days. Lorsque s’éveilla la Cigale, When the grasshoppers awoke, Lorsque le Rossignol chanta, When the nightingale sang, Le poète: J’ai dû rêver toutes ces choses: Poet: :I have had to dream all these things: Dans sa chambrette virginale The dreamy child carried me Ce vain songe s’en est allé… This vain fantasy has gone… L’enfant rêveuse m’emporta. Into her pristine little room. Le fantôme: Oseras-tu nier les roses Phantom: Will you dare deny the roses Puis elle s’endormit joyeuse… Then, happy, she fell asleep. Parce qu’Avril s’est envolé? Because April has flown? Mais durant cette nuit d’été, But during that summer night, Le poète: Fantôme aimé de ma maîtresse, Poet: Beloved phantom of my mistress, Hélas! ma fragile beauté Alas! my fragile beauty Reprends ton vol et laisse-moi! Take up your flight and leave me! S’éparpilla sur l’oublieuse; Began to wane;

20 21 Le fantôme: Je suis l’âme de ta jeunesse, Phantom: I am the soul of your youth, m Dieu b créa le désert God created the desert Rappelle-toi, rappelle-toi… Remember, remember… Madeleine Grain Le poète: Ainsi, jadis, en ma demeure Poet: Thus, long ago in my home Dieu créa le désert, et le désert sauvage, God created the desert, and this savage desert, L’amour descendit du ciel bleu! Love came down from the blue heavens! Brûlé par le soleil, dévasté par le vent, Burnt by the sun, devastated by the wind, Le fantôme: Si vite qu’en ait passé l’heure, Phantom: However quickly that time may have passed, N’offrit au voyageur que son sable mouvant, Could only offer the traveller its shifting sands, Tu fus aimé, rends grâce à Dieu! You were loved, so thank God! Sa solitude immense et son air lourd d’orage. Its immense solitude and its heavy, stormy air. Le poète: Oh! ma jeunesse, êtes-vous morte… Poet: Oh! My youth, you are dead… Puis, quand le voyageur vint, à bout de courage, Then, when the traveller came, exhausted, Où sont les jours où l’on m’aimait? Where are the days when I was loved? A se laisser tomber sur la terre en pleurant, And threw himself to the ground, weeping, Dieu fit naître à ses yeux le spectacle riant God produced before his very eyes the laughing spectacle Je suis celui qui les rapporte, I am the one who will bring them back, Le fantôme: Phantom: De l’oasis prochaine et de son frais ombrage… Of the next oasis and its cool shade… Reviens vers moi: Dieu le permet. Come towards me: God will allow it. Ainsi dans le désert, plus grand de la douleur, Just like in the desert, bigger than the pain, Ô Fantôme qui me réclame, Oh Phantom – you are calling me Le poète: Poet: Du doute et de l’angoisse où se débat son cœur, The doubt and the anguish with which man’s heart is wrestling, D’où donc peux-tu me revenir? But from where can you return to me? Dans la nuit éternelle où nul espoir ne brille, In the eternal night where no hope shines, J’ai ma demeure dans ton âme. I reside in your soul. Le fantôme: Phantom: Parmi tous les soucis, les chagrins d’ici-bas, Amongst all the worries and sorrows of this world, Ami, je suis le souvenir… Friend, I am memory… A l’homme qui souffrait Dieu donna la Famille To man in his suffering God gave the Family Pour qu’il trouve toujours à qui tendre les bras! To whom he may forever outstretch his arms! bl Puisqu’elle b a pris ma vie Since she has taken my life bn b Paul Robiquet (1848-1928) La dernière lettre de Werther Final letter from Werther to Charlotte à Charlotte Puisqu’elle a pris ma vie et que j’ai pris la sienne; Since she has taken my life, and I have taken hers; Roger de Gontaut-Biron (1884-1944) Puisque chaque matin d’extase est embaumé; Since every morning is imbued with ecstasy; Puisque chaque printemps fleurit la tige ancienne, Since every springtime makes the ancient stem bloom, Il faut nous séparer… Au bord de cet abîme, We must part… On the edge of this abyss, Puisque je fus aimé: Since I have been loved: L’heure a sonné pour nous de l’éternel adieu; The hour has chimed for our everlasting farewell; Et j’irai, s’il est vrai que l’amour est un crime, And I will go, if it is true that love is a crime, Le vent peut emporter les feuilles épuisées, The wind may carry away the fallen leaves, En demander pardon à Dieu. To ask God for forgiveness. Le ciel peut se voiler et le bois peut jaunir; The sky may cloud over and the wood turn yellow; Mais rien n’arrachera, de nos mains enlacées, But nothing will wrench from our entwined hands C’est fini! Pour toujours! J’entreprends un voyage It is over! Forever! I embark on a journey La fleur du souvenir! The flower of memory! Dont, pour vous retrouver, je ne reviendrai pas; From which, in search of you, I shall not return; Mais, en mon cœur brisé j’emporte votre image, But, in my broken heart I carry your image Puisque je fus aimé! Since I have been loved! Afin d’enchanter mon trépas! In order to brighten my death.

22 23 Jusqu’au moment suprême, enivré par vos charmes, Till the very final moment, intoxicated by your charms, Sais-tu ce qu’est l’espérance Do you know what hope means Mon cœur n’aura battu dans l’ombre que pour vous, My heart will only have beaten in the shadows for you. Quand nous croyons au bonheur? When we believe in happiness? Et mon dernier baiser, et mes dernières larmes, And my final kiss, and my final tears, Et ce que notre âme pense And what our souls think Je les dépose à vos genoux. These I lay at your feet. Du secret de notre cœur? About the secrets of our hearts? Je vous fais mes adieux de la petite chambre I take my leave of you from the little room Eh bien! tout cela, ma belle, Well! None of this, my beautiful one, D’où je ne sortirai plus que dans mon linceul, Whence I will only emerge in my shroud, N’est plus rien quand je te vois; Has any more meaning when I see you; Et, pour me consoler en ce jour de Décembre, And, to console me on this December day, Je n’aime plus l’hirondelle, I no longer like the swallow, Personne! Je suis seul, seul! There is no-one! I am alone, alone! Je n’entends plus que ta voix. I can only hear your voice. D’ailleurs, il se fait tard; d’ici quelques minutes, Besides, it is getting late. A few minutes from now Et si je veux une rose, And if I want a rose, A partir pour là-bas je vais me préparer… I will prepare to set off for the depths… Tu le sais, ange d’amour, You know, angel of love, Noël!… j’entends au loin des airs gais sur des flûtes… Christmas!…I hear flutes playing merry tunes in the distance… Sur ta bouche demi-close From your half-open mouth Charlotte! Je t’aime! Adieu! Il faut nous séparer! Charlotte! I love you! Farewell! We must part! Je la prendrai chaque jour! I will take it every day!

bo b Le sais-tu? Do you know? p La b dernière chanson The final song Stéphan Bordèse (1847-1919) Louis Lefebvre (1871-1947) N’as-tu pas vu l’hirondelle Have you not seen the swallow Si désormais vivre ensemble If, from now on, we are no longer permitted Se bercer sur le roseau, Rocking in the reeds, N’est plus un bonheur permis, The pleasure of living together, Et, se croyant la plus belle, And, believing itself the fairest of all, Du moins partons bons amis, At least let us part good friends, Se mirer au fond de l’eau? Gazing at its reflection in the deep water? Cela vaut mieux, que t’en semble? That would be best, don’t you think? As-tu senti de la rose Have you smelt the delicious Tu vas suivre ton chemin. You are going to follow your path. Le parfum délicieux, Perfume of the rose, Moi, je vais en prendre un autre. I am going to take another. Ce baiser que Dieu dépose That kiss which God brings down Ton chemin n’est plus le nôtre, Your path is no longer our path Le matin du haut des cieux? In the morning from the heavenly heights? Pour un éternel demain. For an everlasting tomorrow. Connais-tu de l’alouette Do you know the lark’s Je t’appellerai Madame I will call you “Mrs.” Le joyeux refrain d’amour, Joyous refrain of love, Quand je te rencontrerai When I meet you, Ce chant que l’écho répète That song which is echoed Et même… je sourirai, And – I will even smile, Quand dans le bois vient le jour? When day breaks in the woods? En ayant la mort dans l’âme, Though my soul feels like death.

24 25 Et toi, tu me diras: vous, And you will address me respectfully Déjà les fleurs ivres d’amour, Already the love-drunk flowers En détournant tes prunelles, While turning your eyes away, Et le cœur tremblant sous leurs voiles And the heart trembling under their veils Mais j’aurais su voir en elles But I will have noticed in them Ont oublié les feux du jour… Have forgotten the fires of the day… La flamme des désirs fous. The flame of mad desire. Tout leur parfum monte aux étoiles! Their scents all rise to the stars! Ce sera chez la comtesse It will be on a visit to the Countess Sur un ruisseau de vif argent Over a shining silver stream Ou dans quelqu’autre salon, Or some other society host, Une brise tiède et légère A light, warm breeze Tandis qu’un doux violon While a gentle violin Promène l’ombre passagère Wanders in the shade Bercera notre tristesse. Soothes our sadness. D’un saule au feuillage changeant. Of a willow with ever-changing leaves. Puis, à l’instant du départ, Then, when it is time to leave, La nuit se berce de silence, The night is cradled in silence, Nous reprendrons notre route, We will set off, each on our own journey, Tout bruit s’éteint, tout être dort; All sound has stopped, every creature sleeps; Sachant aux heures de doute Knowing in the hours of doubting Dans le ciel tout pointillé d’or In the sky stippled with gold Qu’on nous aime… quelque part That we are loved… somewhere. La brume ondoie et se balance. The mist swirls and hovers. Mais tout à coup dans l’air vibrant But suddenly in the vibrating air L’oiseau jette son chant sublime… A bird releases its sublime song… bq Aux b étoiles To the stars Passionné, presque souffrant, Passionate, almost suffering, Inspirant l’amour qu’il exprime! Inspiring the love of which it speaks! Thérèse Maquet (1858-91) Et la nuit pâle à son front pur And the pale night with its pure face À pas légers, le jour a fui… Treading lightly, the day escaped, Lentement ramène ses voiles; Slowly lowers its sails; Effleurant la forme des choses; Brushing past the outline of things; L’extase plane sur l’azur: Ecstasy hangs over the horizon: Quelques reflets pâles et roses Some pale, pink reflections Et l’hymne saint monte aux étoiles! And a holy hymn rises to the stars! S’attardent encor après lui. Linger still in its wake. L’ombre a des frissonnements d’aile There is some flapping of wings Entre ses plis mystérieux, In the mysterious folds of the darkness, La terre sent du fond des cieux The earth senses from the depths of the skies De clairs regards glisser vers elle! Clear gazes descending towards it! On dirait qu’un charme est dans l’air! You could say there’s a charm in the air! Tout s’apaise et tout s’abandonne, Everything is silent and lost, Le grand sourire de l’éther The ether’s great smile Sur le monde ébloui rayonne! Shines on the dazzling world!

26 27 br Chanson b pour elle Song for her s Être b aimé To be loved Henry Maigrot (1857-1933) Jules Massenet after Victor Hugo (1802-85) Pour toi, j’écris cette chanson For you, I am writing this song Être aimé! To be loved! Sur une feuille d’églantine; On the leaf of a wild rose; Tout est là, vois-tu. J’aime et l’on m’aime; It is everything, you see. I love and am loved; Avec un air de ma façon With a tune of my fancy Cela dit, tout est dit. Pour que je sois moi-même, That says it all. For me to be myself, Pour guitare ou pour mandoline. For guitar or mandolin. Fier, content, respirant l’air libre à pleins poumons, Proud, happy, breathing freely and deeply, Chante, chante! J’aime le son Sing, sing! I love the sound Il faut que j’aie une ombre et qu’elle dise: Aimons! I have to have a shadow, and for it to say, “Let us love!” De ta voix troublante et câline… Of your seductive and tender voice… Il faut que mon âme une autre âme se double, My soul has to reflect another, Pour toi, j’écris cette chanson For you, I am writing this song Il faut que, si je suis absent, quelqu’un se trouble Someone has, if I’m absent, to worry Sur une feuille d’églantine; On the leaf of a wild rose; Et, me cherchant des yeux, murmure: And, seeking to find me, to murmur, Elle dit que tu m’aimeras It says that you will love me Où donc est-il? “So, where is he?” Peut-être à la saison prochaine, Perhaps next season, Etre aimé! tout est là, vois-tu. Etre aimé! To be loved! It is everything, you see. To be loved! Que, pour moi, s’ouvriront tes bras, And that your arms will open for me, Tes bras blancs! La douce chaîne! Your white arms! That sweet bond! Et puis, que tu me trahiras, And then, that you will betray me Sans prendre souci de ma peine… Without concern for my suffering… t Salut, b printemps! Greetings, oh Spring! Elle dit que tu m’aimeras It says that you will love me Louis Baillet (1834-1917) Peut-être à la saison prochaine! Perhaps next season! Salut! doux printemps qui ramène Greetings! sweet Spring who brings back Mais, hélas! les chansons d’amour But alas, love songs Les chants du rossignol et les buissons en fleurs, The songs of the nightingale and the flowering shrubs, Disent toutes la même chose: All say the same thing: La verdure aux forêts, les parfums à la plaine The foliage of the forests, the scents of the plains Elle t’aimera tout un jour; She will love you for one whole day; Et l’espérance au fond des cœurs! And hopefulness deep in our hearts! Demain sa porte sera close. Then tomorrow her door will be closed. Tu plais comme plaît un sourire You give the same pleasure as a smile Chante, chante! gai troubadour: Sing, sing! happy troubadour: Après les pleurs amers et le froid désespoir; After bitter tears and cold despair; Demain sera triste et morose… Tomorrow will be sad and morose… Oui, Dieu créa l’hiver, le printemps pour nous dire: Yes, God created Winter, then Spring to tell us: Car, hélas! les chansons d’amour For alas, love songs, Je donne la peine et l’espoir! I give sorrow and hope! Disent, toutes, la même chose! All of them, say the same thing!

28 29 bu Le b coffret d’ébène The ebony casket Le printemps a cueilli, dans l’air, des fils de soie Spring has gathered from the air some silken threads Jules Massenet after Victor Hugo (1802-85) Pour lier sa chaussure et courir par les bois; To tie her shoes and run through the woods; Vous aimerez demain pour la première fois, You will love tomorrow for the very first time, J’ai mis dans un coffret d’ébène I placed in an ebony casket Vous qui ne saviez pas cette immortelle joie! You who have never known this immortal joy! Les tristesses d’un souvenir The sorrows of a memory Le printemps a jeté des fleurs sur le chemin Spring has strewn flowers on the path Qu’à bout de force, à bout de peine, Which, in the depths of exhaustion and pain, Que Mignonne remplit de son rire sonore; Which my sweetheart fills with her loud laughter; Mon cœur ne pouvait contenir. My heart could no longer contain. Vous aimerez demain, vous qui n’aimiez encore, You will love tomorrow, you who have not yet loved, La clef, au loin je l’ai jetée The key I threw into the distance Et vous qui n’aimiez plus, vous aimerez demain! And you who love no more, you will love tomorrow! Pour qu’aux heures sombres du soir So that, in the dark hours of the evening, Ma main ne fût jamais tentée My hand might never be tempted D’ouvrir encor le coffret noir. To reopen the ebony casket. cm Joie! c Joy! Mais dans le coffret tout à l’heure But inside the casket, just now, Camille Distel Vient de résonner une voix, There has sounded a voice, Une voix humaine qui pleure A human voice which is crying Un oiselet sautille et chante, A little bird hops and sings, Avec mes sanglots d’autrefois; With my sobs of times gone by; Joie aimable et charmante! What lovely, enchanting joy! C’est comme un paradis It’s as if a paradise Et dans sa douleur souveraine, And in its sovereign grief, Se jouer aux taillis. Were playing out in the Voici que le sanglot vainqueur Now the triumphant sob Tout fraîchement fleuris, Newly flowering thickets A brisé le coffret d’ébène Has broken the ebony casket De notre forêt verdoyante! Of our luxurious forest. Comme il avait brisé mon cœur! Just as it had broken my heart! Un ruisselet descend et chante, A little stream runs down and sings, Joie aimable et charmante! What lovely, enchanting joy! Les travailleurs sont gais, The workers are happy cl c Vous aimerez demain You will love tomorrow Car les champs et les prés For the fields and meadows Armand Silvestre (1837-1901) Sont aussi bien parés Are as well adorned Que notre forêt verdoyante! As our luxurious forest. Le doux printemps a bu, dans le creux de sa main, Sweet springtime has drunk, from her cupped hands, Le premier pleur qu’au bois laissa tomber l’aurore; The first tear that dawn shed in the wood. La jeune fille danse et chante, The young girl dances and sings, Vous aimerez demain, vous qui n’aimiez encore, You will love tomorrow, you who have not yet loved, Joie aimable et charmante! What lovely, enchanting joy! Et vous qui n’aimiez plus, vous aimerez demain! And you who love no more, you will love tomorrow! L’air est plein de chansons, The air is full of songs, Le ciel est pur, allons, The sky is clear, come on, Donnons la main, dansons Let’s take each other’s hand, and dance Dans notre forêt verdoyante! In our luxurious forest.

30 31 cn L’âme c des fleurs The souls of the flowers Joyeuses, elles vont, par groupes enjôleurs, Happy, they will, in beguiling groups, Paul Delair (1842-94) Briller en nos têtes frivoles, Shine inside our frivolous heads, Disant: “luxe, plaisir, insouciances folles…” Saying, “Luxury, pleasure, crazy carefreeness…”, Gardez les fleurs que je vous ai données Look after the flowers which I have given you. Les fleurs! Flowers! Elles embaumeront votre chaste séjour They will perfume your chaste sojourn Et comme avec l’âme des fleurs fanées And just as, with the souls of faded flowers, Tristes, avec novembre, elles viennent en pleurs, Sad, when November comes, they come in tears, Dieu fait des astres pour l’amour God makes stars for love, Dire les chers anniversaires, To tell of their cherished anniversaries, Elles m’éclaireront jusques à mon retour! They will light my way until I return! Les souvenirs aimés et les regrets sincères Their loved memories and their sincere regrets, Les fleurs. Flowers. Oh! Respectons la relique des roses! Oh! We must respect the remains of the roses! Rien de ce qui fut beau ne s’en va sans retour. Nothing that was beautiful goes away without returning… Ainsi, s’associant aux gaîtés, aux douleurs, Thus, associating themselves with joy or with sorrow, Et dans les bois du paradis écloses And once they have opened in the woods of paradise Selon que le veut notre envie, According to what we desire, Nous cueillerons encore un jour We will gather again one day Elles sont nos témoins et nos sœurs dans la vie, They are our witnesses and our sisters in life, Les fleurs dont ici-bas s’embauma notre amour! The flowers which perfumed our love on earth! Les fleurs. Flowers.

cp c co Les c fleurs Flowers Le petit Jésus Little Jesus Jacques Clary Jean Normand (1848-1931) (Chanson pour bercer la misère humaine) (Song to cradle human misery) Georges Boyer (1850-1931) Jetant leur fantaisie exquise de couleurs Casting their exquisite fantasy of colours Le petit Jésus, en habits de neige, Little Jesus, in snow-white clothes, A l’étalage des fleuristes At the florists’ displays Aux pauvres mignons qui vont les pieds nus To the poor little mites with no shoes Elles sont tour à tour ou joyeuses ou tristes, They are in turn happy or sad, Dit: “La Sainte Vierge, enfants, vous protège, Says, “The Virgin Mary, children, is protecting you; Les fleurs! Flowers! Pour vous consoler nous sommes venus. We have come to console you.

Joyeuses, elles vont porter les mots frôleurs Happy, they will carry caressing words Pour vous amuser, ciselant l’étoile, To entertain you, by chiselling the stars A l’oreille des biens aimées, To lovers’ ears, La lune d’argent qui brille la nuit, And the silver moon which shines at night, Disant: “bonheur, espoir, ivresses enflammées”, Saying, “Happiness, hope, burning intoxication”, Quand vous grelottez en sarreaux de toile, When you are shivering in your homespun clothes Les fleurs! Flowers! J’ai fait le soleil qui chauffe et qui luit. I’ve made the sun which warms and glows. Tristes, elles s’en vont mourir, vagues pâleurs, L’hiver est cruel, mais la neige est blanche The winter is harsh, but the snow is white Dans la nuit des tombes glacées, Sad, they will die, indistinct and pale, Ainsi que votre âme, ô chers innocents, Just like your souls, dear innocent ones, Disant: “désespoirs, deuils, soupirs, âmes In the night of frozen graves, Et quand vient Avril, l’oiseau sur la branche, And when April comes, the bird on the branch blessées…” Saying, “Despair, mourning, sighs, wounded souls…”, Pour que vous dansiez module ses chants Alters its song in the hope that you’ll dance. Les fleurs! Flowers!

32 33 Dormez… nul remords ne vous en empêche; Sleep…No regrets must prevent you; Certains d’entre vous ont un lit bien blanc. Some of you have a beautifully white bed. Et moi je suis né dans la froide crèche, Yet I was born in a cold manger, A côté d’un bœuf au grand œil troublant. Aside an ox with an unsettling stare. Si dure pour vous que soit la misère, No matter how bitter your hardship, Songez que j’ai vu pleurer, à genoux, Just think that I have seen my mother, the Virgin, Ma mère, la Vierge, au pied du Calvaire; on her knees at the foot of the cross, weeping; Enfants, j’ai souffert, alors, plus que vous.” Children, thus I have suffered more than you.”

cq Amoureux c appel Loving call Georges de Dubor (1848-1931) Viens, ô le désiré, Come, the one I desire, viens chanter avec moi l’hymne de l’éternel amour! come and sing with me the hymn of eternal love! Et que nos cœurs unis dans une même palpitation And let our hearts, beating with one and the same pulse, se disent le charme tout puissant des doux mystères! understand the all-powerful charm of sweet mystery! Viens, ô le bien-aimé! Come, the one I love, Que tes lèvres boivent sur mes lèvres May your lips drink from my lips l’exquise ivresse des baisers the exquisite intoxication of kisses, et que la mort, à son suprême appel, and may death, when it comes to claim us, trouve encore nos souffles confondus! find our breath still combined! Viens, ô l’adoré! Come, the one I adore, J’ai soif de tes caresses! I am thirsty for your caresses! Viens, mes yeux t’implorent; ma bouche t’appelle; Come, my eyes implore you, my mouth calls you; Mon corps frissonne; tout mon être te désire! My body trembles; my whole being desires you! Viens! Viens! Viens! Come! Come! Come!

• 34 Sally Silver35 : 1967-2018