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VOYAGES VOYAGES for whom imagination reigned as the queen of the faculties. 1 L’invitation au voyage Henri Duparc [4.06] The idea for this disc came about a couple of 2 Chant d’Automne, Op. 5 No. 1 Gabriel Fauré [4.32] years ago when Joseph Middleton contacted I’d had the opportunity to sing quite a bit of 3 Hymne, Op. 7 No. 2 Gabriel Fauré [2.02] me about a live recital for a BBC broadcast. He French song (and some of the Baudelaire 4 L’invitation au voyage Emmanuel Chabrier [6.08] had constructed a programme exploring the repertoire) before, but this was the first time I feat. Amy Harman bassoon genius of Baudelaire and Goethe and how felt we were able to tie this kind of programme 5 Romance de Mignon Henri Duparc [4.27] texts by them unlocked very specific musical together around a bigger story. Working with Vier Mignon Lieder Franz Schubert landscapes in settings by Debussy, Duparc, Joseph and Helen on the poems in depth 6 Nur wer die Sensucht, D. 877 No. 4 [3.06] Chausson, de Bréville, Séverac, Fauré and really opened up the music: scenes and images 7 Heiss mich nicht reden, D. 877 No. 2 [3.39] Schubert. After our first performance we both started to take shape in my mind. My own 8 So lasst mich scheinen, D. 877 No. 3 [3.09] felt unable to let go of the programme and imagination is something I have always relied 9 Kennst du das Land, D. 321 [4.15] began exploring the possibility of recording it. upon heavily in order to create different 0 Les hiboux Déodat de Séverac [3.13] As we began to put this plan into action we atmospheres and tell stories on the recital q Harmonie du soir Pierre de Bréville [4.24] got in touch with Helen Abbott, a professor platform. Recording the disc in a bitterly cold at the University of Birmingham and an expert but evocative church in North London seemed Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire Claude Debussy on Baudelaire. In discussions with her we somehow very fitting for the tales of beauty, w Le balcon [7.39] e Harmonie du soir [4.02] found a common link in these songs; the mystery, love, and extraordinary voyages that r Le jet d’eau [5.30] enigmatic waif Mignon who first appears in these songs recount. t Recueillement [4.23] Goethe’s work Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahrer y La mort des amants [3.18] (1795-6) and who subsequently proved to be © Mary Bevan, 2017 the inspiration for many artists and poets. u La vie antérieure Henri Duparc [4.16] She symbolizes humanity’s two natures - i Harmonie du soir Maurice Rollinat [1.48] earthly and spiritual, male and female - and o Le jet d’eau Maurice Rollinat [5.35] her life is governed by Sehnsucht, or ‘longing’, Total timings: [79.32] a form of Romantic desire that manifests itself as affliction. Her wish for a better life, MARY BEVAN SOPRANO one only possible in her imagination, finds JOSEPH MIDDLETON PIANO a common thread in the poetry of Baudelaire www.signumrecords.com - 3 - TRAVELS THROUGH (Autumn Song) and Hymne (Hymn). Duparc’s set by Duparc as Romance. Other Mignon BAUDELAIRE’S POETRY IN SONG response to Baudelaire’s call to travel is songs such as Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt quite different from Emmanuel Chabrier’s reinforce the idea of love tinged with loneliness What are we hearing when we listen to a (1841–1894) which also dates from 1870. and longing. Théophile Gautier (1811–1872) French song? Composers find and choose Chabrier had a different vision for the work, used the same Mignon figure in his 1838 texts in different ways. Sometimes there is using a wider soundscape which included an collection La Comédie de la mort (The something about a particular poet’s work obbligato bassoon alongside the piano and Comedy of Death) from which Hector Berlioz which captures their imagination. It makes a voice. That the same poem had captured the (1803–1869) drew his texts for Les Nuits composer need to set that poem to music. It imagination of two young composers shows d’été (Summer Nights). The Mignon myth is a may not be because the poem is particularly how Baudelaire was able to inspire them in highly evocative ideal of alluring women and ‘musical’. Instead, it is often something within different ways. exotic voyages to which poets and composers the language in the poem which means that cannot help but be repeatedly drawn. the poet’s words can unlock a composer’s voice. Baudelaire himself promoted the idea of using imagination creatively. He called the In Baudelaire’s world, it doesn’t matter which For Henri Duparc (1848–1933), the poet who imagination la Reine des facultés (the Queen woman you imagine going places with. A unlocked his own voice was Charles Baudelaire of the Faculties). Baudelaire conjured up number of women inspired his work – from the (1821–1867). Setting L’Invitation au voyage women in far-off lands, amazing sunsets, and (The Invitation to the Voyage) to music in enticing Wanderlust through his poetry. 1870 marked a pivotal moment not only in Encouraging your mind to wander off, to Duparc’s career as a composer, but in the travel somewhere (it doesn’t matter where) whole destiny of the French song repertoire meant that Baudelaire knew how to dream of Apollonie Sabatier known as mélodie. In summer 1870, France attaining perfection somewhere, somehow. In became embroiled in a war with Prussia, which Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749–1832) Haitian-born actress Jeanne Duval (painted served in some way as a prompt to young world, this meant Mignon’s song Kennst du by Edouard Manet), to Apollonie Sabatier who generations of composers seeking creative das Land (famously set by Schubert) which hosted salons frequented by all the poets and ways to promote French music using recent invites the poet to imagine a perfect land – artists of the day (painted by Vincent Vidal), as French poetry. This was the same year that far off – where he can live out his days in well as his mother Caroline Dufaÿs with whom Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) set Baudelaire the company of his lover. Belgian poet Victor he enjoyed a fractious relationship after her poems with ‘musical’ titles, Chant d’automne Wilder (1835–1892) adapts Mignon’s song Jeanne Duval remarriage to Général Aupick.

- 4 - - 5 - The different relationships Baudelaire enjoyed hard to perform because it has no obvious the poem, but it can be helpful to think of The most French famous composer on this with these women – who served variously as his characters in it. It requires singers to imagine it as perhaps evoking the famous Parisian album, Claude Debussy (1862–1918) merits muse – created different poetic worlds. From themselves in a place or space rather than church in which Baudelaire was baptised, special attention for his unusual interaction the sensual Le Jet d’eau (The Fountain) to playing the role of a person within it. The Delacroix painted some important frescoes, with Baudelaire. Published in an édition de the reverent Hymne (Hymn) and the nostalgic text turns in on itself, and repeats lines of and – in more recent times – Dan Brown set luxe in 1890, the Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire La Vie antérieure (A Past Life), we encounter text from one stanza to the next. We hear parts of the Da Vinci Code: Saint-Sulpice. In enjoyed an initial print run of only 150 copies. enticing imaginative settings. But there is melancholy waltzes, smell heavily perfumed listening to three very different responses The scores were sold at the exclusive Librairie perhaps none more enticing than the one flowers, and see glittering religious artefacts. to the same poem – by Pierre de Bréville, de l’Art Indépendant, based on the Rue de la which combines all of these sensual, reverent, Nostalgia predominates as the poet calls out Claude Debussy, and Maurice Rollinat – we Chaussée d’Antin in Paris. The first performance and nostalgic elements. Harmonie du soir in an attempt to reclaim now-faded glories. It hear soundscapes from the mundane to the was in private, at Ernest Chausson’s house, (Evening Harmony) brings everything together is a poem in which it is hard to locate yourself, ethereal, from the cabaret to the cathedral. attended by a small number of illustrious in a way which also interweaves music and and with which many singers struggle to The same 16-line poem has inspired composers artists of the day including composer Paul religion. It is an unusual text – one which is connect. There is no single way to interpret in extremely inventive ways. Vidal, author Catulle Mendès, and music critic Henri Gauthiers-Villars. Yet the first public If so many composers were setting Baudelaire performance was not until 1903 in Lyon, to music in the 1870s through to the early and it took a while for these songs to enter twentieth century, we might ask what connects the repertoire. Even today, these songs them besides the choice of poet. Some of remain ones which are not the most amenable the composers whose names are less well-known for singers, pianists, or audiences alike. If today trained under famous composers such Baudelaire’s poetry was able to unlock Duparc’s as César Franck or Vincent d’Indy, including voice as a composer, for Debussy, Baudelaire’s Pierre de Bréville (1861–1949) and Déodat texts marked a chapter in his musical career de Sévérac (1872–1921). Others had little or en route to finding his distinctive voice. These no formal musical training, such as Maurice songs are Debussy, but they are a Debussy Rollinat (1846–1903) who was a poet who suffused with Wagner. This was a period in also performed at the famous Chat Noir which Debussy was absorbing the work of the cabaret, self-accompanying at the piano as he German opera composer who had inspired sang his Baudelaire songs. It was Paris which Baudelaire to write a significant article in Interior of L’église Saint-Sulpice served as the central hub for these composers. praise of Wagner’s work after the disastrous

- 6 - - 7 - performance of Tannhäuser at the Opéra de It is no surprise that Baudelaire called his Paris in 1861 when the audience reacted collection Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of badly to a musical work which did not fit their Evil). He privileged the things that most in expectations. Debussy’s Baudelaire set also polite society would deem unacceptable. He does not conform to expectations. There is wrote about prostitutes as much as he wrote no overt coherence to the set, either in the about goddesses. He promoted music that choice of poetic texts (which all use different most French audiences at the time rejected. poetic forms and themes), or in the musical He was a man with a chequered career, language (there are no clear key relationships enjoying limited success during his own or repeated motifs between songs). The set lifetime, and enduring a trial in 1857 when does not offer a narrative arc, and many of the public prosecutor decided to censor his the songs are performed individually by first major poetry publication. Baudelaire singers today rather than as a full set. Le received a hefty fine, and had to remove six Balcon (The Balcony), Harmonie du Soir poems from all printed copies of Les Fleurs (Evening Harmony), Le Jet d’eau (The Fountain), du Mal because they were deemed too erotic Recueillement (Meditation), and La Mort des for public taste. It prompted him to write more amants (The Death of Lovers) weave between poems, to re-issue a larger edition of Les large-canvas drama and quiet introspection. Fleurs du Mal in 1861. But by 1867 his health We hear echoes of fond memories, voluptuous was seriously failing, and he died in Paris baisers infinis (infinite kisses), feelings of from syphilis-related illnesses 150 years ago, sadness and regret, and impossible love on 31 August 1867. stories; at the same time, subtle citations from Parsifal and Tristan are interwoven with © Professor Helen Abbott, July 2017 Debussy’s expanded chromatic palette. The whole set is a rejection of the obvious. www.baudelairesong.org Baudelaire and Debussy make us work hard to read and hear between all the lines of music and text which mask and reveal different truths.

- 8 - - 9 - TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS Les canaux, la ville entière, Canals and all the town D’hyacinthe et d’or; With hyacinth and gold; 1 L’invitation au voyage Invitation to journey Le monde s’endort The world falls asleep Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) Dans une chaude lumière. In a warm light.

Mon enfant, ma sœur, My child, my sister, Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté, There – nothing but order and beauty dwell, Songe à la douceur Think how sweet Luxe, calme et volupté. Abundance, calm and sensuous delight. D’aller là-bas vivre ensemble! To journey there and live together! 2 Aimer à loisir, To love as we please, Chant d’automne Autumn song Aimer et mourir To love and die Charles Baudelaire In the land that is like you! Au pays qui te ressemble! Bientôt nous plongerons dans les froides ténèbres; Soon we shall plunge into cold shadows; The watery suns Les soleils mouillés Adieu, vive clarté de nos étés trop courts! Farewell, brilliant light of our too-short summers! Of those hazy skies De ces ciels brouillés J’entends déjà tomber avec un choc funèbre Already I hear the funereal thud Hold for my spirit Pour mon esprit ont les charmes Le bois retentissant sur le pavé des cours. Of echoing logs on the courtyard floor. Si mystérieux The same mysterious charms De tes traîtres yeux, As your treacherous eyes J’écoute en frémissant chaque bûche qui tombe; I listen, trembling, to the fall of each log; Brillant à travers leurs larmes. Shining through their tears. L’échafaud qu’on bâtit n’a pas d’écho plus sourd. A gallows being built makes no duller sound. Mon esprit est pareil à la tour qui succombe My spirit is like the tower that falls Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté, There – nothing but order and beauty dwell, Sous les coups de bélier infatigable et lourd. To the remorseless blows of the battering ram. Luxe, calme et volupté. Abundance, calm and sensuous delight. Il me semble, bercé par ce choc monotone, Rocked by those monotone blows, it seems Vois sur ces canaux See on those canals Qu’on cloue en grande hâte un cercueil quelque part. Somewhere in haste they are nailing a coffin. Dormir ces vaisseaux Those vessels sleeping, Pour qui? – C’était hier l’été; voici l’automne! But whose? Yesterday summer; autumn now! Dont l’humeur est vagabonde; Vessels with a restless soul; Ce bruit mystérieux sonne comme un départ. This eerie sound rings like some farewell. C’est pour assouvir To satisfy J’aime de vos longs yeux la lumière verdâtre, I love the green brilliance of your long eyes, Ton moindre désir Your slightest desire Douce beauté, mais aujourd’hui tout m’est amer, My sweet, but all today is bitter for me, Qu’ils viennent du bout du monde. They come from the ends of the earth. Et rien, ni votre amour, ni le boudoir, ni l’âtre, And nothing, not your love, the boudoir, or the hearth Les soleils couchants The setting suns Ne me vaut le soleil rayonnant sur la mer. Can compare with the sunlight on the sea. Revêtent les champs, Clothe the fields,

- 10 - - 11 - 3 Hymne Hymn Si mystérieux The same mysterious charms Charles Baudelaire De tes traîtres yeux, As your treacherous eyes Brillant à travers leurs larmes. Shining through their tears. À la très-chère, à la très-belle To the dearest one, the fairest one, Qui remplit mon cœur de clarté, Who fills my heart with light, Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté, There – nothing but order and beauty dwell, À l’ange, à l’idole immortelle, To the angel, the immortal idol – Luxe, calme et volupté. Abundance, calm and sensuous delight. Salut en immortalité! I pledge undying love! Des meubles luisants, Shining furniture Elle se répand dans ma vie She permeates my life Polis par les ans, Polished by the years Comme un air imprégné de sel, Like a briny breeze, Décoreraient notre chambre; Would decorate our room; Et dans mon âme inassouvie And into my unsated soul Les plus rares fleurs The rarest flowers Verse le goût de l’éternel. Pours the taste of the eternal. Mêlants leurs odeurs Mingling their perfume Comment, amour incorruptible, How, incorruptible love, Aux vagues senteurs de l’ambre, With the hazy scents of amber, T’exprimer avec vérité? Can I express you faithfully? Les riches plafonds, The rich ceilings, Grain de musc qui gis, invisible, Grain of musk lying unseen Les miroirs profonds, The deep mirrors, Au fond de mon éternité! In the depths of my eternity! La splendeur orientale, The oriental splendour, Tout y parlerait All would speak 4 L’invitation au voyage Invitation to journey À l’âme en secret To the soul in secret Charles Baudelaire Sa douce langue natale. Its sweet native tongue.

- 12 - - 13 - Les soleils couchants The setting suns 6 Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Only those who know longing Revêtent les champs, Clothe the fields, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Les canaux, la ville entière, Canals and all the town from Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre D’hyacinthe et d’or; With hyacinth and gold; Le monde s’endort The world falls asleep Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Only those who know longing Dans une chaude lumière. In a warm light. Weiß, was ich leide! Know what I suffer! Allein und abgetrennt Alone and cut off Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté, There – nothing but order and beauty dwell, Von aller Freude, From every joy, Luxe, calme et volupté. Abundance, calm and sensuous delight. Seh’ ich an’s Firmament I search the sky Nach jener Seite. In that direction. 5 Romance de Mignon Mignon’s romance Ach! der mich liebt und kennt Ah! he who loves and knows me Victor Wilder (1835-1892), Ist in der Weite. Is far away. after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) Es schwindelt mir, es brennt My head reels, Mein Eingeweide. My body blazes. Le connais-tu, ce radieux pays Do you know it, that radiant land, Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt Only those who know longing Où brille dans les branches d’or des fruits? Where fruit gleams among golden branches Weiß, was ich leide! Know what I suffer! Un doux zéphir embaume l’air A gentle breeze scents the air, 7 Heiss mich nicht reden Bid me not speak, bid me be silent Et le laurier s’unit au myrte vert. Laurel and green myrtle intertwine. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Le connais-tu, le connais-tu? Là-bas, Do you know it? Do you know it? There, from Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre Mon bien-aimé, courons, porter nos pas ... My beloved, let us make our way... Heiß mich nicht reden, heiß mich schweigen, Bid me not speak, bid me be silent, Le connais-tu, ce merveilleux séjour Do you know it, that wondrous abode, Denn mein Geheimnis ist mir Pflicht; For I am bound to secrecy; Où tout me parle encor de notre amour? Where everything still speaks of our love, Ich möchte dir mein ganzes Innre zeigen, I should love to bare you my soul, Où chaque objet me dit avec douleur: And every object asks me with sorrow: Allein das Schicksal will es nicht. But Fate has willed it otherwise. Qui t’a ravi ta joie et ton bonheur: Who has stolen your delight and joy? Le connais-tu, le connais-tu? Là-bas, Do you know it? Do you know it? There, Zur rechten Zeit vertreibt der Sonne Lauf At the appointed time the sun dispels Mon bien-aimé, courons, porter nos pas ... My beloved, let us make our way... Die finstre Nacht, und sie muß sich erhellen; The dark, and night must turn to day; Der harte Fels schließt seinen Busen auf, The hard rock opens up its bosom, Mißgönnt der Erde nicht die tiefverborgnen Quellen. Without begrudging earth its deeply hidden springs.

- 14 - - 15 - Ein jeder sucht im Arm des Freundes Ruh, All humans seek peace in the arms of a friend, 9 Kennst du das Land Do you know the land Dort kann die Brust in Klagen sich ergießen; There the heart can pour out its sorrow; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Allein ein Schwur drückt mir die Lippen zu, But my lips, alas, are sealed by a vow from Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre Und nur ein Gott vermag sie aufzuschließen. And only a god can open them. Kennst du das Land, wo die Zitronen blühn, Do you know the land where lemons blossom, 8 So lasst mich scheinen Let me appear an angel Im dunkeln Laub die Goldorangen glühn, Where oranges grow golden among dark leaves, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Ein sanfter Wind vom blauen Himmel weht, A gentle wind drifts across the blue sky, from Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre Die Myrte still und hoch der Lorbeer steht, The myrtle stands silent, the laurel tall, Kennst du es wohl? Do you know it? So laßt mich scheinen, bis ich werde; Let me appear an angel till I become one, Dahin! Dahin It is there, it is there Zieht mir das weiße Kleid nicht aus! Do not take my white dress from me! Möcht ich mit dir, o mein Geliebter, ziehn. I long to go with you, my love. Ich eile von der schönen Erde I hasten from the beautiful earth Hinab in jenes feste Haus. Down to that impregnable house. Kennst du das Haus? Auf Säulen ruht sein Dach, Do you know the house? Columns support its roof, Es glänzt der Saal, es schimmert das Gemach, Its hall gleams, its apartments shimmer, Dort ruh ich eine kleine Stille, There in brief repose I’ll rest, Und Marmorbilder stehn und sehn mich an: And marble statues stand and stare at me: Dann öffnet sich der frische Blick, Then my eyes will open, renewed; Was hat man dir, du armes Kind, getan? What have they done to you, poor child? Ich lasse dann die reine Hülle, My pure raiment then I’ll leave, Kennst du es wohl? Do you know it? Den Gürtel und den Kranz zurück. With girdle and rosary, behind. Dahin! Dahin It is there, it is there Möcht ich mit dir, o mein Beschützer, ziehn. I long to go with you, my protector. Und jene himmlischen Gestalten, And those heavenly beings, Sie fragen nicht nach Mann und Weib, They do not ask who is man or woman, Kennst du den Berg und seinen Wolkensteg? Do you know the mountain and its cloudy path? Und keine Kleider, keine Falten And no garments, no folds Das Maultier sucht im Nebel seinen Weg; The mule seeks its way through the mist, Umgeben den verklärten Leib. Cover the transfigured body. In Höhlen wohnt der Drachen alte Brut; In caverns dwell the dragons’ ancient brood; Es stürzt der Fels und über ihn die Flut, The cliff falls sheer, the torrent over it, Zwar lebt ich ohne Sorg und Mühe, Though I lived without trouble and toil, Kennst du ihn wohl? Do you know it? Doch fühlt ich tiefen Schmerz genung. I have felt deep pain enough. Dahin! Dahin It is there, it is there Vor Kummer altert ich zu frühe; I grew old with grief before my time; Geht unser Weg! o Vater, laß uns ziehn! Our pathway lies! O father, let us go! Macht mich auf ewig wieder jung! O make me forever young again

- 16 - - 17 - 0 Les hiboux Owls Chaque fleur s’évapore ainsi qu’un encensoir; Each flower sheds perfume like a censer; Charles Baudelaire Le violon frémit comme un cœur qu’on afflige; The violin throbs like a wounded heart; Valse mélancholique et langoureux vertige! Melancholy waltz and reeling languor! Sous les ifs noirs qui les abritent, Beneath the shade of black yews, Le ciel est triste et beau comme un grand reposoir. The sky is sad and beautiful like a great altar. Les hiboux se tiennent rangés, The owls perch in a row, Ainsi que des Dieux étrangers; Like alien gods, whose Le violon frémit comme un cœur qu’on afflige; The violin throbs like a wounded heart, Dardant leur œil rouge ils méditent. Red eyes flash. They meditate. Un cœur tendre, qui hait le néant vaste et noir! A fond heart that loathes the vast black void! Le ciel est triste et beau comme un grand reposoir; The sky is sad and beautiful like a great altar; Sans remuer ils se tiendront Motionless they will perch Le ciel s’est noyé dans son sang qui se fige. The sun has drowned in its congealing blood. Jusqu’à l’heure mélancolique Till the melancholy hour Où, poussant le soleil oblique, When, pushing aside the slanting sun, Un cœur tendre, qui hait le néant vaste et noir, A fond heart that loathes the vast black void Les ténèbres s’établiront. The shadows will settle into place. Du passé lumineux recueille tout vestige! And garners in all the luminous past! Le ciel s’est noyé dans son sang qui se fige…. The sun has drowned in its congealing blood... Leur attitude au sage enseigne From their pose the wise man learns Ton souvenir en moi luit comme un ostensoir. Your memory within me shines like a monstrance! Qu’il faut en ce monde qu’il craigne That in this world he ought to fear Le tumulte et le movement; All movement and commotion; w Le balcon The balcony Charles Baudelaire L’homme ivre d’une ombre qui passe The man drunk on fleeting shadows Porte toujours le châtiment Will always pay the penalty Mère des souvenirs, maîtresse des maîtresses, Mother of memories, mistress of mistresses, D’avoir voulu changer de place! For having wished to roam. O toi, tous me plaisirs! ô toi, tous me devoirs! O you, all my pleasures, o you, all my duties! Tu te rappelleras la beauté des caresses, You will recall the beauty of caresses, q, e & i Harmonie du soir Evening harmony La douceur du foyer et le charme des soirs, The hearth’s sweetness and the evenings’ charm, Charles Baudelaire Mère des souvenirs, maîtresse des maîtresses. Mother of memories, mistress of mistresses!

Voici venir les temps où vibrant sur sa tige Now comes the time, when quivering on its stem, Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon, Evenings lit with the glow of coals, Chaque fleur s’évapore ainsi qu’un encensoir; Each flower sheds perfume like a censer; Et les soirs au balcon, voilés de vapeurs roses. And evenings on the balcony, veiled in pink vapours. Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir; Sounds and scents turn in the evening air; Que ton sein m’était doux! que ton cœur était bon! How soft your breast was, how warm your heart! Valse mélancholique et langoureux vertige! Melancholy waltz and reeling languor! Nous avons dit souvent d’impérissables choses We have often said imperishable things, Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon. On evenings lit with the glow of coals.

- 18 - - 19 - Que les soleils sont beaux par les chaudes soirées! How beautiful the suns on warm evenings! r & o Le jet d’eau The fountain Que l’espace est profound! que le cœur est puissant! How space is deep, how strong the heart! Charles Baudelaire En me penchant vers toi, reine des adorées, Leaning toward you, queen of my loves, Je croyais respirer le parfum de ton sang. I seemed to breathe the scent of your blood. Tes beaux yeux sont las, pauvre amante! Your beautiful eyes are fatigued, poor lover! Que les soleils sont beaux par les chaudes soirées! How beautiful the suns on warm evenings! Reste longtemps, sans les rouvrir, Rest awhile, without opening them anew, Dans cette pose nonchalante In this careless pose, La nuit s’épaississait ainsi qu’une cloison, Night thickened like a wall, Où t’a surprise le Plaisir. Where pleasure surprised you. Et mes yeux dans le noir devinaient tes prunelles, And my eyes in the dark divined your own, Dans la cour le jet d’eau qui jase The babbling fountain in the courtyard, Et je buvais ton souffle, ô douceur! ô poison! And I drank in your breath, o sweetness, o poison! Et ne se tait ni nuit ni jour, Never silent night or day, Et tes pieds s’endormaient dans mes mains And your feet were cradled in my fraternal hands. Entretient doucement l’extase Sweetly prolongs the ecstasy fraternelles. Night thickened like a wall. Où ce soir m’a plongé l’amour Where love this evening plunged me. La nuit s’épaississait ainsi qu’une cloison. La gerbe d’eau qui berce The sheaf of water Ses mille fleurs, Swaying its thousand flowers, Je sais l’art d’évoquer les minutes heureuses, I am skilled in the art of recalling rapture, Que la lune traverse Through which the moon gleams Et revis mon passé blotti dans tes genoux. And relive my past, my head in your lap. De ses pâleurs, With its pallid light, Car à quoi bon chercher tes beautés langoureuses For where else should I seek your languid beauty Tombe comme une averse Falls like a shower Ailleurs qu’en ton cher corps et qu’en ton cœur si doux? But in your dear body and most loving heart? De larges pleurs. Of great tears. Je sais l’art d’évoquer les minutes heureuses, I am skilled in the art of recalling rapture! Ainsi ton âme qu’incendie And so your soul, lit Ces serments, ces parfums, ces baisers infinis, These vows, these scents, these infinite kisses, L’éclair brûlant des voluptés By the searing flash of ecstasy, Renâitront-ils d’un gouffre interdit à nos sondes, Will they rise from a pit we are forbidden to fathom, S’élance, rapide et hardie, Leaps swift and bold Comme montent au ciel les soleils rajeunis As the reborn suns ascend the sky, Vers les vastes cieux enchantés. To vast enchanted skies. Après s’être lavé au fond des mers profondes? Having washed themselves in the depths of the sea? Puis, elle s’épanche, mourante, And then, dying, spills over – O serments! ô parfums! ô baisers infinis! O vows! O scents! O infinite kisses! En un flot de triste langueur, In a wave of sad listlessness, Qui par une invisible pente Down some invisible incline Descend jusqu’au fond de mon cœur. Into the depths of my heart.

La gerbe d’eau qui berce The sheaf of water Ses mille fleurs, Swaying its thousand flowers,

- 20 - - 21 - Que la lune traverse Through which the moon gleams Pendant que des mortels la multitude vile, While the vile multitude of mortals, De ses pâleurs, With its pallid light, Sous le fouet du Plaisir, ce bourreau sans merci, Lashed by Pleasure, that pitiless tormentor, Tombe comme une averse Falls like a shower Va cueillir des remords dans la fête servile, Goes gathering remorse in abject revels, De larges pleurs. Of great tears. Ma Douleur, donne-moi la main; viens par ici, Give me your hand, my Sorrow; come this way,

O toi, que la nuit rend si belle, O you, whom night renders so beautiful, Loin d’eux. Vois se pencher les défuntes Années, Far from them. See the departed Years leaning, Qu’il m’est doux, penchés vers tes seins, How sweet, as I lean over your breasts, Sur les balcons du ciel, en robes surannées; In outmoded costume, from the heavens’ balustrades; D’écouter la plainte éternelle To listen to the eternal lament Surgir du fond des eaux le Regret souriant; See smiling Regret well up from the water’s depths; Qui sanglote dans les bassins! Sobbing in the fountain’s basin! Lune, eau sonore, nuit bénie, O moon, lapping water, blessed night, Le Soleil moribund s’endormir sous une arche, The dying sun fall asleep beneath an arch, Arbres qui frissonnez autour, Trees that quiver all around, Et, comme un long linceul traînant à l’Orient, And listen, my love, like a long shroud Votre pure mélancholie Your sheer melancholy Entends, ma chère, entends la douce Nuit Trailing in the East, listen to the tread of Est le miroir de mon amour. Is the mirror of my love. qui marche. gentle Night.

La gerbe d’eau qui berce The sheaf of water y La mort des amants The death of lovers Ses mille fleurs, Swaying its thousand flowers, Charles Baudelaire Que la lune traverse Through which the moon gleams De ses pâleurs, With its pallid light, Nous aurons des lits pleins d’odeurs légères, We shall have beds drenched with light scents, Tombe comme une averse Falls like a shower Des divans profonds comme des tombeaux, Divans as deep as tombs, De larges pleurs. Of great tears. Et d’étranges fleurs sur des étagères, And displays of exotic flowers Écloses pour nous sous des cieux plus beaux. That bloomed for us beneath fairer skies. t Recueillement Meditation Usant à l’envi leurs chaleurs dernières, Outdoing even their most recent passions Charles Baudelaire Nos deux cœurs seront deux vastes flambeaux, Our two hearts will be two mighty torches, Sois sage, ô ma douleur, et tiens-toi plus tranquille. Be good, o my Sorrow, and do not fret so. Qui réfléchiront leurs doubles lumières Reflecting their twin lights Tu réclamais le Soir; il descend; le voici: You longed for Evening; it is falling; now: Dans nos deux esprits, ces miroirs jumeaux. In our two twin-mirrored souls. Une atmosphère obscure enveloppe la ville, A dusky atmosphere enfolds the city, Un soir fait de rose et de bleu mystique, On an evening of pink and mystic blue, Aux uns portant la paix, aux autres le souci. Bringing peace to some, to others care. Nous échangerons un éclair unique, We shall exchange a single flash, Comme un long sanglot, tout chargé d’adieux; Like a long sob laden with farewells;

- 22 - - 23 - Et plus tard un Ange, entr’ouvrant les portes, And later an Angel, pushing the portals ajar, Viendra ranimer, fidèle et joyeux, Will come, faithful and joyous, to revive Les miroirs ternis et les flammes mortes. The tarnished mirrors and lifeless flames. u La vie antérieure A previous life Charles Baudelaire

J’ai longtemps habité sous de vastes portiques For long I lived beneath vast colonnades Que les soleils marins teignaient de mille feux, Tinged with a thousand fires by ocean suns, Et que leurs grands piliers, droits et majestueux, Whose giant pillars, straight and majestic, Rendaient pareils, le soir, aux grottes basaltiques. Made them look, at evening, like basalt caves.

Les houles, en roulant les images des cieux, The sea-swells, mingling the mirrored skies, Mêlaient d’une façon solennelle et mystique Solemnly and mystically interwove Les tout-puissants accords de leur riche musique The mighty chords of their mellow music Aux couleurs du couchant reflété par mes yeux. With the colours of sunset reflected in my eyes.

C’est là que j’ai vécu dans les voluptés calmes, It is there I lived in sensuous repose, Au milieu de l’azur, des vagues, des splendeurs With blue sky about me and brightness and waves Et des esclaves nus, tout imprégnés d’odeurs, And naked slaves all drenched in perfume

Qui me rafraîchissaient le front avec des palmes, Who fanned my brow with fronds of palm, Et dont l’unique soin était d’approfondir And whose only care was to fathom Le secret douloureux qui me faisait languir. The secret grief which made me languish.

Translations © by Richard Stokes from

A French Song Companion (OUP, 2000) The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005)

- 24 - - 25 - MARY BEVAN Opera as Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) on Bevan can be heard in such recordings as the main stage, Euridice (Orfeo) at the Handel in Italy Vols. 1 & 2 with London Early Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and Roundhouse and the title role in Rossi’s Opera (Signum), Songs to the Moon with vocal control” in stand out performances on Orpheus at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the Myrthen Ensemble (Signum), Sir Arthur opera and concert platforms, Mary Bevan is Shakespeare’s Globe. Other operatic highlights Sullivan Songs with David Owen Norris a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s include her critically acclaimed Susanna The (Chandos), Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Marriage of Figaro, Despina Così fan tutte Dunedin Consort (Linn), Mendelssohn Hymn Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music. and Yum- Yum The Mikado at English National of Praise with the CBSO and Edward Gardner Opera, Elvira in Rossini L’italiana in Algeri (Chandos), Handel The Triumph of Time and Bevan returned to the English National Opera for Garsington Opera, and Belinda Dido and Truth and Ode for St Cecilia’s Day with Ludus as Zerlina in Richard Jones’ new production Aeneas with Harry Bicket and The English Concert. Baroque (Delphian), Ludwig Thuille songs with of Mozart Don Giovanni, under Mark Joseph Middleton, and Mendelssohn complete Wigglesworth. She also headlined a tour of On the concert platform, Bevan has songs with Malcolm Martineau (Champs Hill). Asia with The English Concert and made her performed Silandra in Cesti Orontea with La role debut as Merab in Handel Saul for the Nuova Musica, a Handel Residency week with Bevan trained at the Royal Academy Opera, and Adelaide Festival. Bevan made her Carnegie Emmanuelle Haïm at the Aix-en-Provence read Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic at Trinity

Hall debut in Spring 2017 with The English © Victoria Cadisch Festival, Bach Magnificat with the Britten College, Cambridge. She is an Associate of the Concert and Harry Bicket in a performance Sinfonia, Mozart Requiem with the English Royal Academy of Music. of Ariodante alongside Joyce DiDonato in the Alps with Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Chamber Orchestra, Fauré Requiem with the title role. This Ariodante was part of an eight- Orchestra; and Handel’s Messiah with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Orquestra Sinfonica city tour of the United States and Europe, Academy of Ancient Music conducted by de Sevilla, and Mozart Coronation Mass with including performances at Washington’s Kennedy Richard Egarr at the Barbican. Southbank Sinfonia. Bevan is also a member of Center, Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, the the Myrthen Ensemble with Joseph Middleton. Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Théâtre des Bevan made her Royal Opera House debut Champs-Élysées in Paris and at London’s creating the role of Lila (David Bruce’s The In recital Bevan has performed at the Barbican. Other highlights include recitals Firework-Maker’s Daughter, world premiere Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival, Leeds with the Myrthen Ensemble at Concertgebouw and co-commission with The Opera Group and Lieder Festival, Danube Music Festival, St Amsterdam, Musée d’Orsay Paris and at Opera North) in the Linbury Studio Theatre in John’s Smith Square, Musée d’Orsay Paris, London’s Wigmore Hall; Richard Ayres’ In the 2013. She has since returned to The Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Rhinegold LIVE.

- 26 - - 27 - JOSEPH MIDDLETON Festival Hall, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Love’ with Amanda Roocroft, ‘This other Eden’ Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Köln Philharmonie, with Kitty Whately (Shortlisted for Best Pianist Joseph Middleton specialises in the Zürich Tonhalle, Paris Musée d’Orsay, Frankfurt Disc of 2015 – American Record Guide), art of song accompaniment and chamber and Strasbourg Operas, deSingel Antwerp the Lieder of Ludwig Thuille with Sophie music and has been highly acclaimed within and Luxembourg Philharmonie. He made his Bevan and Jennifer Johnston and the this field. Described in the BBC Music New York debut at the Alice Tully Hall complete Purcell/Britten realizations with Ruby Magazine as ‘one of the brightest stars in accompanying Sarah Connolly in a recital Hughes, Allan Clayton and Matthew Rose. the world of song and Lieder’, he has also described in the New York Times as been labeled ‘the cream of the new generation’ ‘superlative…everything a song recital by The Times and ‘a perfect accompanist’ should be’. Elsewhere in the Americas he has by Opera Now. Joseph is Director of Leeds appeared at New York’s Park Avenue Armory, Lieder, a Professor at his alma mater the Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, Toronto’s Koerner Hall, Royal Academy of Music, and holds the Vancouver’s Chan Centre, San Francisco’s Nourse position of Musician in Residence at Pembroke and Herbst Theatres and Chicago’s Ravinia College Cambridge, where he curates an Festival. He is a regular guest at Festivals in imaginative song recital series as well as Aix-en-Provence, Aldeburgh, the BBC Proms, directing the University’s Lieder Scheme. In Brighton, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Munich, 2016 he became the first accompanist to Oxford Lieder, Stuttgart and West Cork. win the Young Artist Award at the Royal Sampson and Roderick Williams. He regularly Philharmonic Awards. collaborates with rising stars from the His critically acclaimed discography includes younger generation and in 2012 he formed ‘Fleurs’ and ‘A Verlaine Songbook’ with Joseph enjoys recitals with internationally the Myrthen Ensemble to further explore Carolyn Sampson for BIS Records (the former established singers including Sir Thomas Allen, lesser-known song repertoire with regular nominated for a Gramophone Award & Radio Ian Bostridge, Dame Sarah Connolly, Lucy Crowe, duo partners Mary Bevan, Clara Mouriz, France’s Disc of the Month); ‘Strauss Lieder’ Iestyn Davies, Wolfgang Holzmair, Christiane Allan Clayton and Marcus Farnsworth. Their with Louise Alder for Orchid Classics; and, Karg, Katarina Karnéus, Dame Felicity Lott, début CD was released on Signum Records. for Champs Hill Records: ‘Nocturnal Variations’ Christopher Maltman, John Mark Ainsley, Ann with Ruby Hughes (Recording of the Month – Murray, Mark Padmore, Joan Rodgers, Amanda Recent seasons have taken him to London’s BBC Music Magazine), ‘Elgar in Sussex’ with Roocroft, Kate Royal, Matthew Rose, Carolyn Wigmore Hall, Royal Opera House and Royal Dame Felicity Lott, ‘Tell me the Truth about

- 28 - - 29 - AMY HARMAN the Philharmonia Orchestra, and in 2014 was selected by Young Classical Artists Trust Described as a ‘bassoonist in a million’ by (YCAT). She is currently principal of ENO and the Artsdesk, Amy Harman is quickly Aurora Orchestras. establishing a herself as a pioneer for the instrument. Born in London, Amy studied Passionate about bringing the bassoon to a at the Royal College of Music and at the wider audience, in 2012 Amy appeared as a Thanks to Helen Abbott for her incredible knowledge and help across all parts of making Akademie Múzických in Prague. At the age of ‘flying soloist’ in Birmingham Opera’s premiere of this disc, Richard Stokes for translations and for instilling in us a love for these songs. 23 she was appointed Principal Bassoon of of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht and Mary Bevan & Joseph Middleton Her ‘introduction to the bassoon’ has been watched by over half a million people on YouTube. She has appeared as soloist with Recorded in All Saints Church, Durham Road, London, UK from 28th November to 1st December 2016. the English Chamber Orchestra and has Producer & Editor – Räphael Mouterde Recording Engineer – Mike Hatch given recitals at Wigmore Hall and throughout Recording Assistant – Michael Gerrard the UK and Europe. Cover Image – © Victoria Cadisch Interior photo of L’église Saint-Sulpice – image by Velual, reproduced under creative commons licensing Sought after as a chamber musician, Amy Design and Artwork – Woven Design www.wovendesign.co.uk is a member of Ensemble 360, has attended Open Chamber Music at IMS Prussia Cove P 2017 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Signum Records Ltd © 2017 The copyright in this CD booklet, notes and design is owned by Signum Records Ltd and regularly performs at festivals internationally including Pärnu, Tbilisi International Festival, Any unauthorised broadcasting, public performance, copying or re-recording of Signum Compact Discs constitutes an infringement of copyright and will render the infringer liable to an action by law. Licences for public performances or broadcasting may be obtained from Phonographic Performance Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced, stored Mizmorim Basel, Ryedale, West Cork and in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Signum Records Ltd.

Camerata Pacifica California. SignumClassics, Signum Records Ltd., Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middx UB6 7JD, UK. +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 E-mail: [email protected] Amy is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. www.signumrecords.com

- 30 - - 31 - ALSO AVAILABLE on signumclassics

Handel in Italy, Vol. 1 Songs to the Moon Mary Bevan, Sophie Bevan, Benjamin Bevan Myrthen Ensemble: Mary Bevan, Clara Mouriz London Early Opera, Bridget Cunningham Allan Clayton, Marcus Farnsworth, Joseph Middleton SIGCD423 SIGCD443

“The playing is so beautifully focused...Splendid in every respect.” “The four voices blend beautifully in quartets by Brahms … Best BBC Radio 3 CD Review of all, though, is Bevan singing Elisabeth Machony’s ‘Sun Moon and Stars’, a mystic, high-lying setting of Thomas Traherne, her “A dazzling disc.” voice ascending into the stratosphere with rapturous ease … The Observer Middleton is outstanding, his reputation as a rising star among accompanists richly deserved.” BBC Music Magazine

Available through most record stores and at www.signumrecords.com For more information call +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 - 20 - CTP Template: CD_INL1 COLOURS Compact Disc Back Inlay CYAN MAGENTA Customer SignumClassics YELLOW Catalogue No.SIGCD509 BLACK Job Title: Voyages

SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD509

VOYAGES

1 L’invitation au voyage Henri Duparc [4.06] 2 Chant d’Automne, Op. 5 No. 1 Gabriel Fauré [4.32] VOYAGES VOYAGES 3 Hymne, Op. 7 No. 2 Gabriel Fauré [2.02] 4 L’invitation au voyage Emmanuel Chabrier [6.08] feat. Amy Harman bassoon 5 Romance de Mignon Henri Duparc [4.27]

6 - 9 Vier Mignon Lieder Franz Schubert [14.09] MIDDLETON / BEVAN 0 Les hiboux Déodat de Séverac [3.13] q Harmonie du soir Pierre de Bréville [4.24] BEVAN / MIDDLETON w - y Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire Claude Debussy [24.52] u La vie antérieure Henri Duparc [4.16] i Harmonie du soir Maurice Rollinat [1.48] o Le jet d’eau Maurice Rollinat [5.35] VOYAGES

Total timings: [79.32]

MARY BEVAN SOPRANO JOSEPH MIDDLETON PIANO

LC15723

Signum Records Ltd, Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth SIGCD509