sommcd 0151 Les amoureuses ddd sont des folles Céleste Songs by (1842-1912) Series Les • Sally Silver soprano Richard Bonynge piano amoureuses with Christine Tocci mezzo-soprano, Nico Darmanin tenor, Gabriella Swallow cello sont des 1 Les amoureuses sont des folles 2:20 bl Sainte Thérèse prie 3:25 bt Le temps et l’amour 3:44 2 Si vous vouliez bien me le dire 1:38 bm Horace et Lydie 4:06 C. Tocci, N. Darmanin only bu 3 À Mignonne (Chants intimes, No.2) 1:53 with N. Darmanin Dans le sentier, folles bn parmi les roses 1:45 4 Beaux yeux que j’aime 2:22 Coupe d’ivresse 2:17 cl Amoureuse 2:42 5 bo Tout passe! 1:42 La chanson du ruisseau 2:39 cm with C. Tocci bp On dit! 3:07 Les yeux clos 1:59 Songs by with G. Swallow 6 with G. Swallow Dialogue nocturne 2:51 cn with N. Darmanin bq O ruisseau 1:54 Les extases 2:25 Jules Massenet co 7 Adieu! (Poème d’avril, No. 8) 2:08 with C. Tocci, N. Darmanin Éternité 2:13 br cp 8 Je t’aime! 2:11 Départ 2:25 Menteuse chérie 2:18 with G. Swallow bs Oh! ne finis jamais 2:59 9 Oiseau des bois 2:13 (Poème d’amour, No. 6) Total duration: 58:53 • with C. Tocci with C. Tocci Sally Silver

Recorded at the Blackburn Hall, National Studio, London, on 14, 15 & 16 April 2014 soprano Recording Producer: Jeremy Silver Recording Engineer: Anthony Philpot Front Cover: The Letter, 1879 by Auguste Toulmouche Design and layout: Andrew Giles Richard Bonynge

piano © &  2015 SOMM RECORDINGS · THAMES DITTON · SURREY · ENGLAND Made in the EU and from which Queen Victoria commanded Emma Calvé to sing an aria at Les amoureuses sont des folles Windsor Castle). La Navarraiseshows Massenet’s undoubted command of the Songs by Jules Massenet newly-emergent verismo drama, yet what each of those works reveals above all is Massenet’s love, and genius in writing, for the human voice – and, perhaps more especially, for the female voice. t was Sir Thomas Beecham who once said ‘I would willingly give the whole of the Brandenburg Concertos for Massenet’s Manon and consider I had profited greatly It may sometimes be thought that the sheer number of Massenet’s operatic works has Ifrom the exchange’. Whilst Beecham’s remark was doubtless made with a twinkle in dissuaded a detailed investigation of them all, and has tended to detract from a full his eye, to cause consternation in certain quarters, his comment reveals more than a appreciation of the best of them, but such a view does not explain the number of spirited defence of the undoubted qualities of this often under-rated composer in of, say, Rossini, Donizetti or Bellini, or even Verdi, the finest of which have challenging the attitude to received opinion at the time. not suffered from being part of a large output. We ought not to state our claim too forcefully with regard to Massenet’s often under-appreciated qualities, but there can Eighty or so years ago, when Beecham made his comment to the critic Sir Neville surely be no doubt that he was a complete master of his craft. His compositional style Cardus, Massenet’s reputation was at a low ebb, albeit not so low as it had become may have suited the character of the time, a style which has been said to combine a following his death in 1912 at the age of 70. Massenet’s greatest successes lay in his genuine melodic sensuousness, not unlike that of Gounod, with the more series of operas, which matched perfectly the cultural needs of the belle époque – immediately appealing characteristics of Wagner’s instrumental colouration and broadly, the period extending from the end of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 to harmonic palette, suffused with Massenet’s own undoubted gifts for richly the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. That was the era which saw the appearance of sentimental melody. Yet however one describes the essence of Massenet’s almost all of Massenet’s greatly significant operas which are acknowledged today to compositional character, it was revealed through a craft that was practised more be amongst his finest works, and which have stood the test of rehabilitation to the widely than is generally realised, the product of a complete musician who – in his point where Beecham’s coded assertion of the composer’s quality can be seen – as so post as a director of the Paris Conservatoire – encouraged a wide range of composers, often with this conductor’s pronouncements – to be based on a deep knowledge and including those with whom one might expect he would have had little sympathy. appreciation of the subject. It was through the human voice that Massenet, above all, found the most natural and Manon, Werther and Thaïs may be arguably the finest examples of Massenet’s inspiring outlet for his own greatly gifted lyrical invention. He was a cultured, well- operatic mastery on a large scale, but alongside those scores has to be set such as the read, man, who was genuinely inspired by the wealth of literary output with which he wonderful two-act La Navarraise of 1894 (which was premiered at Covent Garden, was familiar. He was well-known and much admired for his propensity for sustained

2 3 hard work – barely wasting a moment in any day to continue his composing, on train without thinking of ‘Miroir, dites-moi que je suis belle’ in Thaïs [1894].’ Indeed, we journeys and in hotel rooms: Massenet’s abilities at sustained concentration in all may also recall the penetrating observation of James Harding who said that ‘Debussy kinds of circumstances which would distract many other creative figures was could not help being influenced by Massenet in his own earlier works such as legendary, but such an approach to life and creativity in those circumstances would L’Enfant Prodigue, La Damoiselle Élue, Suite Bergamasque, the Arabesques for piano naturally tend to produce a body of work encapsulating the initial inspiration within and the Petite Suite.’ Whilst such influences are relatively clear, there is equally no shorter, more concentrated form – in particular, his considerable output of wide- doubt that the nature of Massenet’s fluent melodies, with their often unusual and ranging songs, reflections no doubt of whatever social and individual circumstances disarmingly subtle emphases – as are heard in the vocal writing of a number of wherein his busy life had placed him. Massenet’s younger contemporaries – caught what was, as one might say, ‘in the air’ at the time. What cannot be denied, of course, is that Massenet’s mélodies capture There is no doubt, however, that Massenet’s sympathy with, and understanding of, perfectly the nature of French art song of the time. the female voice in particular was indeed profound, and the wide acceptance of his work was considerably enhanced by the world-famous female singers who performed Be that as it may, our collection ranges across the whole of Massenet’s career as a it: one only has to mention Emma Calvé, Mary Garden and Geraldine Farrar – three composer, from the earliest (circa 1866) Adieu – the last of the cycle Poèmes d’Avril legendary sopranos who performed Massenet’s operatic roles and his songs regularly, (to words by Armand Silvestre) – to the final song in our collection, Menteuse chérie, and whose careers were certainly enhanced by their association with his music. lorsque tu m’as dit’, one of Massenet’s last works, written shortly before his death and dedicated to the great Franco-Italian bass-baritone Vanni Marcoux, who was to In this collection of Massenet’s songs, we can readily hear his qualities in the genre at create the eponymous role of Panurge in Massenet’s last opera, composed during his their finest, and consider that it was doubtless the reaction against his work that set final illness, and which posthumous premiere at the Théâtre de la Gaîté was not to be in soon after his death – certainly in the wake of the end of the Great War in 1918 – counted among his successes. that has kept the finest of Massenet’s songs away from the general song recital repertoire, for in the wide-ranging collection on this CD, his contribution to the Our selection includes duets and other settings for solo voice groupings, of which genre of French song was the equal of any other native composer of the period. Massenet composed many, and of which the late duet La chanson du ruisseau is a particularly delightful example, the nature of the flowing stream being perfectly Indeed, Massenet’s significance as a song-writer may have been greater than is encapsulated in the rippling music. It is particularly fascinating to hear the generally imagined, even when his music was more often heard, his influence being occasionally dramatic Adieu with its compelling mood changes, for this closes (as we noticed by no less discriminate a musician than Francis Poulenc, who remarked that mentioned) Massenet’s first cycle, and points, surely, to the direction his muse was ‘I can never hear the second of [Debussy’s] Chansons de Bilitis, which belongs to 1897, soon to take him, as it just predates his first opera, the one-act La Grand’tante.

4 5 Indeed, throughout this collection, it is not difficult to feel that quite a few of these Sally Silver soprano settings are, even in the solo writing, almost ‘operatic’ in the choice of text and in the sheer mastery of Massenet’s invention – such as the concluding passage in the duet Sally Silver’s repertoire spans Handel to Oiseau des bois (1900), which is, in many ways, an absolute gem of composition for Thomas Ades and newly commissioned soprano and contralto (from the suite Chansons des bois d’Amaranthe for SATB works, but she is perhaps best known soloists and piano). Here is a composer completely at ease in his task, utterly assured for bel canto and French roles. She is in his fluent and sympathetic marriage of words and music. currently making her debut as Eleonora in Donizetti’s Il Furioso all’isola di San It is in that marriage that Massenet’s greatly significant and still not wholly appreciated Domingo (Wild Man of the West Indies) contribution to French, and indeed world, art is to be found. Quite apart from the with English Touring Opera. mastery of Massenet’s settings – how well the line matches the voice! – is his extraordinarily apt piano writing. An excellent example of this aspect of his skill is to She recently appeared in Moscow with be found in the brief – although not aphoristic – setting Tout passe! in which the the Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa- singer contemplates the loves of yesteryear. Massenet transcribed this song, rewriting Pekka Salonen in the Russian première it as a solo piano piece, and giving it the new title Simple phrase – a memento, perhaps, of Shostokovich’s opera Orango, and or ‘what-you-will’. The resultant recomposition makes a brief Fauré-esque or made appearances in concert with the Debussyan keyboard miniature, as far from the epic Le Cid as may be imagined. Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and at Opera på Skaret in Sweden. Indeed, it is the mention of those larger-scaled works of Massenet which, in comparison with the songs in our collection – even those, such as O ruisseau for Some other concert highlights include vocal trio and piano (1900) – that brings home to us the range of this remarkably the world première of Songs of Five gifted composer’s output, and his still too-little-appreciated originality and influence Rivers by Naresh Sohal with the BBC on French music of his own and, indeed, later times. For, as Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony Orchestra; Mendelssohn Lobgesang with the London Symphony wrote with telling insight and understanding on learning of Massenet’s death: Orchestra; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with l’Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn ‘Massenet has been much imitated; he imitated no-one.’ and Ulster Orchestra; a concert of operatic mad scenes with Staatskapelle Weimar at Weimar Pelerinages Kunstfest and a Bel Canto Gala with US tenor Lawrence Robert Matthew-Walker © 2015 Brownlee in Cape Town.

6 7 In the UK, she has performed to great critical acclaim the roles of Lucia in Lucia Richard Bonynge di Lammermoor, Elvira I Puritani and Angelica Orlando with Scottish Opera and has appeared with English National Opera as Annchen Der Freischütz and Mila Richard Bonynge, AC, CBE, in the world première of Jonathan Dove’s Palace in the Sky. Other British operatic was born in Sydney and studied appearances have included Violetta La traviata at Belfast Opera House, Donna piano at the New South Wales Elvira, Contessa and Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Da Ponte operas at Longborough Conservatorium of Music and Festival Opera and Elisabetta Maria Stuarda for Chelsea Opera Group. In season later with Herbert Fryer, a 2011/12 she sang the title role in Gounod’s Mireille at Cadogan Hall, Melissa pupil of Busoni, in London. He Amadigi di Gaula at Wigmore Hall and subsequently appeared for Music Theatre made his conducting début in Wales as Mother, Waitress and Sphinx in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek at the Rome in 1962 with the Santa Buxton, Cheltenham and Edinburgh Festivals. In 2013/2014, she performed in Cecilia Orchestra and has since Greek at the Linbury, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio conducted at most of the world’s 3 and also made her role debut as Reiza in Weber’s Oberon at Cadogan Hall. opera houses. He was Artistic Director of Vancouver Opera and Elsewhere in Europe, operatic roles include Gilda , Violetta La traviata, Musical Director of Australian Marguerite Les Huguenots, Olympia/Antonia/Stella/Giulietta Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Opera. He was awarded the Stonatrilla L’Opera Seria and Duchess Powder Her Face in France, Germany, CBE (Commander of the British Denmark and The Netherlands. Empire) in 1977, Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983, Companion of the Order of Australia in 2012, Commandeur de l’Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres, Paris Her collaboration with the conductor and pianist Richard Bonynge has produced in 1989 and made «Socio d’onore» of the R. Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna in several recordings: songs by Massenet, Balfe and Wallace, Wallace’s opera Lurline 2007. He married the late soprano Joan Sutherland in 1954 and has one son. and two cantatas by Sullivan – On Shore and Sea and Kenilworth. A second disc of Massenet and Balfe’s opera Satanella are due for release in the coming months. He has recorded over fifty complete operas, has made videos and DVDs of many operas and recorded numerous ballets. As a conductor Bonynge is widely regarded as Sally has been based in London since 1998, and was born in South Africa, where being extraordinarily sympathetic to singers on the stage and his instinct, knowledge she sang numerous roles for all the major opera companies and was a recipient of and feel for voices has become legendary. Richard Bonynge is acknowledged as a the Opera South Africa prize. scholar of bel canto, in 18th and 19th century opera and ballet music.

8 9 Nico Darmanin tenor Christine Tocci mezzo soprano

Nico was born in Malta and studied Christine Tocci’s opera engagements have in London at the Royal College of included Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte for the Music and the National Opera Studio. Théâtre du Châtelet and Opéra de Montpellier, As a Samling Artist he has Sméraldine The Love of Three Oranges for the participated in master classes with Vlaamse Opéra and Berlin Komische Oper, Juan Diego Flórez and Joyce Nicklausse Les Contes d’Hoffmann for Opéra DiDonato. He has also worked with de Rennes, the Duenna and Sister Martha Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Sir Thomas Cyrano de Bergerac beside Roberto Alagna for Allen at the Georg Solti Accademia, the Opéra de Montpellier and for the Opéra and with Mirella Freni in Modena. de Monte Carlo, Annio La Clemenza di Tito for the Opéra de Marseille, Marcellina Le In the 2013/14 season he sang Daniéli Nozze di Figaro for the Reisopera, Concepción Les vêpres siciliennes (Royal Opera L’Heure espagnole with the Gulbenkian House, Covent Garden) and the orchestra. Italian Tenor (Vlaamse Opera and Grand Théâtre She has worked under the baton of Lawrence Foster, Marco Guidarini, Michail de Luxembourg). Jurowski, Herve Niquet, Enrique Mazzola, Pinchas Steinberg, Jerome Correas, Mark Shanahan and Carlo Rizzi. He has also sung Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia (Opera Holland Park), Belfiore Il viaggio a Reims (Rossini Opera Festival), Ramiro La Cenerentola (Scottish Opera) and Ottavio Don Giovanni (Vlaamse Opera).

Concert repertoire includes songs and operas by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Tosti, Fauré, Massenet and Debussy. Nico has also recorded Sullivan’s On Shore and Sea under the baton of Maestro Richard Bonynge.

10 11 Gabriella Swallow cello Song texts and Translations Gabriella studied at the RCM with Jerome Pernoo where she was awarded the Tagore Les 1 amoureuses sont des folles Women who love are fools Gold Medal. She also won the concerto Jacques Etienne Joseph Alexandre Macdonald, competition, performing Hugh Wood’s Duc de Tarente (1765-1840) Cello Concerto which firmly launched Les amoureuses sont des folles Women who love are fools her on the contemporary music scene. Dont l’âme est faite de mystère, Whose souls are made of mystery, Et le meilleur est de se taire And it’s best to remain silent In 2007 Gabriella made her South Bank Sans rien croire de leurs paroles. Without believing anything they say. Les amoureuses, dans leurs yeux, Women who love, in their eyes, debut as soloist with the London Ont des regards faux et cruels; Have false and cruel expressions; Sinfonietta in the premiere of About Et ce sont les regards auxquels And these are the expressions Water by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Se prennent les audacieux. Which ensnare bold men. performed the Paul Max Edlin Cello Les amoureuses sont des folles Women who love are fools Concerto with the South Bank Sinfonia at Dont l’âme est faite de mystère, Whose souls are made of mystery, the Deal Festival. She has recorded all the Et le meilleur est de se taire And it’s best to remain silent chamber music of Hugh Wood and Sans rien croire de leurs paroles. Without believing anything they say. performed at Helmut Lachenmann’s 75th Les amoureuses bien aimées Women whose love is returned Ont raison de tous les courages, have control of their efforts birthday celebrations at the Berlin Car l’arrêt de nos esclavages For the sentence of our enslavement Konzerthaus where she worked closely Rit sur leurs bouches parfumées. Laughs on their perfumed mouths. with the composer on his work Pression.

In 2012 she joined Sally Silver and Richard Bonynge on a first collection of Massenet Si 2 vous vouliez bien me le dire If you did want to tell me songs, Ivre d’amour. 2013 saw her Wigmore Hall debut with Ruby Hughes and the Léon Landau, under the pseudonym Ludana release of Carpentersville, a collection of songs with Lucy Schaufer. Si vous vouliez bien me le dire, If you did want to tell me Combien j'en deviendrais heureux! How happy I would become! Et rien qu'avec votre sourire And with no more than your smile Vous me rendriez tant joyeux! You would make me so joyful!

12 13 Sachez que toute mon âme éperdue... You should know that my ardent soul… Beaux 4 yeux que j'aime Beautiful eyes that I love Ah! certes, vous pouvez en rire... Ah yes – you can laugh… Thérèse Maquet (1858-1891) A vos lèvres est suspendue! Is hanging on your every word! Il est des étoiles aux cieux There are stars in the heavens Que m'importeraient l'aube, l'aurore, Why would I care about the dawn, morning, Qui vous ressemblent, ô beaux yeux, Which resemble you, La nuit, l'enfer, et mille fois pire, Night, hell and anything a thousand times worse, Beaux yeux que j'aime! Beautiful eyes that I love! Tu es ma vie, et je t'adore! You’re my life and I adore you! Elles ont votre éclat joyeux, They have your joyous radiance, Votre long regard sérieux, Your long, serious gaze, Vos larmes mêmes!... Even your tears!... 3 À Mignonne (Chants intimes, no. 2) To Mignonne (Intimate songs, no. 2) Elles ont ce charme si doux They have that so sweet charm Gustave Chouquet (1819-1886) Qui remplit nos cœurs vains et fous Which fills our mad, vain hearts D'un trouble extrême... With profound agitation... Pour qui sera, Mignonne, For whom, Mignonne, will be Mais elles brillent loin de nous... But they shine far away from us... L'ondoyante couronne The wavy crown Toujours, hélas, ainsi que vous, Always, alas, just like you, De vos cheveux châtains? Of your chestnut hair? Beaux yeux que j'aime!... Beautiful eyes that I love!... Pour qui votre sourire, For whom your smile, Vos yeux où j'aime à lire, Your eyes in which I love to read, Il est des lacs mystérieux There are mysterious lakes Vos petits pieds mutins? Your little, unruly feet? Qui vous ressemblent, ô beaux yeux, Which resemble you, Beaux yeux que j'aime! Beautiful eyes that I love! Pour qui tant de sveltesse, For whom so much elegance, Leurs flots purs et silencieux Their pure, silent waves Tant d'éclat de jeunesse So much youthful sparkle Ont vos reflets capricieux, Have your capricious way of reflecting, Et de charme vainqueur? And persuasive charm? Votre azur même! And are equally as blue! Par qui seront bercées By whom will your nights Vos nuits et vos pensées? And your thoughts be cradled? Jamais ils ne s'ouvrent à nous They never open up to us Pour qui donc votre coeur? For whom then your heart? Et leur attrait subtil et doux And their sweet, subtle attraction Reste un problème... Remains a problem... Ah! que ce soit, Mignonne, Ah! Let it be, Mignonne, Ils sont profonds, fiers et jaloux, They are deep, proud and jealous, Pour qui t'aime et te donne For him who loves you and gives you Impénétrables comme vous, Impenetrable like you, Les trésors de sa foi! The treasures of his faith! Beaux yeux que j'aime... Beautiful eyes that I love... Pour qui veut, dans la vie, For him who wants, in this life, Marcher, l'âme ravie, To walk, his soul in rapture, Ton esclave ou ton roi! As your slave or your king!

14 15 La 5 Chanson du Ruisseau Song of the Stream Cesse ta triste cantilène, Stop your sad refrain, Antonin Lugnier (1869-1946) Toute plainte est vaine! To complain is futile! Avril vainqueur du froid hiver April, conqueror of the cold winter, Toi qui répands sur la prairie, You who unfurl in the meadow, Règne en le ciel clair. Reigns in the clear sky. A ta fantaisie, At your whim, A sa voix, dans l’aube vermeille, At its voice, in the crimson dawn, La fraîcheur du miroir changeant The freshness of the changing mirror Le printemps s’éveille… Springtime awakens… De tes flots d'argent, Of your silver tide, Au doux espoir dis ton couplet Say your refrain to sweet hope, Quelle est la chanson que murmure What is the song murmured by Petit Ruisselet! Tiny little stream! Ton onde si pure? Your waves so pure? Est-ce l'espoir, ou le regret? Is it hope, or regret? Petit Ruisselet! Tiny little stream! Dialogue 6 Nocturne Nocturnal conversation Quand, sous la brise printanière, When, in the spring breeze, Armand Silvestre (1837–1901) La nature entière The whole of Nature MYRTO MYRTO Resplendit en l'éclat du jour Gleams in the radiance of the day Écoute-moi pasteur, j'ai peur dans la nuit sombre. Hear me, Shepherd, I'm afraid in the dark night. De joie et d'amour, With joy and love, Tu voudrais, dis-tu, vers ta source, Would you want, as you say, LE BERGER SHEPHERD Reprenant ta course, On the way back to your source, Moi, j'ai peur de ta main qui me cherche dans I'm afraid of your hand that seeks me in Suivre à nouveau le chemin fait? To retrace the same journey? l'ombre. the darkness. Petit Ruisselet! Tiny little stream! MYRTO MYRTO Ne trouves-tu donc pas ce silence effrayant? But don't you find this silence frightening? C'est l'écho des douleurs humaines It is the echo of human sorrows LE BERGER SHEPHERD Qu'aux vallons, aux plaînes, Which in the vales, on the plains, Je crains bien plus ta voix qui m'appelle I fear far more your voice, which calls to me Ton flot répète ainsi, tout bas! Your tide repeats, this quietly! en fuyant. while getting more distant. Tu ne sais donc pas But don’t you know Qu’on ne peut, malgré son envie, That one can’t, even if one wishes, MYRTO MYRTO Au cours de la vie, In the course of one’s life Un ciel si noir ne peut que présager l'orage... Such a dark sky can only foretell a storm... Recommencer le long trajet? Begin the long journey again? LE BERGER SHEPHERD Petit Ruisselet! Tiny little stream! Un tel trouble ne peut que briser mon courage... Such trouble can only break my courage... MYRTO MYRTO Si quelqu'étoile encor nous montrait le chemin! If only some star would show us the way! LE BERGER SHEPHERD L'aimant de tes regards m'attire vers ta main! Your magnetising stare pulls me towards your hand!

16 17 MYRTO MYRTO – J'attendis à la fenêtre I waited at the window Le souffle des esprits dans mes cheveux se joue... The breath of the spirits is playing in my hair... Le retour tant espéré, For the return I was so hoping for, LE BERGER SHEPHERD Mais, ni bien sûr, ni peut-être, But neither for certain, nor maybe, Ton haleine en passant, Myrto, brûle ma joue... Your breath, Myrto, burns my cheek as it passes... Ni jamais la reverrai! Nor ever will I see her again! MYRTO MYRTO Bien fol qui croit quand sa Dame He is a fool to believe C'est la mort, n'est-ce pas? Isn't this death? Lui jure de revenir. When his Lady vows to return. LE BERGER SHEPHERD Je meurs! Adieu, ma chère âme! I am dying! Adieu, dear love! Non!... No!... J'ai gardé ton souvenir. I have remembered you well. MYRTO MYRTO C'est la mort!... It is death!... LE BERGER SHEPHERD Je 8 t'aime! I love you! Non! C'est l'amour, c'est l'amour vainqueur! No! It's love, conquering love! Suzanne Bozzani

MYRTO MYRTO J'ai cherché dans mon cœur qui t'adore les causes, I have sought within my heart which adores you La nuit est sous mon front!... The night is right in front of me!... Les causes de mon grand amour. The cause of my great love. LE BERGER SHEPHERD Mais le printemps sait-il la raison de ses roses? But does springtime know the reason for its roses? L'orage est dans mon coeur! The storm is in my heart! Comme aux nuits succède le jour, Just as day follows night Je t'aime! Et mon amour n'a pas eu d'autres causes! I love you! And my love has had no other cause!

Si le printemps ne sait la raison de ses roses, If springtime doesn't know the reason for its roses, Adieu 7 (Poème d'avril, No. 8) Adieu (Poem of April, No. 8) Je sais quel grand baiser d'amour I know what great loving kiss Armand Silvestre (1837–1901) A mis dans notre cœur des tendresses écloses. Has put such burgeoning feelings in our hearts. "Je pars! Adieu, ma chère âme, "I'm leaving! Adieu, dear love, Comme aux nuits succède le jour, Just as day follows night Garde bien mon souvenir!" Remember me well!" Ton baiser sur ma lèvre a fait fleurir des roses Your kiss on my lips has brought roses into bloom. – Quoi! Si tôt partir, ma Dame, What! You leave so soon, my Lady; Ne devez-vous revenir? Are you not to return?

"Si, je reviendrai peut-être... "Yes, I will return, maybe... Si, bien sûr, je reviendrai! Yes, for certain I will return! Va m'attendre à la fenêtre, Go and wait for me at the window, De plus loin te reverrai!" I will see you from further away."

18 19 Oiseau 9 des bois Woodland bird Horace b m et Lydie Horace and Lydie translation by Marc Legrand (1865-1908) of a German Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) poem by Oscar von Redwitz-Schmölz (1823-1891) Horace Horace J'ai cherché dans mon cœur qui t'adore les causes, I have sought within my heart which adores you Du temps où tu m'aimais, Lydie, When you loved me, Lydie, Les causes de mon grand amour. The cause of my great love. De ses bras nul autre que moi No man but I put his arm around Mais le printemps sait-il la raison de ses roses? But does springtime know the reason for its roses? N'entourait ta taille arrondie; The curve of your waist; Comme aux nuits succède le jour, Just as day follows night J'ai vécu plus heureux qu'un roi! I lived happier than a king! Je t'aime! Et mon amour n'a pas eu d'autres causes! I love you! And my love has had no other cause! Lydie Lydie Du temps où j'étais ta maîtresse, When I was your mistress, Si le printemps ne sait la raison de ses roses, If springtime doesn't know the reason for its roses, Tu me préférais à Chloé. You preferred me to Chloe. Je sais quel grand baiser d'amour I know what great loving kiss Je m'endormais à ton côté, I would fall asleep at your side A mis dans notre cœur des tendresses écloses. Has put such burgeoning feelings in our hearts. Plus heureuse qu'une déesse! Happier than any goddess! Comme aux nuits succède le jour, Just as day follows night Ton baiser sur ma lèvre a fait fleurir des roses Your kiss on my lips has brought roses into bloom. Horace Horace Chloé me gouverne à présent; Chloe rules my heart now; Savante au luth, habile au chant, Expert at the lute and skilled in song, Sainte b l Thérèse prie Saint Theresa prays La douceur de sa voix m'enivre. The sweetness of her voice intoxicates me. Pierre Sylvestre Je suis prêt à cesser de vivre I’m ready to give up my life S'il fallait lui donner mon sang! If I had to give her my blood! Je le possède; il m'aime; il est là! Je respire I possess him; he loves me; he is here! I breathe in Lydie Lydie Son haleine et je vois rayonner son sourire. His breath and see his smile beaming. Je me consume maintenant I’m consumed now by Il est mon sang, ma vie, et moi... je ne suis plus! He is my blood, my life, and I… I no longer exist! Pour Calaïs, mon jeune amant, Calaïs, my young lover, Douce allégresse! O voix des cieux et de la terre, Gentle happiness! O voices of heaven and earth, Qui dans mon cœur a pris ta place; Who has taken your place in my heart; Élevez-vous! Chantez l'ineffable mystère. Raise yourselves up! Sing of the unspeakable mystery. Je mourrais deux fois, cher Horace, I would gladly die twice, dear Horace, Le Bien-Aimé qui dort sur mon cœur, c'est Jésus! The Beloved who sleeps on my heart is Jesus! S'il fallait lui donner mon sang! If I had to give him my blood!

Monde, espoirs, vanités, devant lui tout s'efface... World, hopes, vanities – before him everything fades… Horace Horace Mes yeux sont éblouis des splendeurs de sa face; My eyes are dazzled by the magnificence of his face; Eh quoi! si dans notre pensée And what if, in our thoughts, À sa clarté, mon cœur renaît... et va s'ouvrir. In his light my heart is reborn… and will open. L'ancien amour se ranimait? Our old love were revived? O Bien-Aimé! fuyons vers l'éternelle aurore! O Beloved! Let us escape towards the eternal dawn! Si ma blonde était délaissée? If I abandoned my blond? Viens! je sens en mon âme un feu qui la dévore. Come! I feel in my soul a fire which consumes it. Si, demain, Vénus offensée If, tomorrow, the offended Venus Je souffre et t'aime, et meurs de ne pouvoir mourir! I suffer and love you, and die for not being able to die! A ta porte me ramenait? Led me back to your door?

20 21 Lydie Lydie D'un trait tu la videras toute In one gulp you will empty it all Calaïs est jeune et fidèle, Calaïs is young and faithful, et dans tes veines passera and into your veins will pass Et toi, poète, ton désir And you, poet, your desire mon désir, que ta bouche aura my desire, which your mouth will have Est plus léger que l'hirondelle, Is lighter than the swallow, bu, goutte à goutte!... drunk, drop by drop!... Plus inconstant que le zéphir; More inconstant than the wind; Écoute pétiller les sèves!.. Listen to the sap bubbling!... Ensemble Together A tes lèvres de satin clair To your lips of pure satin Pourtant, s'il t'en prenait envie, Nevertheless, if you so wished, porte la coupe de ma chair... raise the cup of my flesh... Avec toi j'aimerais la vie! It’s with you I would like to live! Bois de mes rêves!... Drink of my dreams!... Avec toi je voudrais mourir! With you I would want to die!

b o b n Tout passe! Everything passes! Coupe d'Ivresse Cup of intoxication Henriette Fouant de La Tombelle, H. Ernest Simoni under the pseudonym Camille Bruno (1857-1943)

Jusqu'à ta bouche, j'ai levé To your mouth, I lifted Les plus ardentes amours My most ardent love affairs la coupe pleine de mes rêves the cup full of my dreams M'ont lassé comme tout lasse. Have palled, as everything palls. où si longtemps!... de lueurs brèves where, for so long, in brief glimmers Les plus ardentes amours My most ardent love affairs d'espoirs, je me suis abreuvé! of hope, I have immersed myself! N'ont pas pu durer toujours. Were unable to last forever.

Écoute pétiller les sèves!... Listen to the sap bubbling!... Le lien qui nous fut cher The bond which we cherished A tes lèvres de satin clair To your lips of pure satin A cassé comme tout casse. Has broken, as everything breaks. porte la coupe de ma chair... raise the cup of my flesh... Le lien qui nous fut cher The bond which we cherished Bois de mes rêves!... Drink of my dreams!... Ne tenait pas à la chair. Could not hold on to the flesh.

Et la coupe d'or irisé And the cup of iridescent gold Le temps si doux où j'aimais That sweet time when I loved qui flambe au soleil de la vie which burns in the sunlight of life A passé comme tout passe. Has passed, as everything passes. et dont une goutte ravie and of which one single, rapturous drop Le temps si doux où j'aimais That sweet time when I loved suffirait, seule, à me griser... would be enough to intoxicate me... Ne reviendra plus jamais. Will never return.

22 23 On b p dit! They say! Départ b r Departure Jean Roux Émile Guérin-Catelain (1856-1913)

On dit..., on dit beaucoup de choses... They say…, they say many things… Puisque pour moi le temps a sonné le départ, Since time has rung for my departure, Beaucoup trop de choses vraiment! Really far too many things! Pour éclairer la nuit où s'enfonce mon âme, To light up the night where my soul is sinking On dit que rien n'est plus charmant They say that there is nothing more charming Une dernière fois que tes beaux yeux de flamme May your beautiful flame eyes, for one last time, Qu'au printemps voir fleurir les roses. Than to see the roses bloom in the spring. Épandent sur mon front leur lumineux regard. Bestow on my forehead their luminous gaze.

On dit que les hivers moroses They say that the miserable winter J'entre dans un exil sombre et silencieux. I am entering a dark and silent exile. Se sont enfuis en un moment, Has flown in an instant, Que deux mots échappés à ta bouche de flamme May two words from your flame mouth Que les eaux sont de diamant, That the waters look like diamonds, Rompent ce noir silence et remplissent mon âme Break this black silence and fill my soul Que les pervenches sont écloses! That the periwinkles have come out! De l'éternel écho d'un chant harmonieux. With the eternal echo of a harmonious song.

On dit qu'avril est un doux mois They say that April is a sweet month Puisque je disparais dans l'espace profond, Since I am disappearing into deep space, Et que, dans les sentiers des bois, And that, on the woodland paths, Pour embaumer la nuit où va rêver mon âme, To perfume the night where my soul will dream Résonne un mot, toujours le même! There resounds one word, always the same! Donne-moi ce bonheur d'emporter plein de flamme, Give me the happiness to take with me, full of flame, Le parfum de ta lèvre imprimée à mon front. The fragrance of your lips pressed on my forehead. Mais...Vous l'êtes-vous figuré?.. But… Have you worked it out? On dit... on dit... que je vous aime! They say… they say… that I love you! Et, le drôle, c'est qu'on dit vrai! And the funny thing is, they’re right! Oh! b s ne finis jamais (Poème d’amour, no. 6) Oh! never end (Poem of Love, no. 6) Paul Pierre Robiquet (1848 – 1928) b q O ruisseau Oh stream! Oh! ne finis jamais, nuit clémente et divine; Oh! never end, merciful and divine night; translation by Marc Legrand (1865-1908) of a German Soleil, ne brille pas au front de la colline... Sun, do not shine over the hilltop... poem by Oscar von Redwitz-Schmölz (1823-1891) Et laisse-nous aimer encore; And let us continue to love; Laisse-nous écouter dans l'ombre et le mystère, Let us hear in the darkness and mystery, O ruisseau, ta voix est câline Oh stream, you have a tender voice Les voix, les tendres voix qui n'ont rien de la terre; The voices, the tender voices that are not of this earth; Et je t'ai surpris plus d'un jour And I have overheard you more than once Ne trouble pas nos rêves d'or! Do not disturb our golden dreams! Échangeant avec l'églantine Secretly exchanging words of love Secrètement des mots d'amour. With the wild rose. Ce qu'il faut à nos coeurs, ô nuit, ce sont tes voiles, What our hearts need, o night, are your veils, C'est l'exquise pâleur qui tombe des étoiles That exquisite paleness that falls from the stars Dès que tu parlais, d'elle même The moment you spoke, of its own volition Sur les amoureux à genoux; Onto kneeling lovers; Sa branche s'inclinait vers toi, Its branch leant toward you, C'est un mot commencé qui jamais ne s'achève; That word begun but never completed; N'est-ce pas? Si jamais on m'aime, Is it not so? If ever I am loved, C'est l'amour éternel, mystérieux, sans trève... That love – eternal, mysterious, relentless... Tes mots d'amour, apprends-les moi. Those words of love, teach them to me. Pour la terre immense et pour nous! For the immense earth and for us!

24 25 Le b t Temps et L'Amour Time and Love Dans b u le sentier, parmi les roses On the path, amongst the roses Léon Landau, under the pseudonym Ludana Berthe-Corinne Le Barillier, under the pseudonym Jean Bertheroy (1868-1927) L'Amour Love J'ai vingt ans et j'ai perdu toute espérance! I’m twenty years old and I’ve lost all hope! Dans le sentier, parmi les roses, On the path, amongst the roses, Aimer est un leurre, croire est une chimère! To love is an illusion, to believe is a fantasy! Ils s’en sont allés tous les deux. The two of them went walking. Souffrir et pleurer par trop de décevance? Should I suffer and cry for too much disappointment? L’air était tiède, les cieux roses... The air was warm, the skies pink... Non, car je n'ai même pas pour moi la Prière! No, for I don’t even have the luxury of prayer! Qu’ils sont heureux les amoureux! How happy lovers are!

Le Temps Time L’air était tiède, les cieux roses The air was warm, the skies pink Tu as vingt ans, Enfant, et tu désespères? You’re twenty years old, Child, and are despairing? À travers le soir vaporeux. Across the humid evening. Tu es beau ainsi que le peut souhaiter une femme. You’re as handsome as any woman could wish. Il lui disait tout bas des choses... He whispered things to her... Tout en toi doit être joie et lumières. You should be filled with joy and light. Qu’ils sont heureux les amoureux! How happy lovers are! Rien n'est perdu, je vois clair en ton âme. Nothing is lost, I see clearly into your soul. Il lui disait tout bas des choses He whispered things to her L'Amour Love En la baisant sur les cheveux... While kissing her hair... Pourquoi ma voix hélas! reste-t'elle muette? Why, alas, does my voice remain dumb? Dans le sentier, parmi les roses... On the path, amongst the roses... Pourquoi mon coeur, d'angoisse est-il donc torturé? Why is my heart tortured with anguish? Qu’ils sont heureux les amoureux! How happy lovers are! Pourquoi se cache-t'elle comme l'humble violette, Why is she hiding like the humble violet, Celle qui ne m'a jamais aimé, et que j'appelle! She who has never loved me, though I call her!

Le Temps Time Que tout ce qui vit, que tout ce qui t'admire, May everything that lives, everything that admires you, Par grâce t'en assure, te le dise en ce jour, By grace assure you and tell you today, Pour que sur tes lèvres vienne s'attacher le sourire: So that a smile may form on your lips: “Have faith – nothing resists Love!”

Le Temps et L'Amour Time and Love Chagrins, deuils et tristesses, évanouissez-vous. Sorrows, mourning and sadness – disappear! Aux charmes de la Jeunesse qui triomphe toujours, Everything is reborn to the ever triumphant charms Tout renaît, et ceux-là sont vraiment des fous, of Youth, and they are truly insane Qui doutent de la victoire du Temps et l'Amour! Who doubt the victory of Time and Love!

26 27 Amoureuse c l In love Les c m yeux clos Closed eyes Louis Morel-Retz, G. Buchillot under the pseudonym Stop (1825-1899) Quand tes yeux clos ne verront plus When your closed eyes can no longer see Tu voudrais lire dans mon âme You would read within my soul Les lieux charmeurs où nous aimâmes, The seductive places where we loved, Et tu prétends, mon bien aimé, And you claim, my beloved, J’aurai des sanglots plein mon âme, My soul will be filled with tears Que parfois le cœur d’une femme That at times a woman’s heart Quand tes yeux clos ne verront plus. When your closed eyes can no longer see. Est un livre à jamais fermé; Is a book forever closed; Ingrat! Finis ce badinage. Ungrateful man! Stop this talk. Sous le poids lourd des destinées, Under the heavy weight of destiny Le livre ouvert à tes désirs The book, open to your desires, Courbant un front qui se souvient, Bowing my head which continues to remember, Te montre, écrits sur chaque page, Shows you, written on every page, Ton souvenir restera mien, Your memory will remain mine Et ma tendresse et mes soupirs. Both my affection and my sighs. Dans le tourbillon des années. Throughout the vicissitudes of the years. Lis sans crainte, et s’il reste encore Read without fear, and if any passage Quelque passage obscur pour toi, Remains obscure to you, Quand tes yeux clos ne verront plus When your closed eyes can no longer see Enfant curieux que j’adore, Curious child whom I adore, Les fleurs qui s’ouvraient pour te plaire, The flowers which only opened to please you, Épèle-moi! Spell it out to me! J’en couvrirai ta tombe chère, I will use them to cover your beloved grave, Quand tes yeux clos ne verront plus! When your closed eyes can no longer see! M’en veux-tu de porter envie Can you blame me for envying À tes pensers de chaque jour, Your everyday thoughts À tout ce qui remplit ta vie And everything which fills your life Les c n extases Ecstasies Et te dérobe à mon amour? And takes you away from my love? Annie Dessirier Ah! tiens! Je voudrais être belle Come on! I wish I were so beautiful À faire oublier l’univers As to make you forget the universe Des chants, des fleurs et du soleil, Songs, flowers and sun, Et t’enchaîner, mon doux rebelle, And capture you, my sweet rebel, Des baisers aux lèvres, des roses! Kisses on the lips, roses! Dans ces bras qui te sont ouverts! In these arms which are open to you! De l’azur... l’océan vermeil, The azure sky... The ruby sea, Être la coupe bienheureuse I wish I were the fortunate cup De l’amour... sur toutes les choses!... Love... over everything! Où nul n’ait jamais bu que toi, From which none but you had ever drunk, Et dire à ta lèvre amoureuse: And could say to your loving lips: Des rayons d’or par tout le ciel, Golden rays throughout the sky, Épuise-moi! Consume me! Des murmures de douce brise!... The murmurs of the gentle breeze!... Des parfums au souffle irréel... Fragrances that waft without substance... La volupté qui passe et grise! Sensual pleasure which intoxicates as it passes!

28 29 De l’intensité... les plaisirs; Intensity... pleasure; Menteuse c p chérie! Darling deceiver! Des sourires... folles ivresses! Smiles... mad euphoria! Léon Landau, under the pseudonym Ludana Des émois... de troublants désirs, Feelings... troubling desires, De longs frôles... et des caresses! Long moments barely touching... and caresses! Menteuse chérie, lorsque tu m’as dit: Je t’aime, Darling deceiver, when you said to me, “I love you”, Tu m’as menti, toujours et quand même, You lied to me, now and for all time, Des chants, des fleurs et du soleil, Songs, flowers and sun, Tu m’as menti, ô la plus adorable enjôleuse, You lied to me, you most adorable sweet-talker, Des baisers aux lèvres, des roses! Kisses on the lips, roses! Tu m’as menti, amie chère et menteuse! You lied to me, my darling, lying friend! De l’amour... sur toutes les choses! The azure sky... The ruby sea, Tu mentiras, pour la joie de ma torture, You will lie, for the pleasure of torturing me, De l’amour! De l’amour! Love! Love! Tu mentiras, pour raviver ma blessure! You will lie, to reopen my wound! Tu mentiras! Tu mentiras! You will lie! You will lie!

Éternité c o Eternity Menteuse chérie, lorsque tu m’as dit: Je t’aime, Darling deceiver, when you said to me, “I love you”, Tu m’as menti, toujours et quand même, You lied to me, now and for all time, Mary Girard (1837-?) Tu m’as menti, ô la plus adorable enjôleuse, You lied to me, you most adorable sweet-talker, L’éternité! je l’ai comprise; Eternity! I understood it Tu m’as menti, amie chère et menteuse! You lied to me, my darling, lying friend! Le jour où dans mon âme éprise, The day when, head over heels, Qu’importe encore ta méchanceté vaine, What does your vain malice matter anymore? L’amour pur, rayonnant flambeau, Pure love, a shining torch, Qu’importe tout cela, menteuse: Je t’aime! What does any of it matter anymore, deceiver: I love you! Vers vous, a fait jaillir sa flamme Projected its flame towards you Tu m’as menti! Tu m’as menti! You lied to me! You lied to me! Comme on voit s’envoler une âme Just as one sees a soul fly away Des cendres mortes d’un tombeau! From the dead ashes of a grave! Menteuse chérie, lorsque tu m’as dit: Je t’aime, Darling deceiver, when you said to me, “I love you”, Tu m’as menti, toujours et quand même, You lied to me, now and for all time, L’éternité! je l’ai vécue Eternity! I lived it Tu m’as menti, ô la plus adorable enjôleuse, You lied to me, you most adorable sweet-talker, Brûlante, éternelle, invaincue Burning, eternal, undefeated Tu m’as menti, amie chère et menteuse! You lied to me, my darling, lying friend! En un de ces instants si courts In one of those fleeting moments Qu’importe tout cela: Je t’aime! What does any of it matter anymore? I love you! Qui nous laissent l’âme ravie, Which leave our soul in rapture, Translations © Jeremy Silver Et s’ils n’étaient plus qu’une vie And were they no more than a lifetime Devraient en suspendre le cours!... Should halt its course!...

L’éternité! je la possède! Eternity! I possess it! Our discs are available worldwide from all good record shops. In case of difficulty and for Elle me suit et me précède It follows and precedes me further information please contact us direct: SOMM Recordings, Sales & Marketing Dept., 13 Riversdale Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 0QL, UK. Tel: +(0)20-8398 1586. Fax: +(0)20-8339 0981. Comme la nuit succède au jour. Like night succeeds day. Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.somm-recordings.com Elle est troublante, elle est heureuse; It is unsettling, it is happy, Et, pourtant elle est douloureuse, And yet it is painful, WARNING Copyright subsists in all Somm Recordings. Any unauthorised broadcasting, public performance, copying, rental or Car l’éternité c’est l’amour! For eternity is love! re-recording thereof in any manner whatsoever will constitute an infringement of such copyright. In the United Kingdom licences for the use of recordings for public performance may be obtained from Phonographic Performance Ltd., 1 Upper James Street, London W1R 3HG 30