Program Notes
Alphonse Mucha, Poster for F. Champenois Imprimeur-Editeur, 1897, Photo: Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
The “Belle Epoque”, a period in France after the Franco-Prussian War but before the outbreak of the first World War, is a study in contrast. The highly decorative naturalism and feminine aesthetics of Art Nouveau clashed with the obvious impact of industrialization in a rapidly changing world. Art, architecture, the decorative arts, and commercial art of the period moved intentionally toward a unified aesthetic, typified in the elevated illustrations of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha. Working in Paris, movement leaders like Mucha would help export these aesthetics across the globe through advertisements and theatrical posters. Despite lasting only a few decades, the influence of this period was so dominant, it is synonymous with France to this day. You can even see it in NBC’s logo and graphics for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The first half of this program features French art songs from this period. There are pairs of contrasting songs from each composer, demonstrating taste and style elements from the late Romantic Period, but with clear indications of the coming Modern era. The Biblical songs, written in the same period by another Czech artist living in the US, have a similar tension, manifesting in both the musical style, and in the novel use of an art song format with texts from the bible’s book of Psalms.
Texts & Translations
Detail from The Waiting by Jean-François Millet, ca. 1853–1861, Public Domain
A woman is anxiously awaiting the return of her beloved from war. She calls out to multiple animals to be her sentinels, watching from various high places, finally asking if they see the plume of a helmet on the horizon, the breath of a horse bearing her beloved home. Saint-Saëns was in his early twenties when he set this poem by the older French literary giant, Victor Hugo. Dramatic, fantastical, and full of pathos, the song is a short and memorable example of Romantic musical style and poetic sentiment.
L'Attente
Camille Saint-Saëns, Text: Victor Hugo
Monte, écureuil, monte au grand chêne,
Sur la branche des cieux prochaine,
Qui plie et tremble comme un jonc.
Cigogne, aux vieilles tours fidèle,
Oh! vole! et monte à tire-d'aile
De l'église à la citadelle,
Du haut clocher au grand donjon.
Vieux aigle, monte de ton aire
A la montagne centenaire
Que blanchit l'hiver éternel;
Et toi qu'en ta couche inquiète
Jamais l'aube ne vit muette,
Monte, monte, vive alouette,
Vive alouette, monte au ciel!
Et maintenant, du haut de l'arbre,
Des flèches de la tour de marbre,
Du grand mont, du ciel enflammé,
A l'horizon, parmi la brume,
Voyez-vous flotter une plume,
Et courir un cheval qui fume,
Et revenir ma bien-aimée?
The Wait
Climb, squirrel, climb, high up the towering oak,
till you stand on the heavenly branch,
however much it bends and trembles!
Stork, faithful to the old towers:
O, Fly! Climb with your wings,
from the church to the citadel,
from the bell tower to the great keep.
Old eagle, rise up from your eyrie:
fly to the ancient mountain,
blanketed with eternal winter.
And you anxious in your nest,
never silent at day-break,
climb, climb, lively lark,
lively lark, ascend to the sky!
And now, from the top of the trees,
from the spires of the marble tower,
from the great mountain,
from the fiery sky,
on the horizon, among the mists,
do you see a plume, floating in the breeze
and the fiery breath of a horse
that bears my love?
Score engraving, Le timbre d’argent, 1902, Public Domain
Le bonheur est chose légère
from Le timbre d’argent, Camille Saint-Saëns, Text: Michel Carré and Jules Barbier.
Le bonheur est chose légère, passagère,
On croit l'attendre, on le poursuit, Il s'enfuit!
Hélas! Vous en voulez un autre que le nôtre;
Il faut à vos ardents désirs des plaisirs.
Dieu vous préserve des alarmes
Et des larmes
Qui peuvent assombrir le cours des beaux jours.
Le bonheur…
Si jamais votre coeur regrette la retraite
Qu'aujourd'hui vous abandonnez, revenez!
De tous les chagrins de votr'âme, je réclame
Pour notre fidèle amitié La moitié.
Le bonheur…
Saint-Saëns was also in his late twenties when he composed his first Opera, Le Timbre d’Argent, but he would be in his early forties before it premiered, delayed by financial woes and the Franco-Prussian war. Detached from it’s original phantasmagorical context, this deceptively complex first act aria is emotionally grounded and subtle. An ironically jovial refrain about the fleeting nature of happiness transitions between two mournful verses about the end of a romance. With one final dance-like refrain, the song seems to just fly away.
Happiness is a light thing
Happiness is a light thing, passing; one waits for it, pursues it, it vanishes!
Alas, you want some other happiness than ours; Your ardent desires require distractions.
May God keep you from alarms and tears that could darken the course of your beautiful days.
Happiness…
If your heart ever misses the safe refuge that you are giving up today, come back!
Whatever your soul's disappointments, I will claim, for the sake of our faithful friendship, half of them.
Happiness…
Lili Boulanger, source: Library of Congress, Public Domain
Lili Boulanger died at the age of 24, one week before the premiere of her song cycle, “Clairières dans le ciel”. Born to a talented musical family, and mentored by French composers such as Fauré, she was an exceptional composer herself by the time she was in her late teens. Her music was harmonically progressive but still often quite tonal and beautiful. Debussy described her work as “undulating with grace.” This is a fitting description of number 8 in this cycle, with it’s gentle waves of eighth notes and tonal shifts beneath an elegant vocal line. Number 6 is even more daring harmonically and emotionally, as the speaker processes a deep loss.
Vous m’avez regarde avec toute votre ame
from “Clairières dans le ciel” (8), Lili Boulanger
Text: Francis Jammes
Vous m’avez regardé avec toute votre âme.
Vous m’avez regardé longtemps
comme un ciel bleu.
J’ai mis votre regard à l’ombre de mes yeux …
Que ce regard était passionné et calme …
You gazed at me with your soul.
You gazed at me for a long time,
like a blue sky.
I held your gaze in the shadow of my eyes...
How this was passionate and calm...
Si tout ceci n'est qu'un pauvre rêve
from “Clairies dans le ciel”, (6), Lili Boulanger
Text: Francis Jammes
Si tout ceci n’est qu’un pauvre rêve, et s’il faut
que j’ajoute dans ma vie, une fois encore,
la désillusion aux désillusions;
et, si je dois encore, par ma sombre folie,
chercher dans la douceur du vent et de la pluie
les seules vaines voix qui m’aient en passion;
je ne sais si je guérirai, ô mon amie …
Illustration de Paul Follot, Paris : Ricordi, [1919]. Fonds Villa Médicis Copyright : Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis
If all this is but a poor dream, and if it is fated
that once more in my life
I must add disillusion to disillusion;
and if I must once more, in my dark madness,
seek in the gentleness of the wind and rain
the only fleeting voices that adored me;
I do not know if I shall heal, my friend …
Photographie publiée dans Musica, décembre 1905. © Bibliothèque du conservatoire de Genève
Nicknamed "my little Mozart" by Georges Bizet, composer Cécile Chaminade became a critical and popular success toward the end of the 19th century. Her music was praised for it’s “femininity”, both in it’s charming late Romantic style and subject matter. But as the new century began and tastes evolved, her work fell out of fashion, criticized for the same reasons it had once been praised. Yet Chaminade remained popular in parts of Europe and America for her entire life, one of the few independently wealthy female composers of the period.
In the sparse, recitative-like song, Ma première lettre (1893), a woman speaks of finding an old letter she does not recognize, only to discover by the signature that she wrote it herself when she was very young. Delighted and shocked by the awkward little letter that she cannot remember writing, she muses about other important letters we might one day forget. In stark contrast, L'été (1894) is an exuberant celebration of Summer, as the speaker calls out to the birds and the flowers to rejoice and sing and love.
Ma première lettre
Cécile Chaminade
Text: Rosemonde Gérard
Hélas ! que nous oublions vite ...
J'y songeais hier en trouvant
Une petite lettre écrite
Lorsque je n'étais qu'une enfant.
Je lus jusqu'à la signature
Sans ressentir le moindre émoi,
Sans reconnaître l'écriture,
Et sans voir qu'elle était de moi.
En vain je voulus la relire,
Me rappeler, faire un effort ...
J'ai pu penser cela, l'écrire,
Mais le souvenir en est mort.
Ô la pauvre naïve lettre,
Ecrite encor si gauchement ...
Mais j'y songe, c'était peut-être
Ma première, -- un événement !
Jadis, à ma mère ravie
Je l'ai montrée en triomphant...
Est-il possible qu'on oublie
Sa première lettre d'enfant !...
Et puis le temps vient où l'on aime,
Et l'on écrit ... et puis un jour,
Un jour on l'oubliera de même,
Sa première lettre d'amour !
My First Letter
Alas! How quickly we forget…
I thought about this yesterday when I found
a small letter I wrote
when I was a young girl.
I read up to the signature
without feeling the slightest emotion,
without recognizing the writing.
And without realizing it was my own.
In vain I wanted to reread it,
to remember, to make an effort...
I had been able to think and write it,
but the memory of it was dead.
Oh poor, naive letter,
written so clumsily…
But when I think about it, maybe it was
my first letter, -- a momentous event!
Once, to my delighted mother,
I showed it triumphantly…
Is it possible that you can forget
the first letter of childhood!
And then the time comes when we love,
And we write... and then one day,
One day we will forget it the same,
The first letter of love.
L'été
Cécile Chaminade
Text: Édouard Guinand
Ah! chantez, chantez,
Folle fauvette,
Gaie alouette,
Joyeux pinson, chantez, aimez!
Parfum des roses,
Fraîches écloses,
Rendez nos bois, nos bois plus embaumés!
Ah! chantez, aimez!
Soleil qui dore
Les sycomores
Remplis d'essains tout bruisants,
Verse la joie,
Que tout se noie
Dans tes rayons resplendissants.
Ah! chantez, aimez ...
Souffle, qui passes
Dans les espaces
Semant l'espoir d'un jour d'été.
Que ton haleine
Donne à la plaine
Plus d'éclat et plus de beauté.
Ah! chantez, chantez!
Dans la prairie
Calme et fleurie,
Entendez-vous ces mots si doux.
L'âme charmée,
L'épouse aimée
Bénit le ciel près de l'époux!
Ah! chantez, aimez, ...
Summer
Ah, sing, sing,
mad warbler,
happy lark,
joyous finch, sing and love!
Scent of roses,
Fresh on the breeze,
Make our woods more fragrant!
Ah! sing and love!
Golden sun,
the sycamores
filled with rustling swarms,
pour out joy,
let all things drown
in your resplendent rays.
Ah! sing and love...
Breath that passes
in the spaces,
sowing the hope of a summer day:
let your breath
give to the meadow
more radiance and more beauty.
Ah! sing, sing!
In the prairie
calm and flourishing,
do you hear these sweet words?
the charmed soul,
the beloved
blessed heavens near the bridegroom.
Ah, sing and love!
Morgen!
Richard Strauss
Text: John Henry Mackay
Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen,
und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde,
wird uns, die Glücklichen
sie wieder einen
inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde...
und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen,
werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen,
stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen,
und auf uns sinkt des Glückes
stummes Schweigen...
4 Lieder, Op.27, 1897 Edition, Public Domain
Tomorrow!
And tomorrow the sun will shine again
and on the path,
reunited, the happy ones
amidst this sun-breathing earth…
and to the beach, wide, wave-blue
will we still and slowly descend
silently we will look in each other's eyes
and upon us will sink the mute silence of happiness…
Antonín Dvořák’s Biblical Songs were written during the Czech composer’s lengthy residency in the US. This work is unique in the canon of western vocal music for many reasons. Despite taking it’s texts from the book of Psalms, the cycle was not composed for use in a church service. It is also not in Latin, with the composer using a Czech version of the bible that predates the KJV as his primary translation. This is not a strictly sacred work. It’s not worship music. It’s not oratorio. The composition and text is far closer to the art song of this period.
Many published editions of the Biblical Songs have repeated unsubstantiated claims about their genesis. To make a very interesting but long story short, the truth is not terribly dramatic. Dvořák was an avid bible reader, with many of his friends and contemporaries making note of this habit in their correspondence. He was living in New York, far from home, and he took comfort reading the scriptures in his native language. This song cycle appears to be the product of a homesick man, with extraordinary musical abilities, and a rather ordinary devotional life.
Though the Biblical Songs are considered one of the great musical works in the Czech language, Dvořák supervised both the English and the German translations, paying particular attention to the rhythmic changes. All three languages were published concurrently, with the Czech version given it’s own stave.
English speakers will recognize the familiar psalm texts but they may also recognize far more than that. Like his famous New World Symphony, Dvořák filled the Biblical Songs with influences from American song, combining incredibly tuneful melodies with the expressive composition style of the late Romantic period.
Biblical Songs, First Edition, 1895
III. Psalm 55:1-2, 4-8
Hear my prayer, O Lord, my God; Oh, hide not thy face from my petition.
Bow thine ear to me and harken unto the voice of my mourning; to the voice of my mourning.
Pained sore is my heart within: and trembling hath fallen upon me.
The fear of death overwhelms me! Hear my sighing…
Oh, had I but eagle’s pinons! Had I wings like a silver dove, far away would I wander. I would hide me in the wilderness.
On wings I would hasten to hide from the storm, the storm and fearful tempest!
IV. Psalm 23: 1-4
God is my shepherd; I want for nothing.
My rest is in the pleasant meadows; he leadeth me where quiet waters flow.
My fainting soul doth he restore, and guideth me in the ways of peace, to glorify his holy name.
And though in death’s dark valley my steps must wander, my spirit shall not fear for thou art by me still.
Thy rod and staff are with me and they shall comfort me.
VII. Psalm 137:1-5
By the waters of Babylon, there we sat us down and wept, when we remembered thee, Oh Zion.
As for our harps, we hanged them up on the willow tree; for they that had brought us to misery asked of us a joyful song!
Yea, they did speak to us with mocking words: “Sing us now, sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
And we did answer: “How can we sing to you? How can we sing our glad songs in a strange land?”
Jerusalem, if I should forget thee, then let my right hand forget her cunning.
VIII. Psalm 25:16-18,20
Turn thee to me and have mercy,
for I am desolate and sore distressed!
Great are the sorrows of my heart;
bring thou me out of my distresses,
Oh, be merciful, look on my sorrow,
see mine affliction,
and forgive me all my wickedness!
Oh keep my soul in safety, and deliver me!
Let me never be confounded,
for my hope is in thee!
IX. Psalm 121:1-4
I will lift up mine eye up to the mountains,
whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from God, who hath made the earth and the heavens.
He will not suffer thy feet to be moved, nor thy steps to stumble.
He that keepeth thee will not slumber,
behold, the keeper of Israel is he that slumbers not nor sleeps.
X. Psalm 98:1, 4-5, 7-8 and 96: 12-11
Sing ye a joyful song unto the Lord,
who hath done marvelous, marvelous things!
Praise the Lord, all the earth, sing praises, shout, and be joyful!
Let the sea roar, and all that is there in,
the wide world, and all they that dwell there.
Lift your voices, floods and tempests.
Mountains, clap your hands for joy!
Let the fields laugh and sing, with waving corn,
And let all the trees of the forest be joyful!
Once Upon Another Time, Album Cover, Promotional Materials in the Public Domain
Once Upon Another Time
Sara Bareilles
Once upon another time
Somebody's hands who felt like mine
Turned the key and took a drive
Was free
Highway curve, the sun sank low
Buckley on the radio
Cigarette was burning slow
So breathe
Just yellow lines and tire marks
Sun-kissed skin and handle bars
And where I stood was where I was
To be
No enemies to call my own
No porch light on to call me home
And where I stood was beautiful
Because I was free
Once upon another time
Before I knew which life was mine
Before I left the child behind
Me
I saw myself in summer nights
Stars lit up like candle lights
I made my wish but mostly I
Believed
In yellow lines and tire marks
Sun-kissed skin and handle bars
And where I stood was where I was
To be
Once upon another time
Deciding nothing good in dying
So I’d just keep on driving
Because I was free
"The title track is really about loss of your childhood, and letting go of your past, and that's a part of my life right now, a journey I feel like I'm on.” - Sara Bareilles, American Songwriter Magazine, 2012