Britten 4 French Songs
BENJAMIN BRITTEN 1913-1976
QUATRE CHANSONS FRANCAISES
1. Les Nuits de juin
2. Sagesse
3. L'Enfance
4. Chanson d'automne
The texts are set in the original French with impressive assurance and imagination, and there are echoes of Debussy, Ravel, Mahler, and even of Wagner's "Liebestod". Especially striking is the third song, "L'Enface", a miniature dramatic scene in which a solo flute portrays the child's naive singing and playing near his mother's death-bed.
Britten dedicated the four songs to his parents to mark their 27th wedding anniversary; they were destined not to be performed during his lifetime, but were revived for a first performance by Heather Harper in 1980 and subsequently published in 1983, since when they have established themselves as being among the most celebrated of Britten's juvenile works.
| 1. NUITS DE JUIN |
JUNE NIGHTS |
|
L'été , lorsque le jour a fui, de fleurs couver |
In summertime, at close of day,
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| Les astres sont plus purs, l'ombre paraît meilleure: Un vague demi-jour teint le dôme éternel; Et l'aube douce et pâle, en attendant son heure, Semble toute la nuit errer au bas du ciel. Victor Hugo |
The stars seem brighter, the darkness deeper; |
| 2. SAGESSE |
WISDOM |
| Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit, Si bleu, si calme! Un arbre, par-dessus le toit, Berce sa plame. |
Above the roof the sky is so blue, so calm! Above the roof a tree-branch sways. |
| La cloche dans le ciel qu'on voit Doucement tinte. Un oiseau sur l'arbre qu'on voit Chante sa plainte. |
The bell in the sky gently tolls. A bird in the tree sings its sad song. |
| Mon dieu, mon dieu, la vie est là, Simple et tranquille. Cette paisible rumeur-là Vient de la ville. |
Oh God, life is there, simple and tranquil. I can hear the peaceful sounds Of the town. |
| Qu'as-tu fait, ô toi que voilà Pleurant sans cesse, Dis, qu'as-tu fait, toil que voilà, De ta jeunesse? Verlaine |
What have you done, you there, weeping ceaselessly? Tell me, what have you done with your young life? |
| 3. L'ENFANCE | CHILDHOOD |
| L'enfant chantait; la mère au lit, exténuée, Agonisait, beau front dans l'ombre se penchant; La mort au-dessus d'elle errait dans la nuée Et j'écoutais ce râle, et j'entendais ce chant. |
The child was singing; the mother, stretched out on the bed, lay dying, her beautiful face turned towards the darkness. Death hovered in the mists above her. I listened to that death rattle, and I heard that song. |
| L'enfant avait cinq ans, et près de la fenêtre Ses rires et ses jeux faisaient un charmant bruit; Et la mère, à côté de ca pauvre doux être Qui chantait tout le jour, toussait toute la nuit. |
The child was five years old, and outside the window the sound of his games and his laughter was enchanting. The poor sweet creature sang all day, and the mother coughed all night. |
| La mère alla dormir sous les dalles du cloître; Et le petit enfant se remit à chanter, La douleur est un fruit; Dieu ne le fait pas croître Sur la branche trop faible encor pour le proter . Hugo |
The mother was laid to rest beneath the stones in the cloister, and the little child took up his song again. Sorrow is a fruit; God does not permit it to grow on a branch too week to bear it. |
| 4. CHANSON D'AUTOMNE | AUTUMN SONG |
| Les Sanglots longs Des violins De l'automne Blessent mon coeur D'une langueur Monotone. |
The slow sobbing of the violins of autumn wound my heart with monotonous languor. |
| Tout suffocant Et blême, quand Sonne l'heure, Je me souviens Des jours anciens Et je pleure; |
Breathless and pale, as the hour strikes, I remember former days and weep; |
| Et je m'en vais Au vent mauvais Qui m'emporte Deçà delà, Pareil à la Feuille morte. Verlaine |
and I let
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