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1979 - 1983

Printable version of Notes only
Printable version of Texts/Translations only

Curtis Institute

My academic studies began at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1974. Absence of any performances from this period is not to dismiss those years but only because the original tapes - my degree recitals in piano and voice - are not available at this time. In spite of the fact that I was no longer a student at Peabody but one at Curtis Institute, I consider this performance of Fauré's "La bonne chanson" to be representative of my five years at Peabody, studying with Wayne Conner. He gave me such a vast knowledge base with excellent tutoring in diction, technique, programming, style, and vocal historical tradition. Throughout my musical life, his words constantly came to mind as I listened and learned from those around me. He taught me how to listen to the human voice, what to listen for. A fellow Texan, Wayne studied with martial Singher with whom I later coached the role of Pelléas. Wayne and I share many interests, including the fascination and love for this operatic role.

Ernest Ligon is another faculty member at Peabody that guided me in many right directions. We share many interests and his coaching sessions were always fruitful and enlightening. And he also worked with Singher as did Wayne Conner.

Gabriel Fauré

Pablo Casals once said that the trunk of the tree of German music was Beethoven and the trunk of the tree of French music was Fauré. To be aware of all of his mélodies is like a trip through the beauty of all creation, rich in meaning. My love of "tout les Fauré" began in 1986 at the Marlboro Music Festival, but this composer was actually my first composer ever. The occasion was my singing for the first time as a member of the Texas Boys Choir in a concert conducted by Roger Wagner of the Fauré Requiem. "Lydia" was my first mélodie (with Wayne Conner), his music has been on almost every recital. I also had the privilege of doing an all Fauré recital at the National Gallery. Kenneth Merrill was my accompanist and I was joined in the First Piano Quartet by Nicholas Danielson, Ah-ling Neu and Alan Stepansky. One of the last things I sang was the American stage premiere of Fauré's only opera, Pénélope.

La bonne chanson, Op. 61

One of my most memorable periods was the first time I worked with Gérard Souzay and Dalton Baldwin at the 1979 Orford Music Festival in Orford, Ontario. We immediately connected and he was very supportive and helpful. I prepared Ravel's Histoires naturelles, Poulenc's Tel jour telle nuit, Fauré's Poeme d'un jour. While there, I met Kurt Ollmann who introduced me to La bonne chanson.

And I can still hear the silence as Gérard Souzay and Dalton Baldwin began their recital that summer with Poulenc's Priez pour paix. It was my first Souzay recital and I'm so glad it is still with me.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia and my first year of study at the Curtis Institute, I started learning this difficult-to-perform cycle. In late October of 1979, a great artist of a distinctive elegant style, Pierre Bernac passed away. Though this cycle was hastily prepared, it reminds me of that summer in Orford and how exuberant I felt. I later prepared it with M. Souzay at the Ravel Academy in St. Jean de Luz. During this series of classes, Robin Bauman, the British pianist for the class, pointed out to me the key relationships within the cycle. I then adopted this to my future performances of the work which took place at The Phillips Collection in an all-french mélodie recital and at the El Paso Chamber Music Festival.

Thomas Jaber was my courageous pianist in this live radio broadcast of October 31, 1979 (my first recital at Curtis) and we dedicated the performance to the memory of Pierre Bernac.

01 I. Une Sainte en son auréole
02 II. Puisque l'aube grandit, puisque voicil'aurore
03 III. La lune blanche
04 IV. J'allais par les chemins perfides
05 V. J'ai presque peur, en vérité
06 VI. Avant que tu ne t'en ailles
07 VII. Donc, ce sera par un clair jourd'été
08 VIII. N'est-ce pas?
09 IX. L'hiver a cessé

Ned Rorem

While I was a student at Curtis, I was able to meet and work with the composer Ned Rorem. His "Early in the Morning", a very popular song, was my very first in English. His writing, whether it be his diaries, articles and, at times, even his conversation is like an aural work of verbal art. His music has always been accessible to the public's mind and ear, something that is rare in today's climate of music.

The following six songs are from a recital at Curtis on November 12, 1980 with pianist David Lofton. David and I also performed these songs at New York's Weill Hall and at the Pitti Palazo in Florence, Italy the following summer. David and I, along with a string quartet, were giving recitals in France and Italy, sponsored by the Curtis Institute.

10 As Adam Early in the Morning
11 O You Whom I Often and Silently Come
12 What if some little pain...
13 To You
14 Look Down, Fair Moon
15 Snake

Samuel Barber

Dover Beach, Op. 3

In March of 1980, while studying at Curtis, I replaced baritone Theodor Uppman at a Samuel Barber 70th Birthday Tribute afternoon recital, singing his Three Songs, Op. 45. Gian Carlo Menotti attended as well as other notables in the music world. Rose Bampton, who sang the world premiere of his "Dover Beach" decades prior, sang it with the remaining members of the original Curtis Quartet. Orlando Cole played the Cello Sonata which he also premiered and Ruth Laredo played the piano Sonata. That night, there was a gala dinner at the Academy House with a concert featuring Jaime Laredo in the Violin Concerto and other works.

In December of 1980, I was asked by the director of Curtis, John de Lancie, to sing Barber's early opus, "Dover Beach" at a birthday gala concert for Nellie Lee Bok, the daughter-in-law of Mary Louise Curtis Bok, one of the two founders of the Curtis Institute. I had sung this work on my Batchelor's Degree recital at Peabody Conservatory so the assignment was not difficult.

A phone call to my apartment one early Saturday morning changed all that. Mr. de Lancie called to tell me that Samuel Barber had just passed away the previous night and Gian Carlo Menotti requested that I sing "Dover Beach" at the funeral the following day (he had heard me a year prior). Luckily, a string quartet and I were already in rehearsal for the tribute to Mrs. Bok. My voice lesson (every Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.!) was used to work on it with Todd Duncan, my teacher at the time. That afternoon, we rehearsed with Felix Galimir.

The funeral was held in a small church in Westchester, Pennsylvania, Barber's home town. It was conspicuously not full and the only dignitaries were Menotti, pianist John Browning and a representative from Barber's publisher, G. Schirmer. A small choral ensemble from Westminster Choir College sang short choral works and "Dover Beach" was the other selection performed. It was a somewhat surreal experience.

After the service, I attended a wake held at the house of a relative of Barber. I was introduced to Mr. Menotti and, putting his hands on my shoulders, he said with a big grin, "You sounded just like Sam!", making reference to an old recording of Barber singing his own work with the Curtis Quartet. When I met Samuel Barber while attending the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Fort Worth, he told me of how difficult it was to make that recording, so inexperienced he was as a singer. He also told me, not only did he not want the Adagio from his string quartet played at his funeral, his own mother had made the same request.

When I met Samuel Barber while attending the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Fort Worth, he told me of how difficult it was to make that recording, so inexperienced he was as a singer. He also told me, not only did he not want the Adagio from his string quartet played at his funeral, his own mother had made the same request.

The following Monday, ran into the school's publicist and was asked if croutons were thrown on the casket at the graveside. After the initial shock, I realized she was probably right. I remember seeing people closest to the casket, reaching into brown paper bags and throwing fistfulls of something. It was not clods of dirt because it made no sound. I later found out that Barber had actually said to someone that he wanted croutons thrown on his grave. Why? Because he liked them, he said.

This performance dates from January 31, 1981 on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Nellie Lee Bok. The members of the string quartet were:

Violin I	Hirona Oka
Violin II	Ralph de Souza
Viola	thomas Turner
Cello	Ramon Bolipata

16 Dover Beach

Francis Poulenc

Tu vois le feu du soir

Though this performance is marred by some indulgent tempo choices and vocal inadequacies, I am proud of it simply for the fact that I performed it at all. I was once told that it was Poulenc's favorite composition, but due to its difficulty - vocal as well as poetic - it is rarely performed. It was written for Pierre Bernac, his life-long companion in music and friendship.

This performance comes from a small recital while I was a student at Curtis. To this day, Curtis only allows students to perform on a part of a program, not a full solo recital. This song was preceded by Schumann's Widmung and an aria from Verdi's La Traviata followed.

A hallmark of Vladimir Sokoloff, the pianist in this performance, was his sheer beauty of tone coupled with a life of music making with everyone who came through the doors of Curtis. As we were preparing this recital, he asked me if I had paired the Schumann and Poulenc on purpose. I was puzzled at this question and asked him why. He then pointed out to me the transition or "bridge" of the postlude of the Schumann into the beginning of the Poulenc. It was a beautiful and unintended effect. So, begging the listener's pardon, I have included that postlude to demonstrate this. Dr. Sokoloff also reminded me of the old tradition of pianists of the early part of this century of playing improvised modulations between works on a recital. Josef Hoffman, for example, did this so as to eliminate an abrupt change of mood and key during his concerts. One can hear it on many recordings of him and other virtuosi of the day.

17 Tu vois le feu du soir

Town Hall

Gabriel Fauré

L'horizon chimérique, op. 118

I first learned and prepared this cycle with Gérard Souzay at a month-long master class at the Geneva Conservatory in 1980. The festival was centered around the music of Robert Schumann, with performances: Pierre Fournier and the Cello Concerto, Henryk Szeryng accompanied by Dalton Baldwin and the violin sonatas and Souzay with his very special Dichterliebe. I also prepared the complete "Poeme de l'Amour et de la Mer" of Chausson and "Don Quichotte a Dulciné" of Ravel

I first learned and prepared this cycle with Gérard Souzay at a month-long master class at the Geneva Conservatory in 1980. The festival was centered around the music of Robert Schumann, with performances: Pierre Fournier and the Cello Concerto, Henryk Szeryng accompanied by Dalton Baldwin and the violin sonatas and Souzay with his very special Dichterliebe.

When all of the students arrived at the Conservatoire for registration, all the singers were told we had to audition as too many people were accepted!

After this audition (I sang "N'est-ce pas?" of Fauré), he called me into the concert hall and after accepting me into the class, he asked if I had ever sung Pelléas and I told him I had not but wanted to learn it. He said he had been asked to sing Golaud in the opera's first performance in Australia and was looking for a Pelléas.

The seed was thus planted.

18 I. La Mer est infinie...
19 II. Je me suis embarqué...
20 III. Diane, Sèlènè...
21 IV. Vaisseaux, nous vous auronsaimés...

Johannes Brahms/Richard Strauss

I offer a small selection of lieder of Johannes Brahms and Richard Strauss, composers that I did not sing much of, but "Feldeinsamkeit" was programmed very often, as well as his "Botschaft". These were on my New York recital debut program. I am especially fond of "Während des Regens", inspired by Elly Ameling's performance with Norman Shetler. In 1982, I won a Brahms Lieder Competition sponsored by the Wolf Trap Foundation.

"Lob des Leidens" was introduced to me by Dalton Baldwin. It is dear to me as this happened the day I arrived at the Orford Music Festival in Canada to study for two weeks with him and Gérard Souzay. Dalton asked me to sight-read it, a challenge in front of colleagues I didn't know and then there's all of the changes of tonality. This song turned out to be a personally emotional and prophetic statement about my studies that summer of 1979.

I would also like to mention that Charles Crowder, the then Director of Music at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., is responsible for my studying with Souzay. Charles introduced me to Dalton Baldwin who then invited me to work with them in Canada.

22 Feldeinsamkeit
23 Während des Regens
24 Lob des Leidens

Ned Rorem

Three Calamus Poems

In 1981, I received a Solo recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. This grant allowed me to enter three European competitions, studies at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, publicity materials, and the commissioning of Ned Rorem to write a work of his choice. He chose three poems from the Calamus Book of Walt Whitman. This recording is the world premiere performance at Town Hall as part of my New York recital debut.

25 Of Him I Love Day and Night
26 I Saw in Louisiana a Live Oak Growing
27 To a Common Prostitute

Jacques Leguerney

A son page

Jacques Leguerney, who died in 1999, had a fondness for French Renaissance poets such as Ronsard, and the songs are tinged with elements of both Impressionism and earlier-sounding, sort of modal harmonies. He claimed he had been born 400 years too late. He has written more than fifty mélodies

This track is the encore at my New York recital debut at Town Hall which was accompanied by Walter Huff.

28 A son page

I. Une Sainte en son auréole

(Paul Verlaine)

Une Sainte en son auréole
A Saint in her halo,
Une Châtelaine en sa tour,
A Chatelaine in her tower,
Tout ce que contient la parole humaine
All that a human word may express
de grâce et d'amour.
Of grace and love;

La note d'or que fait entendre
The golden sound which is heard
Un cor dans le lointain des bois,
Of the horn in the distant woods,
Mariée à la fierté tendre
Linked with the tender pride
Des nobles Dames d'autrefois;
Of the noble ladies of yore.

Avec cela le charme insigne
And with this a charming treat
D'un frais sourire triomphant
Of sweet and triumphant smile
Eclos de candeurs de cygne
Coming forth with swan-like innocence
Et des rougeurs de femme-enfant;
And a blush of a woman-child,

Des aspects nacrés, blancs et roses,
The looks of a pearl white and rose
Un doux accord patricien:
The gentle patrician harmony,
Je vois, j'entends toutes ces choses
I see, I hear all these things
Dans son nom Carlovingien.
In her Carlovingian name.

II. Puisque l'aube grandit, puisque voicil'aurore

Puisque l'aube grandit, puisque voici l'aurore,
Since dawn awoke and sunrise is here,
Puisque, après m'avoir fui longtemps, l'espoir veutbien
Since after having evaded me for so long a lime, the hopeconsents
Revoler devers moi qui l'appelle et l'implore,
To turn towards me who is calling and imploring her,
Puisque tout ce bonheur veut bien être le mien,
Since all this happiness is ready to become mine,

Je veux, guidé par vous, beaux yeux aux flammesdouces,
I would like to be guided by you, beautiful eyes with gentleflame�
Par toi conduit, ô main où tremblera mamain,
Guided by you, oh hand, with mine holding yourstremblingly
Marcher droit, que ce soit par des sentiers de mousses
To walk ahead, be it through paths of moss
Ou que rocs et cailloux encombrent le chemin ;
Or by the roads of pebble and stone,

Et comme, pour bercer les lenteurs de la route,
And while dreamily walking along the road,
Je chanterai des airs ingénus
I would sing simple airs,
Je me dis qu'elle m'écoutera sans déplaisir sansdoute;
To which I believe she would listen without displeasure.
Et vraiment je ne veux pas d'autre Paradis.
And truly I do not dream of any other paradise.

III. La lune blanche

La lune blanche
The white moon
luit dans les bois.
shines in the woods.
De chaque branche
From each branch
part une voix
springs a voice
sous la ramée.
beneath the arbor.
O bien aimé[e]....
Oh my beloved...

L'étang reflète,
The pond reflects
profond miroir,
like a deep mirror
la silhouette
the silhouette
du saule noir
of the black willow
où le vent pleure.
where the wind weeps.
Rêvons, c'est l'heure.
Let us dream! It is the hour...

Un vaste et tendre apaisement
A vast and tender calm
semble descendre du firmament
seems to descend from a sky
que l'astre irise.
made iridescent by the moon.
C'est l'heure exquise!
It is the exquisite hour!

IV. J'allais par les cheminsperfides

J'allais par les chemins perfides
I was walking along treacherous paths,
Douloureusement incertain
�Painfully uncertain,
Vos chères mains furent mes guides.
Your dear bands were my guides;

Si pâle à l'horizon lointain
Very pale on the distant horizon
Luisait un faible espoir d'aurore ;
The hope of dawn was glimmering
Votre regard fut le matin.
Your glance was like the dawn!

Nul bruit, sinon son pas sonore,
No noise, save the sound of his own steps,
N'encourageait le voyageur.
Gave courage to the traveler;
Votre voix me dit : ``Marche encore !''
Your voice has said to me: Go on!

Mon coeur craintif, mon sombre coeur
My fearful heart, my gloomy heart
Pleurait, seul, sur la d voie ;
Wept lonely on the mournful road,
L'amour, délicieux vainqueur,
But love, delightful vanquisher,

Nous a réunis dans la joie.
Has united us in joy!

V. J'ai presque peur, envérité

J'ai presque peur, en vérité
I almost fear, in truth be said,
Tant je sens ma vie enlacée
So much 1 feel my life enlaced
A la radieuse pensée
With that all radiant thought
Qui m'a pris l'âme l'autre été,
That took hold of my soul that past Summer,

Tant votre image, à jamais chère,
So much your image, dear to me forever,
Habite en ce coeur uniquement jaloux
Dwells in this heart, -all yours, This heart with sole desire
De vous aimer et de vous plaire ;
To love and to please you.

Et je tremble, pardonnez-moi
And I tremble, please forgive my blunlly telling it,
D'aussi franchement vous le dire,
blunlly telling it,
A penser qu'un mot, un sourire
At the thought that a single word, a smile
De vous est désormais ma loi,
coming from you now is my law,

Et qu'il vous suffirait d'un geste,
And that it would suffice a gesture
D'une parole ou d'un clin d'oeil,
Or a word or twinkling of an eye
Pour mettre tout mon être en deuil
To make the whole of me bereft
De son illusion céleste.
of my celestial dream!

Mais plutôt je ne veux vous voir,
But if I should no longer see you,
L'avenir dût-il m'être sombre
The future would appear so sad
Et fécond en peines sans nombre,
And filled with endless grief,
Qu'à travers un immense espoir,
Except for one great hope:

Plongé dans ce bonheur suprême
Immersed in this supreme happiness,
De me dire encore et toujours,
To repeat to myself again and again,
En dépit des mornes retours,
In spite of those sad thoughts,
Que je vous aime, que je t'aime !
That I love you, that I love you!

VI. Avant que tu ne t'en ailles

Avant que tu ne t'en ailles,
Before you disappear,
Pâle étoile du matin
pale morning star,
,,Mille cailles
A thousand quail
Chantent dans le thym.``
will sing in the tbyme!

Tourne devers le poète
Turn toward the poet
Dont les yeux sont pleins d'amour ;
whose eyes are full of love,
,,L'alouette
The lark
Monte au ciel avec le jour.``
will soar to the sky with the coming of day!

Tourne ton regard que noie
Turn your glance tbal drowns
L'aurore dans son azur;
the dawn in blue,
,,Quelle joie
What joy
Parmi les champs de blé mûrs.``
amidst the ripe wheat fields!

Puis fais luire ma pensée
And make all thought shine
Là-bas,--bien loin oh, bien loin !
yonder, far away! 0, far away!
,,La rosée
The dew
Gaîment brille sur le foin.``
glistens in the hay!

Dans le doux rêve où s'agite
In the sweet troubled dream
Ma vie endormie encor...
of my dear one who is still asleep
,,Vite, vite,
Haste, haste,
Car voici le soleil d'or.``
for here's the golden sun!

VII. Donc, ce sera par un clair jourd'été

Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été
So it will be, on a clear day of summer,
Le grand soleil, complice de ma joie,
The glowing sun, accomplice of my joy,
Fera, parmi le satin et la soie,
Will make, amidst the silks and satins,
Plus belle encor votre chère beauté
Still lovelier your dear beauty;

Le ciel tout bleu, comme une haute tente,
The all-blue sky, spread like some high tent,
Frissonnera sompteux à longs plis
Wil tremble sumptuously in lengthening folds
Sur nos deux fronts heureux qu'auront pâlis
On our two faces which will make pale
L'émotion du bonheur et l'attente ;
The emotions of happiness and expectation;

Et quand le soir viendra, l'air sera doux
And when the evening conies, the air will be gentle,
Qui se jouera, caressant, dans vos voiles,
And will play caressingly, gently, in your veils,
Et les regards paisibles des étoiles
And the peaceful gaze of the stars
Bienveillamment souriront aux époux.
Will smile benevolently on this wedded pair!

VIII. N'est-ce pas?

N'est-ce pas? nous irons gais et lents, dans la voie
Is it not so? We will walk gaily and slowly along the road,
Modeste que nous montre en souriant l'Espoir,
The unobtrusive path which shows us smiling Hope.
Peu soucieux qu'on nous ignore ou qu'on nous voie.
Not caring if we are unnoticed or if we are seen.

Isolés dans l'amour ainsi qu'en un bois noir,
Isolated in love as if we were in the dark forest,
Nos deux coeurs, exhalant leur tendresse paisible,
Our two hearts, emitting their peaceful tenderness..
Seront deux rossignols qui chantent dans le soir.
Will be two nightingales singing at night.

Sans nous préoccuper de ce que nous destine
Without thoughts of what fate holds in store for us,
Le Sort, nous marcherons pourtant du mêmepas,
We will proceed along with even steps
\ Et la main dans la main, avec l'âme enfantine.
And hand in band, with the child-like souls

De ceux qui s'aiment sans mélange, n'est-cepas?
Of ihose whose love is unalloyed. Is it not so?

IX. L'hiver a cessé

L'hiver a cessé la lumière esttiède
Winter is over, the light is soft
Et danse, du sol au firmament clair.
And dances from the earth to the clear sky;
Il faut que le coeur le plus triste cède
The saddest heart must now give way
A l'immense joie éparse dans l'air.
To the great joy scattered in the air.

J'ai depuis un an le printemps dans l'âme
For a whole year I have bad spring in my soul.
Et le vert retour du doux floréal,
And the green return of sweet blossom time,
Ainsi qu'une flamme entoure une flamme,
Like a flame surrounding a flame,
Met de l'idéal sur mon idéal.
Adds ideals to my ideal.

Le ciel bleu prolonge, exhausse et couronne
The blue sky extends, heightens and crowns
L'immuable azur où rit mon amour
The unchangeable azure, where my love rejoices.
La saison est belle et ma part est bonne
The season is lovely and my share is good,
Et tous mes espoirs ont enfin leur tour.
And all my hopes at last have their day.

Que vienne l'été ! que viennent encore
Let Summer come! Let also come
L'automne et l'hiver ! Et chaque saison
Autumn and Winter! And every season
Me sera charmante, ô ô
For me will be lovely, oh
Toi que décore
You, whom I adorn,
Cette fantaisie et cette raison !
This fantasy and this thought!

As Adam early in the morning

As Adam, early in the morning,
Walking forth from the bower,
refresh�d with sleep;
Behold me where I pass�hear my voice�approach,
Touch me�touch the palm of your hand to my Body as I pass;
Be not afraid of my Body.

O You Whom I Often and Silently Come

O you whom I often and silently come where you are that I may be with you
As I walk by your side or sit near or remain in the same room with you
Little you know the subtle electric fire that for your sake is playing within me.

What if some little pain...

(Edmund Spencer)

What if some little pain the passage have,
That makes frail flesh to fear the bitter wave?
Is not short pain well home, that brings long case,
And lays the soul to sleep in quiet grave?
Sleep after toil, port after stormy seas,
Ease after war, death after life doth greatly please.

To You

Stranger, if you passing, meet me,
And desire to speak to me,
Why should you not speak to me?
And why should I not speak to you?

Look Down, Fair Moon

(Walt Whitman)

Look down, fair moon, and bathe this scene;
Pour softly down night�s nimbus floods, on faces ghastly, swollen, purple;
On the dead, on their backs, with their arms toss�d wide,
Pour down your unstinted nimbus, sacred moon.

Snake

I saw a young snake glide,
Out of the mnottled shade,
and hang, limp on a stone

A thin mouth and a tongue
stayed in the still air.

It turned, it drew away
its shadow bent in half
It quickened and was gone.

I felt my slow blood warm
I longed to be that thing,
the pure snsuous form.

And I may be some time.

Dover Beach

(Matthew Arnold)

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits;---on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanch'd land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago heard it on the Aegean, and it brought,
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow,
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl'd.
But not I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Tu vois le feu du soir
(You see the fire of evening)

(Miroirs brûlants, no. 1)

(Paul Eluard)

Tu vois le feu du soir qui sort de sa coquille
You see the fire of evening emerging from its shell
Et tu vois la forêt enfouie dans sa fraîcheur
and you see the forest buried in its coolness

Tu vois la plaine nue aux flancs du ciel traînard
you see the bare plain at the edges of the straggling sky
La neige haute comme la mer
the snow high as the sea
Et la mer haute dans l'azur
and the sea high in the azure

Pierres parfaites et bois doux secours voilés
perfect stones and sweet woods veiled succours
Tu vois des villes teintes de mélancolie
you see cities tinged with gilded melancholy
Dorée des trottoirs pleins d'excuses
pavements full of excuses
Une place où la solitude a sa statue
a square where solitude has its statue souriante
et l'amour une seule maison
and love a single house

Tu vois les animaux
you see animals
Sosies malins sacrifiés l'un à l'autre
malign doubles sacrificed one to another
Frères immaculés aux ombres confondues
immaculate brothers with intermingled shadows
Dans un désert de sang
in a wilderness of blood

Tu vois un bel enfant quand il joue quand il rit
you see a beautiful child when he plays when he laughs
Il est bien plus petit
he is smaller
Que le petit oiseau du bout des branches
than the little bird on the tip of the branch

Tu vois un paysage aux saveurs d'huile et d'eau
you see a countryside with its savour of oil and of water
D'où la roche est exclue
where the rock is excluded
où la terre abandonne Sa verdure à
where the earth abandons her greenness
à l'été qui la couvre de fruits
to the summer which covers her with fruit

Des femmes descendant de leur miroir ancien
women descending from their ancient mirror
T'apportent leur jeunesse et leur froi en la tienne
bring you their youth and their faith in yours
Et l'une sa clarté la voile qui t'entraîne
and one of them veiled by her clarity who allures you
Te fait secrètement voir le monde sans toi.
secretly makes you see the world without yourself.

I. La mer est infinie...
The sea is infinite...

(Jean de la Ville de Mirmont)

La mer est infinie et mes rêves sont fous.
The sea is infinite and my dreams are wild.
La mer chante au soleil en battant les falaises
The sea sings to the sun as it beats the cliffs
Et mes rêves légers ne se sentent plus d'aise
And my light dreams are happy beyond words
De danser sur la mer comme des oiseaux soûls.
To dance upon the sea like tipsy birds.

Le vaste mouvement des vagues les emporte,
The movement of the waves carries them away,
La brise les agite et les roule en ses plis ;
The breeze tosses and rolls them in its folds;
Jouant dans le sillage. Ils feront une escorte
Playing in the ship's track, they form an escort
Aux vaisseaux que mon coeur dans leur fuite a suivis.
To the vessels whose flight my heart has followed.

Ivres d'air et de sel et brûlés par l'écume
Intoxicated with air and salt, stung by, the foam
De la mer qui console et qui lave des pleurs
Of the sea, which consoles and washes away tears,
Ils connaîtront le large et sa bonne amertume ;
They will know the open sea and its bitterness
Les goélands perdus les prendront pour des leurs.
Vagrant seagulls will take them for their own.

II. Je me suis embarqué...
I have embarked on a ship which dances

Je me suis embarqué sur un vaisseau qui danse
I have embarked on a ship which dances
Et roule bord sur bord et tangue et se balance.
And rolls side to side. and pitches and rocks.
Mes pieds ont oublié la terre et ses chemins ;
My feet have forgotten the earth and its paths;
Les vagues souples m'ont appris d'autres cadences
The supple waves have taught me other cadences
Plus belles que le rythme las des chants humains.
More beautiful than the weary rhythm of human song.

A vivre parmi vous, hèlas ! avais-je une âme ?
To live among you, alas! had I a soul?
Mes frères, j'ai souffert sur tous vos continents.
My brothers, I have suffered on all your shores.