Georges Auric: Five Poems of Gérard de Nerval (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


 There is an air for which I would give
 All Rossini, all Mozart, all Weber,
 A very old, languid, funereal air,
 Which has secret charms for me alone.
 
 And every time I come to hear it,
 My heart becomes two hundred years younger...
 It's under Louis XIII, and I seem to see
 a green hill extending, yellowed by the setting sun.
 
 Then a brick chateau with corners of stone,
 With windows tinted in reddish colors,
 Surrounded by great parks, with a river
 Bathing its feet, flowing among the flowers;
 
 Then a lady at her high window,
 Blonde with black eyes, in her ancient clothes,
 Whom I had already seen, perhaps in another existence... And whom I remember!

2. Gothic song

Language: English

Authorship

David Jonathan Justman

Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

Based on

text

Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855)


 Beautiful bride,
 I love your tears.
 They are the dew
 Which suits the flowers.
 
 Beautiful things
 Have only one spring,
 Let us sow roses,
 The steps of Time.
 
 Whether she be brown or blonde,
 Must one choose?
 The God of the world
 Is Pleasure.

3. The Cydalises

Language: English

Authorship

David Jonathan Justman

Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

Based on

text

Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855)


 Where are our sweethearts?
 They are in the grave:
 They are happier
 In a more beautiful place.
 
 They are near the angels,
 In the depths of the blue sky,
 And they sing the praises
 Of the mother of God.
 
 O white fiancee!
 O young virgin in flower!
 Abandoned lover,
 Faded by pain!
 
 Deep eternity
 Smiled in your eyes...
 Relight the quenched torches
 of the world in Heaven.

4. April

Language: English

Authorship

David Jonathan Justman

Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

Based on

text

Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855)


 Already, pleasant days - the dust,
 A sky of azure and light,
 Flaming walls, long evenings; -
 And nothing green: - Barely
 a reddish reflection still decorates
 The big trees with the black branches!
 
 This beautiful weather oppresses and annoys me.
 It's only after days of rain
 That the greening and pink Spring can emerge, in a picture,
 
 Like a newly born nymph,
 Who comes out of the water smiling.

5. An alley in the Luxembourg Gardens

Language: English

Authorship

David Jonathan Justman

Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

Based on

text

Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855)


 She passed, the girl 
 as lively and swift as a bird:
 In her hand a brilliant flower,
 In her mouth a new refrain.
 
 Perhaps she's the only one in the world,
 Whose heart would respond to mine,
 Who, approaching in my deep night,
 Would light it with a single look.
 
 But no, - my youth is finished...
 Adieu, gentle beam which enlightened me...
 Perfume, girl, harmony...
 Happiness has passed, - it has fled!

Search/Shop for

Sheet music:

Search sheetmusicplus.com for Cinq Poèmes de Gérard de Nerval, Art song , Lieder, chansons, or works for solo voice

Search musicroom.com for Cinq Poèmes de Gérard de Nerval, vocal/choral music

CDs:

Search amazon.com for Cinq Poèmes de Gérard de Nerval, art song, Lieder, or chansons

Search amazon.ca for Cinq Poèmes de Gérard de Nerval, art song, Lieder, or chansons

Books:

The Art of the Song Recital [amazon.com]

The Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of Over 1000 Songs [amazon.com]

Search amazon.com for art song, Lieder, or chansons

Search amazon.ca for art song, lieder, or chansons

Classical Vocal Repertoire