The use of cameras or recording equipment during the

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry ofthe

West Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

For the convenience of concertgoers, 

the Garden Cafe remains open for light refreshments

until 6:00 pm on Sundays.

Music Department

National Gallery ofArt

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, dc

www.nga.gov

Concerts are made possible in part through the generosity of donors

to the National Gallery of Art through The Circle. Reserved seating is

available in recognition oftheir support. Please contact the development

office at (202) 842-6450 or cirde@nga.gov for more information.

COVER: Mary Cassatt, Lady in Black in a Logs, Facing Right, 1879-1880,

softground etching, National Gallery ofArt, Washington, Rosenwald Collection

The Seventy-second Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

3,005th Concert

National Gallery ofArt Vocal Ensemble

Presented in honor of Degas/Cassatt

and in partnership with the Cultural Service ofthe

Embassy of France, through a grant from safran

June 8, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
Program

Music from the Salon

Songs ofGabriel Faure (1845-1924)

Pavanne

Puisqu’ici-bas tout time

Lydia

Pleurs d’or

Tarantella

Soir

Madrigal

Songs of Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)

Vivons, mignarde

A Phidyle

Gardez le trait de lafenetre

Troisjours de vendange

La Nuit,from Les Founders d’ete

Le Jour,from Les Founders d’ete

INTERMISSION

Music from the Paris Opera and the Theater

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)

Priere d’enfants

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Excerpts from UEnfant prodigue

Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)

Serenade d’hiver

Andre Messager (1853-1929)

Les oeillets incarnadins, from Isoline

Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)

Morceau d’ensemble, from Le Voyage dans la lune

Hymne a Bacchus, from Orphee aux Enfers

Menuet, Galop Infernal, from Orphee aux Enfers
The Musicians

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Now in its tenth season under the leadership ofits artistic director, Rosa

Lamoreaux, the National Gallery ofArt Vocal Ensemble has presented

numerous special programs in conjunction with Gallery exhibitions, including seventeenth-century Dutch music in honor ofJan Lievens: A Dutch

Master Rediscovered (2008) and Pride ofPlace: Dutch Cityscapes ofthe Golden

Age (2009); the gala reopening ofthe Nineteenth-century French Galleries

(2011); and music by Arthur Sullivan and other nineteenth-century British

composers in honor of Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848-igoo

(2013). Members ofthe Vocal Ensemble performing in tonight’s concert are

Rosa Lamoreaux, Rebecca Kellerman-Petretta, Barbara Hollinshead, Roger 

Isaacs, Matthew Smith, Matthew Heil, William Sharp, and Steven Combs,

with Maribeth Gowen, pianist.

4

Program Notes

The exhibition Degas/Cassatt focuses on the mutual admiration between

Frenchman Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and American Mary Cassatt (1844-

1926) as well as the similarity in their styles. Born into an affluent family in

Western Pennsylvania, Cassatt’s first trip to Europe was in 1855, when she

was eleven years old. After spending five years living abroad and visiting

most ofthe important European capital cities, the family returned to the

United States, where Cassatt took up art classes at the Pennsylvania Academy 

of Fine Arts. Despite protestations by her father against her pursuing a career

as a professional artist, she returned to Paris in 1866 with her mother. Her

first work, A Mandoline Player, was accepted for the Paris Salon in 1868. Two

years later she returned to the United States, as the Franco-Prussian War was

looming, but returned to Europe as soon as it ended. In 1873, she decided to 

make Paris her home. She met a kindred spirit in Edgar Degas, who invited her

to join the group ofpainters who had recently been dubbed the Impressionists.

The Impressionist movement came later in music than in art—the last

exhibition at which the term was used occurred in 1886, and the first “Impressionist” composer, Claude Debussy, did not emerge until the mid-i890s.

However, during the time that Cassatt and Degas were actively participating

in this movement, composers were as much influenced by symbolist poetry

and the philosophy behind it as were artists. For the latter group, salon music

and the theater were integral to their daily life. In fact, part ofthe innovation

they introduced was to take the study of art outside the traditional academic

setting and into the world around them, whether in nature, cityscapes, or the

theater. Degas was drawn to the ballet, which was not only a genre in itself,

but also an integral part of every opera production in Paris at the time. Montmartre, where both Degas and Cassatt lived, was a stomping ground for all

varieties of artists, musicians, and dancers, and many close relationships and

collaborations were formed among the creative residents ofthat neighborhood.

Program notes by Danielle DeSwert Hahn, music program specialist,

National Gallery ofArt

5
Upcoming Concerts at the National Gallery ofArt

Carmina

Music for vocal chamber ensemble

by Renaissance composers

June 12, 2014

Thursday, 12:10 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Caceres/Ramos Santana Duo

“Puerto Rico in 176 Keys”

Music for two pianos four hands

by Puerto Rican composers

June 15, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Cathedra

Music for a cappella choir by Howells

and other composers

June 19, 2014

Thursday, 12:10 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Philippe Entremont

Music by Beethoven, Chopin, and Mozart

June 22, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

National Gallery ofArt

Chamber Players

Music by J. S. Bach, Dittersdorf, 

and Mozart

Made possible by support from the Gottesman Fund 

in memory of Milton M. Gottesman

June 29, 2014

Sunday, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

SONGS OF GABRIEL FAURE

Pavane

C'est Lindor! c'est Tircis!

Et c’est tous nos vainqueurs!

C’est Myrtil! c’est Lyde!

Les reines de nos coeurs.

Comme ils sont provocants!

Comme ils sont tiers toujours!

Comme on ose regner

Sur nos sorts et nos jours!

Faites attention! Observez la mesure!

0 la mortelle injure!

La cadence est moins lente,

Et la chute plus sure.

Nous rabattrons bien leur caquets!

Nous serons bientot leurs laquais!

Qu’ils sont laids! Chers minois!

Qu’ils sont fols! Airs coquets!

Et c’est toujours de meme,

Et c’est ainsi toujours!

On s’adore! On se hait!

On maudit ses amours!

Adieu Myrtille, Egle, Chloe,

Demons moqueurs!

Adieu done et bons jours

Aux tyrans de nos coeurs!

Et bons jours!

Poeme de Robert de Montesquiou

Puis qu’ici-bas toute ame

Puis qu’ici-bas toute ame donne a quelqu’un

Sa musique, sa flamme, ou son parfum;

Puis qu’ici toute chose donne toujours

Son epine ou sa rose a ses amours;

Puis qu’Avril donne aux chenes 

Un bruit charmant;

Que la nuit donne aux peines l’oubli dormant.

Puisque lorsqu’elle arrive, s’y reposer,

L’onde amere a la rive donne un baiser;

]e te donne a cette heure, penche sur toi

La chose la meilleure que j’ai en moi.

Re^ois done ma pensee, triste d’ailleurs,

Qui comme une rosee t’arrive en pleurs!

Re^ois mes voeux sans nombre, 6 mes amours! 

Re^ois la flamme ou l’ombre de tous mes jours!

Mes transports pleins d’ivresses, pur de soupgons,

Et toutes les caresses de mes chansons!

Mon esprit qui sans voile vogue au hasard,

Et qui n’a pour etoile que ton regard!

Re^ois, mon bien celeste, 6 ma beaute,

Mon coeur dont rien ne reste, l’amour ote!

Poeme de Victor Hugo

Pavane

Here is Lindor! here is Tircis!

And here are all our conquerors!

Here is Myrtille! Here is Lyde!

The rulers of our hearts.

How provocative they are!

And always so haughty!

How they presume to rule 

Over our fortunes and our lives!

Take care! Mind the beat!

0 the brutal insult!

The tempo is less relaxed,

And a stumble more sure.

We will silence them for good!

Soon, we will be their minions!

How unsightly they are! Dear, sweet faces!

What fools they are! Flirtatious looks!

And it is always the same,

And it will always be so !

They adore each other ! They despise each other

They curse their lovers !

Goodbye Myrtille, Egle, Chloe,

Sneering devils

So goodbye and good day

To the rulers of our hearts!

And good day!

Since Here on Earth

Since here on earth every soul gives to another

Its songs, its fervor, or its fragrance.

Since here on earth each being always bestows

Its thorn, or its rose on the one it loves ;

Just as April endows the oak trees with

Alluring sound;

As night gives to pain the oblivion ofsleep.

At the moment it arrives to rest on the shore,

A wave, leaves a kiss ;

I give to you, at this hour, bending toward you

The best of all that is in me.

Receive therefore, my thoughts, though sad 

Which like the dew, upon you, fall as tears .

Receive my desires uncountable, o, my loves !

Receive the light and the shadow of all my days !

My passions, full of ecstasy, free of distrust,

And all the caresses of my songs !

My spirit, without a sail, drifts at random

Guided only by its star, the sight of you !

Receive, my celestial one, my beautiful one,

My heart, where nothing remains if love is gone!
Lydia

Lydia, sur tes roses joues 

Et sur ton col frais et si blanc,

Roule etincelant

L'or fluide que tu denoues;

Le jour qui luit est le meilleur,

Oublions l'eternelle tombe.

Laisse tes baisers de colombe

Chanter sur ta levre en fleur.

Un lys cache repand sans cesse

Une odeur divine en ton sein;

Les delices comme un essaim 

Sortent de toi, jeune deesse.

Je t'aime et meurs, 6 mes amours.

Mon ame en baisers m'est ravie!

0 Lydia, rends-moi la vie,

Que je puisse mourir toujours!

Poeme de Charles-Marie-Rene Leconte de Lisle

Pleurs d'Or

Larmes aux fleurs suspendues,

Larmes aux sources perdues

Aux mousses des rochers creux.

Larmes d'Automne epandues.

Larmes de cor entendues

Dans les grands bois douloureux.

Larmes des cloches latines,

Carmelite, Feuillantines...

Voix des beffrois en ferveur;

Larmes des nuits etoilees,

Larmes des flutes voilees

Au bleu du pare endormi;

Larmes aux grandes cils perlees,

Larmes d'amantes coulees 

Jusqu'a Fame de l'ami;

Larmes d'extase, eplorement delicieux,

Tombez des nuits, tombez des fleurs,

Tombez des yeux!

Poeme d’Albert Victor Samain

La Tarentelle

Aux cieux la lune monte et luit.

11 fait grand jour en plein minuit.

“Viens avec moi," me disait-elle,

"Viens sur le sable gresillant

Ou saute et brille en fretillant la tarentelle!"

Sus! sus! les danseurs! En voici deux;

Foule sur l'eau, foule autour d'eux!

L'homme est bien fait, la fille est belle;

Mais gare a vous! Sans y penser,

C'est jeu d'amour que de danser la tarentelle!

Doux est le bruit du tambourin!

"Si j'etais fille de marin

Et toi pecheur," me disait-elle,

"Toutes les nuits joyeusement

Nous danserions en nous aimant la tarentelle!"

Poeme de Marc Monnie

Lydia

Lydia, on your pink cheeks,

And upon your neck, cool and so white, 

Cascades down, glittering,

The flowing gold that you untie.

The day that is shining is the best,

Let us forget about the eternal tomb. 

Let your dove-like kisses

Sing upon your flowering lip.

A hidden lily unceasingly spreads

A divine scent in your bosom.

Delights, in abundance,

Radiate from you, young goddess.

1 love you and die, o my love !

My soul in kisses delights me!

0 Lydia, restore my life to me,

That I may die forevermore !

Tears of Gold

Tears suspended from flowers,

Tears washed by springs

Into rocky hollows;

Tears of autumn flowing,

Tears ofthe hunting horn, heard

In the great mournful woods;

Tears of convent bells,

Carmelites, Feuillantines...

Voices of belfries in fervor;

Tears ofstar-filled nights,

Tears of muffled flutes

In the blue color of a park asleep;

Teardrops pearling on long eyelashes, 

Lovers' tears streaming

Toward the loved one's soul;

Tears of ecstasy, sweet tears;

Fall in the nighttime, fall from the flowers,

Fall from my eyes!

The Tarantella

The moon rises and glows in the sky.

It conjures bright day at midnight.

"Come with me", she said

"Come on to the sizzling sand

Where leaps and blazes and wriggles, the tarantella!"

Come on you dancers! Now there are two;

Crowds on the water, crowds around them both,

The man is strong, the girl is lovely;

But watch yourselves! Heedless....

This is a game of love, this dance, the tarantella!

Sweet is the sound ofthe tambourine!

"If I were a seafarer’s daughter

And you were a fisherman", she said,

All the nights would be joyful,

We would dance in our loving, the tarantella!"
Soir

Voici que les jardins de la nuit vont fleurir.

Les lignes, les couleurs,

Les sons deviennent vagues;

Vois! le dernier rayon agonise,

A tes bagues

Ma soeur, n'entends-tu pas quelque chose mourir?

Mets sur mon front tes mains fratches 

Comme une eau pure,

Mets sur mes yeux tes mains douces 

Comme des fleurs,

Et que mon ame ou vit

Le gout secret des pleurs

Soit comme un lys fidele et pale a ta ceinture!

C'est la pitie qui pose ainsi son doigt sur nous,

Et tout ce que la terre a de soupirs qui montent,

11 semble, qu’a mon cceur enivre, le racontent

Tes yeux leves au ciel, si tristes et si doux!

Poeme d'Albert Victor Samain

Madrigal

Inhumaines qui, sans merci 

Vous raillez de notre souci

Aimez quand on vous aime.

Ingrats, qui ne vous doutez-pas

Des reves eclos sur vos pas 

Aimez quand on vous aime.

Sachez, 6 cruelles Beautes

Que les jours d'aimer sont comptes.

Sachez, Amoureux inconstants,

Que le bien d'aimer n'a qu'un temps!

Aimez quand on vous aime.

Un meme destin nous poursuit

Et notre folie est la meme 

C’est celle d'aimer qui nous fuit;

C'est celle de fuir qui nous aime.

Poeme d'Armand Silvestre

SONGS OF REYNALDO HAHN

Vivons, mignarde

Vivons, mignarde, vivons et suivons 

Les ebats qu'Amour nous donne

Sans que des vieux rechignes renfrognes,

Le sot babil nous etonne.

Les jours qui viennent et vont se refont

Le soleil mort se releve;,

mais une trop longue nuit

Las! Nous suit apres une clarte breve!

Tandis que nous la voyons,

Employons ce beau vivre, 6 ma Meline,

£a done, mignonne, viens-t'en et me tends

Ta bouchette coraline!

Poeme de Jean-Antoine de Balf

Evening

See how the gardens of the night bloom.

The outlines, colors,

And sounds become vague;

Look, the last glimmering ray dies on the rings 

On your fingers,

My sister, don’t you hear something expire? 

Put your cool hands on my face

Like pure water,

Put your soft hands on my eyes,

Like blossoms,

And let my soul, which harbors

A secret relish for tears,

Be like a faithful lily at your waist!

It is pity’s finger that touches us thus,

And all the sighs rising from earth

It seems, to my intoxicated soul, are told by

Your eyes raised to heaven, so sad and sweet!

Madrigal

Heartless women, without pity,

You scoff at our attentions.

Love the one who loves you!

Thankless men, you only discredit

The hopes which blossom at your feet.

Love the one who loves you!

Be aware, 0 merciless beauties,

That the time for loving is short.

Be aware, fickle swains

That love's favor is given only once!

Love the one who loves you!

A similar fate waits for us all.

And our foolishness is the same:

We flee from the one who loves us;

We love the one who flees from us.

Let us go, dear one

Let us go, dear one, let's leave and follow

The frolics that love gives to us

Without the old folks, grumpy and fussing,

Or the idiot's babbling disturbing us.

Days come and go, and remake themselves

As the dead sun rises again.

But the night, so long,

Alas! follows after the short day!

While we can see it,

Let's use this beautiful way of life, 0 Meline,

For then, sweetest, you will come and offer to me

Your little coral-pink mouth!
A Phidyle

Offre un encens modeste aux Lares familiers,

Phidyle, fruits recents, bandelettes fleuries,

Et tu verras ployer tes riches espaliers

Sous le poids des grappes muries.

Laisse aux pentes d'Algide, au vert pays Albain,

La brebis qui promet une toison prochaine

Paitre cytise et thym sous l'yeuse et le chene.

Ne rougis pas ta blanche main.

Unis au romarin le myrte pour tes Lares.

Offerts d'une main pure aux angles de l'autel.,

Souvent, 6 Phidyle, mieux que des dons plus rares,

Les dieux aiment l'orge et le sel.

Poeme de Charles-Marie-Rene Leconte de Lisle

Gardez le trait de la fenetre

Gardez le trait de la fenetre

Amants, qui par rues passez:

Car plus tot en serez blesses

Que de trait d'arc ou d’arbaletre.

N’allez a destre ne a senestre

Regardant; mais les yeux baisses:

Gardez le trait de la fenetre

Amants, qui par rues passez:

Si n’avez medicin bon maitre

Sitot que vous serez navres,

A Dieu soyez recommandes.

Mort vous tient; demandez le pretre:

Gardez le trait de la fenetre.

Poeme de Charles, Due d’Orleans

Trois Jours de Vendange

Je l’ai rencontree un jour de vendange.

La jupe troussee et le pied mignon,

Point de guimpe jaune et point de chignon,

L’air d'une bacchante et les yeux d’un ange.

Suspendue au bras d'un doux compagnon,

Je l'ai rencontree aux champs d'Avignon,

Un jour de vendange.

Je l’ai rencontree un jour de vendange,

La plaine etait morne et le ciel brulant.

Elle marchait seule et d’un pas tremblant,

Son regard brillait d’une flamme etrange...

Je frissonne encore en me rappelant

Comme je te vis, cher fantome blanc,

Un jour de vendange.

Je l'ai rencontree un jour de vendange,

Et j'en reve encore presque tous les jours:

Le cercueil etait couvert en velours,

Le drap noir portait une double frange.

Les soeurs d'Avignon pleuraient tout autour.

La vigne avait trop de raisin...

L'Amour avait fait la vendange.

Poeme d'Alphonse Daudet

To Phidyle

Present a bit ofincense to the household gods,

Phidyle, new fruits, flowery garlands,

And you will see your abundant trellises

Bow with the heaviness of mellow clusters.

Allow on the slopes of Algide, and green pastures of Alba,

The ewe, full fleeced, to graze,

On laburnum, and thyme under the holly and oak.

Do not stain your chaste hand with blood.

Make rosemary and myrtle oblations to your gods,

Offer with a pure hand on the corners ofthe altar,

Often, 0 Phidyle, more than rare gifts,

The gods prefer barley and salt.

Beware the arrow from the window

Beware the arrow from the window,

The lovers passing by on the street:

For much sooner they will wound you

Than by a shaft from a bow or crossbow.

Do not walk looking to right or left,

But keep your eyes lowered:

Beware the arrow from the window,

The lovers passing by on the street.

If, you do not have a good doctor,

As soon as you are wounded,

Commit yourselfto God.

Death will seize you; ask for a priest:

Beware the arrow from the window.

Three Days of Grape Harvesting

I met her on a grape-harvesting day.

Skirt hitched up, delicate feet,

No yellow chemisette and no hair-knot,

The air of a reveler and the eyes of an angel,

Arm-in-arm with a pleasant companion.

1 met her in the meadows of Avignon,

On a grape-harvesting day.

1 met her on a grape-harvesting day,

The field was dismal and the sky aglow.

She walked alone and with a trembling step,

A strange light shone from her face.

I shiver again as I recall

How you appeared, dear pale phantom,

On a grape-harvesting day.

1 met her on a grape-harvesting day,

And I dream about it nearly every day:

The casket was covered in velvet,

The black pall had a double fringe.

The sisters of Avignon surrounded it, weeping. 

The vineyard had too many grapes.

Love had made its harvest.
Les fourriers d'Ete

Les fourriers d'Ete sont venus 

Pour appareiller son logis

Et ont fait tendre ses tapis

De fleurs et verdure tissus!

En etendant tapis velus

Et vert d'herbe par le pays.

Coeurs d'ennui pie^a morfondus

Dieu merci, sont sains et jolis!

Allez vous-en, prenez pays, Hiver,

Vous ne demeurez plus!

Poeme de Charles, Due d'Orleans

La Nuit

Nous benissons la douce Nuit

Dont le frais baiser nous delivre;

Sous ses voiles on se sent vivre

Sans inquietude sans bruit.

Le souci devorant s’enfuit,

Le parfum de Pair nous enivre,

Nous benissons la douce nuit

Dont le frais baiser nous delivre!

Pale songeur qu’un Dieu poursuit,

Repose-toi, ferme ton livre.

Dans les cieux, blancs comme du givre,

Un flot d'astres frissonne et luit!

Nous benissons la douce nuit!

Poeme de Theodore de Banville

Le Jour

Tout est ravi quand vient le Jour

Dans les cieux flamboyants d’aurore.

Sur la terre en fleur qu’il decore

La joie immense est de retour.

Les feuillages au pur contour

Ont un bruissement sonore;

Tout est ravi quand vient le Jour

Dans les cieux flamboyants d’aurore.

La chaumiere comme la tour

Dans la lumiere se colore,

L'eau murmure, la fleur adore,

Les oiseaux chantent, fous d’amour.

Tout est ravi quand vient le Jour.

Poeme de Theodore de Banville

INTERMISSION

PRIERE D’ENFANTS

Le souverain maitre en nous donnant l’etre

Par son seul pouvoir, de son doigt de flamme

Grava dans notre ame la loi du devoir.

Lorsque Dieu lui-meme ordonne qu’on l’aime 

Resisterons-nous? La reconnaissance

Doit a sa puissance un tribut si doux.

Heureux que nous sommes, 

il veut que les hommes

N'aient qu’un meme cceur, qu’une amitie sainte, 

D’une douce etreinte, attache au bonheur.

Amour! Amour et puissance! Amour, confiance

Envers le prochain, de la loi divine

Telle est l’origine, au Ciel est la fin.

Poeme de Ferdinand Braun

The harbingers ofsummer

The harbingers ofsummer have come

To decorate summer's house

And put down a soft carpet

Of flowers and green fibers,

Spreading velvety rugs

Of green grass throughout the countryside.

Hearts, once dark and sad,

Thank God, are now hale and hearty!

Go, take yourself away, Winter!

Do not stay any longer!

The Night

We bless the gentle night,

Whose cool kiss sets us free,

Under its veil one feels free to live

Without worries and without disturbance.

Exhausting care takes flight,

The perfumed air intoxicates us;

We bless the gentle night,

Whose cool kiss sets us free!

Pale dreamer whom a god pursues,

Take your rest, close your book 

In the sky, white as frost,

A stream ofstars, shimmer and glow.

We bless the gentle night!

The Day

Everything is delighted when day comes

In the blazing skies of dawn.

On the earth in flower, which it graces,

Immense joy returns.

The foliage, in clear contour,

Rustles noisily;

Everything is delighted when day comes

In the blazing skies of dawn.

The cottage and castle alike

In the light are suffused,

The waters murmur, the flowers adore, 

The birds sing, crazy with love.

Everything is delighted when day comes!

CHILDREN'S PRAYER

The sovereign master, in giving us life

Through his sole power, with his finger of flame,

Has engraved on our souls, the law of duty.

When God himself ordains that we love him,

Shall we resist? Gratitude owes

To his power a tribute justly sweet.

Happy as we are,

He wishes mankind

To have but one heart, with holy fellowship,

In a gentle embrace, linked with happiness.

Love and power! Benevolence, good faith

Toward our fellow humans. Such is the principle

Of divine law. in Heaven is its fulfillment.
L'ENFANT PRODIGUE THE PRODIGAL SON

Atsunrise, Lia listens to joyfulsinging in the distance

LIA

L’annee en vain chasse l’annee!

A chaque saison ramenee,

Leurs jeux et leurs ebats m’attristent malgre moi:

Ils rouvrent ma blessure et mon chagrin s'accroit...

Douleur involontaire! Efforts superflus!

Lia pleure toujours l'enfant qu’elle n’a plus!

Azael! Azael! Pourquoi m’as-tu quittee?

Cependant les soirs etaient doux,

Dans la plaine d’ormes plantee,

Quand, sous la charge recoltee,

On ramenait les grands boeufs roux.

Lorsque la tache etait finie,

Enfants, vieillards et serviteurs,

Ouvriers des champs ou pasteurs,

Louaient de Dieu la main benie.

Ainsi les jours suivaient les jours

Et dans la pieuse famille,

Le jeune homme et la jeune fille

Echangeaient leurs chastes amours.

D’autres ne sentent pas le poids de la vieillesse;

Heureux dans leurs enfants,

11s voient couler les ans,

Sans regret comme sans tristesse...

Aux coeurs inconsoles 

que les temps sont pesants!

Azael! Azael! Pourquoi m’as-tu quittee?

SIMEON

Eh bien! encore des pleurs?

Encore seule restee en ces lieux?

Ils accourent l'ivresse et l'amour dans les yeux.

Leurs coeurs sont pleins de joie...

Femme, plus de sanglots! II ne faut pas qu'on voie

Un seul visage triste, un seul front soucieux.

AZAEL

Ces airs joyeux, ces chants de fete,

Que le vent du matin m'apporte par instants.

Ici, sous les rameaux flottants,

Je les suivais dans leur gaiete si tendre:

Ils echangeaient des mots pleins de douceur...

C'etait mon frere!... Et puis ma sceur!...

Je retenais mon souffle, afin de les entendre...

Ils sont heureux!...

LIA

Year follows year in vain!

As each season reappears,

Their revels and gaiety depress me;

They reopen my wound and deepen my grieving.

Unwelcome sorrow! Meaningless endeavors!

Lia weeps forever for the child she has no more!

Azael! Why have you left me?

The evenings were happy

On the Elm-tree plains,

When, amidst the harvest’s load,

We drove the big red oxen back home.

When the work was done,

Children, the elders, and servants,

Field hands, sheep-herders,

Praised God for his beneficent hand.

And so the days followed each other.

And in a devout family,

The youth and the maiden 

Exchanged vows of chaste love.

Others do not feel the weight of old age,

Happiness in their children,

They watch the years pass by,

Without regret as without sadness...

In disconsolate hearts,

How oppressive is time!

Azael! Why have you left me!

SIMEON

Well now, more tears?

Staying here by yourself again?

They come running with rapture and love in their eyes...

Their hearts are full ofjoy...

Woman, that’s better than sobs! One must not see

A single sad face, a single troubled brow.

AZAEL

These joyful tunes, these festive songs,

The morning wind brings to me at times.

Here, under the waving branches,

I have followed them in their tender gaiety,

They exchange words full ofsweetness...

It is my brother! And then, my sister!

I held my breath, in order to hear them.

They are happy!
0 temps a jamais efface,;

Ou comme eux j'avais fame pure

Ou cette sereine nature fortifiait mon corps lasse;

Ou pres d’une mere, ravie 

De presser mon front sur son coeur,

Je ne connaissais de la vie

Que l’innocence et le bonheur!

Ah! par quelle amere folie

Mon ame surprise, assaillie,

M’a-t-elle done contraint a fuir ces lieu?

0 temps a jamais efface

Ou comme eux j’avais Fame pure;

Ou pres d'une mere, ravie 

De presser mon front sur son coeur,

Je ne connaissais de la vie

Que l'innocence et le bonheur!

LIA

Je m'enfuis... de mes pleurs. je ne suis plus maitresse

Ah ! que la joie est triste aux coeurs malheureux!

Que vois-je? Un pauvre voyageur

Par la fatigue ou la misere,

Peut-etre il se desespere...

Mon fils?... Inanime?... cette paleur de mort?...

Non! Non! e'est impossible!

Seigneur, ton bras terrible

Ne me l’a pas rendu pour le reprendre encore?

Rouvre les yeux a la lumiere,

0 mon fils adore!

Reconnais ma voix, entends ma priere... Azael!

AZAEL

Dans mon sein un rayon est entre:

Un voile moins epais obscurcit ma paupiere.

Qui m’appelle ?

LIA

C'estmoi! Tamere!

AZAEL

Ma mere! Tu me pardonnes?

LIA

Ah! leve ton front pali.

Qu’a jamais le passe demeure enseveli.

AZAEL

Heures fortunees! Apres des annees,

Tremblant et confus, je songe au retour:

Et plein d'allegresse, ton coeur qui me presse

Ainsi qu’autrefois me rend son amour!

LIA

Heures fortunees! Apres des annees,

Dans le desespoir, j'attends ton retour:

Et plein d’allegresse, mon coeur qui te presse

Ainsi qu'autrefois te rend son amour!

AZAEL

Du cote du village, j'entends la-bas,

Avec ces voix, un bruit de pas? Je tremble!

LIA

C'est ton pere!... il vient vers ce rivage

Entoure des siens.

C'est Azael, le fils de votre maitre;

Mourant de faim, sanglant et nu...

Azael! notre fils...

0, the time, forever lost,

When, like them, I had a pure soul;

When that serene nature strengthened my weary body;

When, close to my mother, delighted 

To press my forehead to her heart,

1 knew only a life

That was innocent and happy!

Ah, what bitter madness,

Startling and assailing my soul,

Thus compelled me to flee this place?

0, the time, forever lost,

When, like them, I had a pure soul;

When, close to my mother, delighted 

To press my brow to her heart,

I knew only a life

That was innocent and happy!

LIA

I am fleeing, I am no longer mistress of my weeping.

Ah! how sad is joy for unhappy hearts!

What do I see? A poor traveler

Exhausted or destitute,

Perhaps he is in despair...

My son? Dead? Is this death’s pallor?

No! No! It is impossible!

Lord, has your terrible arm

Returned him to me, only to take him away again?

Open your eyes to the light,

Oh my beloved son!

Recognize my voice, hear my prayer, Azael!

AZAEL

A ray of light has entered my bosom:

A veil less thick obscures my eyelid.

Who calls me?

LIA

It is I, your mother!

AZAEL

My mother! You forgive me?

LIA

Ah, lift your pale brow,

The past is forever buried.

AZAEL

Joyous hours! After the years

Of trembling and confusion, I dream of returning;

And full of elation, your heart next to mine

As in past times, restores its love to me.

LIA

Joyous hours! After the years

In despair, 1 waited for your return;

And full of elation, your heart next to mine 

As in past times, restores its love to me.

AZAEL

Near the village, I hear over there

Those voices, a noise ofsteps, I tremble.

LIA

It is your father! He comes toward the shore

Surrounded by his own.

Here is Azael, the son of your master,

Dying of hunger, bloody and naked...

Azael, your son....
SIMEON

Mon fils est revenu?

LIA

11 attend son arret, courbe dans la poussiere...

Sa priere monte humblement vers toi...

SIMEON

Que dois-je faire? Seigneur, inspire-moi!

LIA

Ne garde pas un front severe

A qui t’implore a deux genoux...

Pardonne au fils! Songe a la mere..

Le bonheur revient parmi nous!

SIMEON

Faites silence! Ecouteztous!

Allez par les champs, allez sur la place;

Frappez la cymbale et le tambourin!

Dites en mon nom a celui qui passe:

Plus de vains soucis, plus de noir chagrin,

Que tout soit en joie!

Le ciel nous envoie un bienfait a peine reve!

Celui que sans cesse pleurait ma vieillesse,

L'enfant prodigue est retrouve!

Remplissez l’amphore, tuez le veau gras!

Puisque avant de mourir je te revois encore,

Viens, mon fils, dans mes bras!

AZAEL

Mon coeur renait a l’esperance,

Au devoir, a la foi comme aux jours d’innocence...

Pere, soyez beni!

SIMEON

C'est le Ciel, mon enfant,

Qui t’absout par ma bouche,

Et puisque son pardon te touche.

Celebrons tous son amour infini!

Enfin Jehova nous rassemble:

A genoux, chantons ensemble,

Chantons l’Eternel!

LIA et AZAEL

Chantons l'Eternel!

SIMEON, LIA et AZAEL

Chantons le Dieu d’lsrael!

ENSEMBLE

Gloire a toi, Seigneur!

La nature te doit sa riante parure:

Les grands monts, la fraiche verdure

Dont leur sommet est revetu;

Les plaines, leur moisson doree;

Les forets, la source nacree;

Les fleurs, leur couleur diapree;

Et le coeur te doit la vertu!

Gloire a toi, Seigneur!

La nature te doit sa riante parure:

Les grands monts, la fraiche verdure

Dont leur sommet est revetu;

Gloire a toi, Seigneur!

Chantons l’Eternel!

SIMEON

My son has returned?

LIA

He awaits his judgment, kneeling in the dust...

His plea rises humbly to you...

SIMEON

What should I do? Lord, inspire me!

LIA

Do not show an angry brow

To him who is imploring you on his knees.

Pardon your son! Imagine his mother,

joy has returned to us!

SIMEON

Be quiet! Listen everyone!

Go to the fields, go to the town square,

Strike the cymbal and the tambourine!

In my name, tell everyone what has happened:

No more worrying in vain, no more dark sorrow,

For all must be joyful!

Heaven has sent us a blessing barely dreamed of!

For the one I lamented ceaselessly in my old age,

The prodigal child, is now found!

Fill the amphora, kill the fatted calf!

Since, before I die, 1 see you again,

Come, my son, into my arms!

AZAEL

My heart is revived with hope,

With duty, with faith, as in days of innocence.

Father, blessings on you!

SIMEON

It is Heaven, my son,

Which absolves you through my mouth,

And with its pardon, touches you,

Let us rejoice in its infinite love!

At last Jehovah reunites us:

On our knees, let us sing together

Sing to the Eternal!

LIA and AZAEL

Sing to the Eternal!

SIMEON, LIA and AZAEL

Sing to the God of Israel!

ENSEMBLE

Glory to you, 0 Lord!

Nature owes you its cheerful finery:

The tall mountains, the fresh greenery,

With which their summits are dressed.

The plains, their golden harvest;

The forests, pearly spring;

The flowers, their color variegated;

And the heart which owes you its virtue.

Glory to you, 0 Lord!

Nature owes you its cheerful finery:

The tall mountains, the fresh greenery,

With which their summits are dressed.

Glory to you, 0 Lord!

Sing to the Eternal!
SERENADE D'HIVER

Nous venons pour chanter, Madame,

La Serenade en votre honneur:

Puissions-nous avoir le bonheur

Que la chanson plaise a votre ame.

Toutes les portes nous sont closes,

Que fame du moins s'ouvre a nous,

Qui ne demandons a genoux

Qu'un sourire a vos levres roses.

II vente, il fait froid, mais qu'importe

Si votre visage vermeil 

Nous jette un rayon de soleil

Qui nous rechauffe a votre porte.

Du printemps la lumiere aimante

Rit chez vous en toute saison,

Et, Madame, en votre maison 

Tous les jours le rossignol chante. Ah!

Maintenant voulez-vous connaitre

Qui sont ces gens masques de noir

Vous venant dire le bonsoir

Et chanter sous votre fenetre?

Daignez apprendre qui nous sommes:

Nos yeux sont caches sous des loups,

C'est pour mieux rire des jaloux.

Mais nous sommes des gentils hommes, 

Pleins d'honneur et de courtoisie,

Gardant deux amours en nos cceurs,

Les Dames et la poesie. La, la, la...!

Poeme d'Henri Cazalis

LES CEILLETS INCARNADINS

Les oeillets incarnadins des jardins

Et les pales azalees,

La jacinthe et le lys d'or,

Ce tresor des fleurissantes vallees,

La pervenche et les Idas

N’avaient pas charme mon regard morose;

Jardins! Senders des forets! Vallons frais!

11 vous manquait une rose.

Sous le fremissant abri

De ses jeunes feuilles la rose a fleuri

Pour que tu la cueilles.

Les escarboucles d'Ophir,

Le saphir, l'amethyste purpurine,

Les rubis au feu subtil, le beryl,

L’agathe et l’aventurine,

Les diamants sideraux,

Les coraux de Pile ou la mer deferle,

Ornaient en vain par milliers mes colliers...

II y manquait une perle.

Mele aux joyaux precieux 

La perle riante

Au jour de tes yeux elle s'oriente.

L’adorable Amour nous unit

Par un mysterieux prodige!

Comme les deux fleurs d’une tige,

Comme les deux oiseaux d’un nid.

WINTER SERENADE

We come to sing, Madame

A serenade in your honor;

It will make us glad

To have the song please your soul.

All the doors are shut,

May your soul at least, open itselfto us,

Who on bended knee, ask only

For a smile on your rosy lips.

It is windy and cold, but that does not matter

If your radiant face

Throws us a sunny ray

Warming us at your doorway.

Spring's affectionate light

Smiles on your home every season,

And Madame, within your home 

The nightingale sings everyday. Ah!

Now, would you like to know

Who are these black-masked people

Who come to say good evening to you,

And sing under your window?

Consent to learning who we are:

Our eyes are hidden behind masks 

To better our laughs at the envious.

But we are thoughtful men,

Full of honor and gallantry,

Carrying two passions in our hearts,

Women and poetry. La, la, la!

The CRIMSON CARNATIONS

The crimson carnations in the garden

And the pale azaleas,

The hyacinth and the golden lily,

That treasure ofthe flowering valleys,

The periwinkle and the lilacs

Haven’t brightened my gloomy appearance;

Gardens! Forest paths! Cool little valleys!

It is missing you, one rose.

Under the trembling shelter

Of its young leaves, a rose has blossomed

So that you may pick it.

The jewels of Ophir,

The sapphires, purple amethysts

Rubies ofsubtle fire, beryl,

The agate and aventurine,

Stunning diamonds,

The corals of isles where the sea surges, 

Adorn my necklaces by thousands....

It is missing one pearl.

Blend with your precious jewels 

The pleasing pearl,

On the day that your eyes are guided to her.

Adorable Cupid unites us

Through a wondrous mystery

Like two blossoms on one stem,

Like two birds in a nest.
Vers Cythere et Paphos et Cnide,

Et vers le bois Idalien,

Heureux enfants qu’unit un eternel lien,

Suivez le desir qui vous guide.

Allons! Allons! Les jeunes gens heureux, 

Les belles et les amoureux,

Pour la Cythere aux bois ombreux

Embarquez-vous sur la trireme.

Dans les parfums des lys eclos,

Dans les harmonieux sanglots 

De la brise errante et des flots,

C'est a Cythere que Ton aime!

Morceau D'ENSEMBLE

Ne jamais rien faire, du soir au matin,

Defaire et refaire un noeud de satin.

Telle est l’existence, pleine d’innocence, 

Que Ton mene ici. Que c'est gentil!

A notre toilette passer tout le temps,

Parer notre tete, des fleurs du printemps,

Sourire avec grace en baissant les yeux,

Mirer dans la glace nos cheveux soyeux.

Sur notre visage etendre le fard

Et du maquillage bien apprendre Part.

Choisir des dentelles, ou bien des bijoux.

Et pour etre belles lutter entre-nous.

Ne jamais rien faire, du soir au matin,

Defaire et refaire un noeud de satin.

Telle est l'existence, pleine d'innocence, 

Que Ton mene ici. Que c'est gentil!

Voyez done, voyez comme on rit,

Comme on danse.

C'est un eternel tra-la-la, tra-la-la.

Tous les jours, oui, tous les jours

£a recommence

Et tous les jours, oui, tous les jours

C’est comme fa.

£a vous picote dans les jambes,

Chacun dit la meme chanson.

Les plus vieilles deviennent ingambes 

Et tous dansent a l’unisson.

En avant! En avant joyeux quadrilles!

En avant! En avant joyeux elans!

Les bras autour des belle filles,

Et le bonnet a tous les vents

En avant! en avant! en avant! Ah!

Ne jamais rien faire, du soir au matin,

Defaire et refaire un noeud de satin.

Telle est l’existence, pleine d'innocence, 

Que Ton mene ici. Que c’est gentil!

Que c’est gentil! Que c’est gentil!

Towards Cythera and Paphos and Cnide,

And towards the woods of Idalia,

Happy children joined in an eternal bond,

Follow the desire which guides you.

Let’s go, Let’s go! Happy young people,

The beautiful girls and the lovers,

For the shady woods of Cythera

Embark on the galley ship.

In the perfume of blooming lilies,

In the harmonious sighs

Of the wandering breeze and the streams,

It's there, at Cythera, that one finds love!

ENSEMBLE PIECE

We do nothing from evening to morning,

But make and unmake a satin knot.

Such is the life, full of innocence.

That one leads here. How pleasant it is!

We spend all our time at our beauty routine,

Adorning our hair with spring flowers,

Smiling gracefully, lowering our eyes,

Gazing in the mirror at our silky hair.

Spreading cosmetics on our faces,

Having learned well the art of make-up;

Choosing laces or plenty ofjewels,

And bicker about being beautiful.

We do nothing from evening to morning, 

Except make and unmake a satin knot.

Such is the life, full of innocence.

That one leads here. How pleasant it is!

See how they laugh,

How they dance,

It's an eternal tra-la-la,

Everyday, yes, everyday,

It resumes.

And everyday, yes, everyday,

Is like that.

It makes one’s legs prickle;

Each one sings the same song.

The oldest ones become spry

And all dance together.

Onward with joyful dances!

Onward with happy shouts!

With arms around the beautiful girls,

And hats thrown to the winds!

Onward! Onward! Ah!

We do nothing from evening to morning,

But make and unmake a satin knot.

Such is the life, full of innocence.

That one leads here. How pleasant it is!

How pleasant it is! How pleasant it is!
HYMNE A BACCHUS

J’ai vu le Dieu Bacchus sur sa roche fertile,

Donnant a ses sujets ses joyeuses lemons,

Le Faune au pied de chevre et la nymphe docile, 

Repetaient ses chansons,

Evohe! Evohe! Evohe! Bacchus m’inspire,

Evohe! je sens en moi, Evohe! son saint delire,

Evohe! Bacchus est roi! Evohe! Bacchus est roi!

Evohe! oui, Bacchus est roi, Bacchus est roi!

Laissez leur disait-il les tristesses morose,

Laissez les noirs soucis aux profanes humains.

Et vous couronnez-vous

Des pampres et des roses

Qui tombent de mes mains.

Evohe! Evohe! Evohe! Bacchus m’inspire,

Evohe! je sens en moi, Evohe! son saint delire,

Evohe! Bacchus est roi! Evohe! Bacchus est roi!

Evohe! oui, Bacchus est roi, Bacchus est roi!

MENUET et GALOP INFERNAL

Maintenantje veux,

Moi, qui suis mince et fluet

Comme au temps du grand roi

Danser un menuet.

Menuet

Le Menuet n’est vraiment si charmant

Que lorsque jupin le danse.

Comme il tend d’un air coquet le jarret,

Comme il s'elance en cadence.

Le Menuet n’est vraiment si charmant

Que lorsque Jupin le danse.

Terpsichore dans ses pas n'a pas plus d'appas!

Le Menuet n’est vraiment si charmant

Que lorsque Jupin le danse.

Galop

Ce bal est original, d'un galop infernal!

Donnons tous le signal;

Vive le galop infernal!

Donnons le signal d’un galop infernal!

Amis, vive le bal!

Vive le bal!

HYMN TO BACCHUS

1 have seen the God Bacchus on his bountiful rock, 

Delivering to his subjects his jovial decrees,

The goat-footed Faun and the docile nymph

Repeated his songs.

Hail! Hail! Hail! Bacchus inspires me!

Hail! I feel in me, Hail! his delirious spirit,

Hail! Bacchus is king! Hail! Bacchus is king!

Hail! Yes, Bacchus is king, Bacchus is king!

Leave to others, he said, their morose gloom. 

Leave dark concerns to ignorant humans,

And crown yourself

With vine-branches and roses

That fall from my hands.

Hail! Hail! Hail! Bacchus inspires me!

Hail! I feel in me, Hail! his delirious spirit,

Hail! Bacchus is king! Hail! Bacchus is king!

Hail! Yes, Bacchus is king, Bacchus is king!

MINUET and INFERNAL GALOP

Now I wish,

I who am slender and svelte -

As in imperial times, to dance a minuet!

Minuet

The Minuet truly is most enchanting

When Jupiter dances it.

Since it extends the knee stylishly

As it glides in step,

The Minuet truly is most enchanting

When Jupiter dances it.

Terpsichore in his dancing has no more charm!

The Minuet truly is most enchanting

When Jupiter dances it.

Gallop

This dance is unique - an infernal gallop!

We set the pace for all;

Hurrah for the infernal gallop!

We set the pace for the infernal gallop!

Friends, cheers for the dance!

Long live the dance!