Automne by Gabriel Fauré
Autumn, time of misty skies and heart-breaking horizons,
____ of rapid sunsets and pale dawns,
__________ I watch your melancholy days
_______________ flow past like a torrent.
My thoughts borne off on the wings of regret
_____ (as if our time could ever be relived!)
__________ dreamingly wander the enchanted slopes
__________ where my youth once used to smile.
In the bright sunlight of triumphant memory
_____ _____ I feel the scattered roses reblooming in bouquets;
__________ _____ and tears well up in my eyes, tears which my heart
______ at twenty had already forgotten!
__________ ~ Armand Silvestre (1837-1901) translated by Peter Low
I had never heard of that poet, but I like his work!
ReplyDeleteMore on Autumn
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl_e7UW-bz8
Silvestre's poetry is even better in its original French, SF!
ReplyDeleteBarbara Hendricks is a splendid, world-class soprano who never quite achieved the career she deserved. I knew her 40 years ago when she was a student at Juilliard.
It seemed obvious then that was destined to become The Next Leontyne Price but it never quite happened, even though Barbara has achieved international recognition and applause among the cognoscenti musicali.
Her accompanist on this recording is equally great, but as usual, he gets little or no credit for providing, the foundation, the setting and the mood for a beautiful performance that could not have occurred without him.
~ FT
There were any number of performances of Automne on YouTube I could have chosen, Ducky. I chose this, because the accompanying pictures are good, and I wanted to give Barbara Hendricks a well-deserved boost.
ReplyDelete~ FT
If you'd like to see this exquisitely beautiful singer and her equally beautiful accompanist in action, Google, Barbara Hendricks sings Nach und Traume by Schubert, and enjoy. The audience reaction tells you how much she is appreciated by those few who really know.
ReplyDelete~ FT
I love autumn...I've never looked at it with regret but maybe that's because we don't have severe winters here?
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the autumn leaves and the weather's cool...and, since my childhood, I have to admit we have had more and more autumn leaf colors as the years have gone by...kind of weird...but wonderful.
Ah, autumm... I welcome its return each year. My favorite season for as far back as I can remember. Always there remains much left to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteRational Nation USA
The pictures that go with the video re almost as beautiful as the music.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange and wonderful how the evocation of tragedy or broken heart become wonderful and uplifting when portrayed eloquently in great music by performers attuned to the meaning of the notes and the words they play and sing..
~ FT