BENJAMIN BRITTEN: The Salley Gardens
Text by William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree
But I, being young and foolish, with her did not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
GABRIEL FAURÉ: Lydia
Text by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818–1894)
English translation by Richard Stokes
Lydia, sur tes roses joues,
Lydia, onto your rosy cheeks
Et sur ton col frais et si blanc,
And your neck so fresh and pale,
Roule étincelant
The liquid gold that you unbind
L’or fluide que tu dénoues.
Cascades glittering down.
Le jour qui luit est le meilleur:
The day that dawns is the best;
Oublions l’éternelle tombe.
Let us forget the eternal tomb.
Laisse tes baisers de colombe
Let your dove-like kisses
Chanter sur ta lèvre en fleur.
Sing on your flowering lips.
Un lys caché répand sans cesse
A hidden lily unceasingly sheds
Une odeur divine en ton sein:
A heavenly fragrance in your breast;
Les délices, comme un essaim,
Delights without number
Sortent de toi, jeune déesse!
Stream from you, young goddess!
Je t’aime et meurs, ô mes amours!
I love you and die, O my love!
Mon âme en baisers m’est ravie.
My soul is ravished by kisses.
Ô Lydia, rends-moi la vie,
O Lydia, give me back my life again,
Que je puisse mourir toujours!
That I may ever die
FAURÉ: Notre Amour
Text by Armand Silvestre (1837–1901)
English translation by Richard Stokes
Notre amour est chose légère,
Our love is light and gentle,
Comme les parfums que le vent
Like fragrance fetched by the breeze
Prend aux cimes de la fougère
From the tips of ferns
Pour qu’on les respire en rêvant.
For us to breathe while dreaming.
—Notre amour est chose légère.
—Our love is light and gentle.
Notre amour est chose charmante,
Our love is enchanting,
Comme les chansons du matin
Like morning songs,
Où nul regret ne se lamente,
Where no regret is voiced,
Où vibre un espoir incertain.
Quivering with uncertain hopes.
—Notre amour est chose charmante.
—Our love is enchanting.
Notre amour est chose sacrée,
Our love is sacred,
Comme le mystère des bois
Like woodland mysteries,
Où tressaille une âme ignorée,
Where an unknown soul throbs
Où les silences ont des voix.
And silences are eloquent.
—Notre amour est chose sacrée.
—Our love is sacred.
Notre amour est chose infinie,
Our love is infinite
Comme les chemins des couchants
Like sunset paths,
Où la mer, aux cieux réunie,
Where the sea, joined with the skies,
S’endort sous les soleils penchants.
Falls asleep beneath slanting suns.
Notre amour est chose éternelle,
Our love is eternal,
Comme tout ce qu’un Dieu vainqueur
Like all that a victorious God
A touché du feu de son aile,
Has brushed with his fiery wing,
Comme tout ce qui vient du cœur,
Like all that comes from the heart,
—Notre amour est chose éternelle.
—Our love is eternal.
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Ganymed
Text by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
English translation by Richard Wigmore
Wie im Morgenglanze
How your glow envelops me
Du rings mich anglühst,
in the morning radiance,
Frühling, Geliebter!
spring, my beloved!
Mit tausendfacher Liebeswonne
With love’s thousandfold joy
Sich an mein Herze drängt
the hallowed sensation
Deiner ewigen Wärme
of your eternal warmth
Heilig Gefühl,
floods my heart,
Unendliche Schöne!
infinite beauty!
Dass ich dich fassen möcht’
O that I might clasp you
In diesen Arm!
in my arms!
Ach, an deinem Busen
Ah, on your breast
Lieg’ ich und schmachte,
I lie languishing,
Und deine Blumen, dein Gras
and your flowers, your grass
Drängen sich an mein Herz.
press close to my heart.
Du kühlst den brennenden
You cool the burning
Durst meines Busens,
thirst within my breast,
Lieblicher Morgenwind!
sweet morning breeze!
Ruft drein die Nachtigall
As the nightingale calls
Liebend nach mir aus dem Nebeltal.
tenderly to me from the misty valley.
Ich komm’, ich komme!
I come, I come!
Ach wohin, wohin?
But whither? Ah, whither?
Hinauf! strebt’s hinauf!
Upwards! Strive upwards!
Es schweben die Wolken
The clouds drift
Abwärts, die Wolken
down, yielding
Neigen sich der sehnenden Liebe.
to yearning love,
Mir! Mir!
to me, to me!
In eurem Schosse
In your lap,
Aufwärts!
Upwards,
Umfangend umfangen!
embracing and embraced!
Aufwärts an deinen Busen,
Upwards to your bosom,
Allliebender Vater!
all-loving Father!
CLARA SCHUMANN: Liebeszauber
Text by Emanuel Geibel (1815–1884)
English translation by Bettina Reinke-Welsh
Die Liebe saß als Nachtigall
Love in the guise of a nightingale sat
Im Rosenbusch und sang;
In a rosebush and sang;
Es flog der wundersüße Schall
’Twas a wonderful sweet sound that soared
Den grünen Wald entlang.
All about the green forest.
Und wie er klang, da stieg im Kreis
And with its echoes rose all around
Aus tausend Kelchen Duft,
Perfume from a thousand blossoms,
Und alle Wipfel rauschten leis’,
And every treetop rustled quietly,
Und leiser ging die Luft;
And the air moved more gently;
Die Bäche schwiegen, die noch kaum
The brooks were silent, they that had only just
Geplätschert von den Höh’n,
Been splashing from the heights,
Die Rehlein standen wie im Traum
As in a dream stood the deer
Und lauschten dem Getön.
Heeding every sound.
Und hell und immer heller floß
And bright and ever brighter flowed
Der Sonne Glanz herein,
The splendour of the sun,
Um Blumen, Wald und Schlucht ergoß
Flowers, woods and ravines were bathed
Sich goldig roter Schein.
In a glow of golden red.
Ich aber zog den Weg entlang
I wended my way,
Und hörte auch den Schall.
Hearing the sounds as well.
Ach! was seit jener Stund’ ich sang,
Alas! The songs which I have since sung,
War nur sein Widerhall.
Have been but their echo.
WILLIAM BOLCOM: George
Text by Arnold Weinstein (b. 1940)
My friend George used to say
"Oh, call me Georgia, hon
Get yourselves a drink."
And sang the best soprano
In our part of town
In beads, brocade, and pins
He sang if you happened in
Through the door he never locked
And said, "Get yourselves a drink."
And sang out loud
’Til tears fell in the cognac
And in the chocolate milk and gin
And on the beads, brocade, and pins
When strangers happened through his open door
George said, "Stay, but you gotta keep quiet
While I sing, and then a minute after
And call me Georgia."
One fine day a stranger
In a suit of navy blue
Took George's life
With a knife
George had placed beside an apple pie he'd baked
And stabbed him in the middle
Of "Un bel dì vedremo"
Which he sang for this particular stranger
Who was in the United States Navy
The funeral was at the cocktail hour
We knew George would like it that way
Tears fell on the beads, brocade, and pins
In the coffin
Which was white
Because George was a virgin
Oh, call him Georgia, hon
Get yourself a drink
You can call me Georgia, hon
Get yourself a drink!
