MIDDLE EASTERN CHARACTERISTICS IN 19TH CENTURY FRENCH SONG:

BIZET, SAINT-SAËNS, FAURÉ, AND DELIBES




A Thesis Presented to
The Faculty of the Department of Music
Northeastern Illinois University









In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
In Vocal Pedagogy
















By Sasha Rashidee
May 2019










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ii
 ABSTRACT


This thesis explores musical and compositional characteristics used to emulate Middle
Eastern classical music and vocal styles in select French Romantic era voice
compositions and shows their pedagogic value in today’s voice studios. A popular
fascination in Europe during the mid to late 19th century, many French artists from all
disciplines sought to evoke visions of the Middle East in visual art, music, and poetry.
The research will examine musical characteristics presented in exotic themed mélodie
and operatic arias composed by George Bizet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Gabriel Fauré, and
Leo Delibes. It will also include introductory material on the composer Félicien David,
who was a pioneer in musical exoticism in early 19th century France. The techniques
discussed in this study were used to evoke Eastern sounds and moods to
predominantly Western audiences in 19th century France, and most commonly include
vocal ornamentation, chromaticism, ostinati, rhythmic devices, melismas, distinctive
intervals, and various musical modes. Introductory material discusses the widespread
early influences leading to the popularity of exotic trends in 19th century France
throughout many disciplines including literature, visual arts, and music. The material
displays the creative exchange between authors and composers during this time. The
following chapters will examine specific songs, their compositional characteristics and
the pedagogical value of this material for singers.

























iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS



My thanks to my thesis committee, Dr. Peter Chang, Kathy Cowan, my voice teacher
and advisor Dr. Robert Heitzinger, and my accompanist Dr. Kay Kim. I would also like to
thank my two Persian dads, my little sister Layla, Sonia, Papa, and my mom who would
have been 60 this year and always enjoyed hearing my performances.






































iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS


Abstract .............................................................................................................. iii

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. iv

Table of Contents ................................................................................................ v

List of Figures ...................................................................................................... vi

Chapter 1: Introduction: Romantic Exoticism in 19th Century France................... 1

1.1 Middle Eastern Compositional Characteristics ……………………… 2

1.2 Félicien David and Le désert………………………………………….. 4

Chapter 2: Bizet: Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe…………………………………………. 7


Chapter 3: Saint Saëns: Mélodies persanes…………………………………………..12

3.1 No. 1: La brise………..………………………………………………..….13

3.2 No. 4: Sabre en main………………………………………..……………17

3.3 No. 5: Au cimetière………………………………………………………..19

3.4 No. 6: Tourniement: songe d’opium ………………………………..… 22


Chapter 4: Fauré: Les roses d’Ispahan, Op 39 No 4………………………….…… 26

Chapter 5: Delibes: Oú va la jeune indoue (Lakmé)…………………………….…… 32

Chapter 6: Conclusion …………………………………………………………………. 42

6.1 Morghe Sahar (Morning Bird)..………………………………………… 43


6.2 Conclusion..……………………………………………………………… 44

Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 46

Appendix of Translations……………………………………………………………….. 49

v
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Open fifths, ornamentation, and augmented seconds in Arabian Nights…3

Figure 2: Call to Prayer from Félicien David’s 1844 oratorio Le désert………………5

Figure 3: Open fifth and augmented second intervals; Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe…8

Figure 4: Dynamic and expressive markings in Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe…………9

Figure 5: Extended chromatic final melisma in Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe.............. 10


Figure 6: Example of Dorian Mode in C................................................................... 14

Figure 7: Open fifth ostinato and text in La brise…………………….………………. 15

Figure 8: Melismatic pattern on ongles in La brise………………………………….…16

Figure 9: Grace note ornamentation in La brise …………………………………….. 16


Figure 10: Opening melisma in Sabre en main........................................................ 18

Figure 11: Articulation and text painting in Sabre en main……………………………19

Figure 12: Chromaticism in Au cimetière………….…………….…………………….. 20


Figure 13: Asymmetrical phrase length in Au cimetière……………………………….21

Figure 14: Final ascending and descending vocal phrase in Au cimetière………….22

Figure 15: Swirling sixteenth notes in Tournoiment……………………………………23

Figure 16: Augmented seconds in Tournoiment………………….………………..…. 24


Figure 17: Unresolved final note in vocal line of Tournoiment…………………….… 25

Figure 18: Cross rhythms in Les roses d’Ispahan……………………….…..……….. 28

Figure 19: Chromaticism and accidentals (E-sharps) in Les roses d’Ispahan..……29

Figure 20: B section and natural accidentals in Les roses d’Ispahan………………30

Figure 21: Opening melisma in Où va la jeune indoue………………….………….. 34


Figure 22: Optional cadenza in Où va la jeune indoue……………………..……….. 35

vi
Figure 23: Initial text of Où va la jeune indoue………………….…………..………… 36

Figure 24: Staccato bell figure and triplets in Où va la jeune indoue….…………… 37

Figure 25: “Daydream” sextuplets in B major; Où va la jeune indoue………………38

Figure 26: Open fifths in E minor; vocal line mirroring………………………………..38

Figure 27: Bell Section; Où va la jeune indoue………………………………………..39

Figure 28: 64th note melisma; Où va la jeune indoue.……………………….………40


Figure 29: Māhur mode in Morghe Sahar…………………………….………………..43

Figure 30: Morghe Sahar vocal melody………………………………………….……..44











vii
 1

CHAPTER 1: ROMANTIC EXOTICISM IN 19TH CENTURY FRANCE


The vocal works discussed in this thesis are examples of the mid-19th century

French obsession with exotic sights and sounds. This increased interest in exotic

musical and artistic material is plausibly due to the increased number of explorations

and expeditions made to these regions. Additionally, the vocal repertoire selected for

examination displays the creative exchange between authors and composers. Many

Europeans who traveled to foreign lands during this time period extensively

documented their travels in books, causing Europeans readers to fantasize about these

new and somewhat unexplored regions. An increased number of French authors, visual

artists, and composers then began traveling to the Middle East and Far East to gain

first-hand experience of the cultures being portrayed. Therefore, European involvement

in Eastern nations was accompanied by a rise in the concert going public’s knowledge

of specific cultures, including musical knowledge.

The 19th century witnessed a definite shift in artistic themes. The French

Romantic poetry movement contributed to the rise of the song form known as mélodie.

The exotic content being produced by authors and poets of the time inspired a

heightened sense of sophistication and exoticism in Romantic era French song. The

term exoticism refers to the influence of foreign cultures in artistic works. Broadly

speaking, this term could be applicable to a variety of countries including those of the

Far East and South America, as well as Spain. For the purposes of this paper, the term

exoticism will be used to reference nations within the Middle East and North Africa.

The French have historically possessed a natural perception and connection to

artistic traditions. In addition to a love of the theatrical, the French vocal style contains
 2

certain enduring and distinguishing vocal qualities. This includes an affinity for chant

and modes, declamation and rhythm, folk music, love of dance forms and rhythms, a

consciousness for refined detail, inherent classicism, and a sense of fantasy combined

with a fascination for the exotic (Hodam, 20). The harmonic vocabulary of Fauré (and

later French composers such as Debussy and Ravel) is often based on modes, which is

evident in the frequent appearance of the lowered second and seventh, the tritone, and

avoidance of a clear tonic-dominant cadence in their compositions (Hodam, 20). French

composers have also historically admired traditional folk music including not only

French medieval chanson, but also Spanish, Hebrew, and Greek. With this particularity

for folk traditions and modes, it is not surprising to learn that French composers had a

fascination for these exotic modes, scales, and rhythms (Hodam, 21).


Section 1.1 Middle Eastern Compositional Characteristics

Many of the common compositional characteristics used to emulate classical

Middle Eastern music and vocal styles found in the vocal repertoire selected for this

study include augmented seconds, elaborate melismas, grace notes, rhythmic ostinati,

open fifth intervals in the bass line accompaniment, minor modes (specifically Aeolian,

Dorian, Phrygian are common), and descending or sinuous chromaticism.

Pedagogically, the vocal pieces discussed are challenging songs for students to

perform. They require a more advanced level of voice study in order for students to

absorb the tone color of Middle Eastern vocal sounds and provide training in technique

issues in regards to tuning, ornamentation, and providing emotional depth to the

characters which they portray while studying and performing this repertoire.
 3

Many of these 19th century compositional techniques are still used in music

today when attempting to evoke a sense of the Middle East. For example, within the first

eight measures of Aladdin’s opening song, Arabian Nights (from the movie “Aladdin”),

(Fig. 1) several of the compositional characteristics that will be discussed make an

appearance: open fifth intervals, sixteenth note triplets, augmented seconds and

ornamentation in the form of grace notes. We also have minor mode, A minor with an

omitted third.

Figure 1: Open fifths, ornamentation, and augmented seconds in Arabian Nights.

The purpose of highlighting this musical example, an opening song to the popular

Disney film set in the Middle East, is to display that these are the methods commonly

used in Western classical music to emulate the sounds of traditional Middle Eastern

music, whose compositional techniques, tonalities, and general musical priorities are

totally different. Middle Eastern music is complex and has many components, which

takes years to master. These components often include the use of quarter-tones and

improvisation. Other features include rhythmic and melodic ornamentation, the absence

of harmony (solo or unison works), and ensembles of instrumentalists that accompany a

 4

solo vocalist. (Campbell, 23) While some of these devices may (or may not) sound like

a musical cliché, it is within this century and the Romantic era specifically, that

composers began to write music even remotely authentic in relation to other cultures.

Well over four hundred operas written before 1800 were based on subject matter that

may be loosely classified as "exotic" (Ringer, 115) yet overall, depictions of Non-

Europeans (musical or otherwise) were generally inaccurate. This begins to change in

the 19th century.


Section 1.2 Félicien David

One of the pioneers in French musical exoticism was composer Félicien David

(1810-1876). From 1833 to 1835 he traveled extensively through the Middle East and

North Africa with a group known as the Saint Simonians, a French political and social

movement active during the first half of the 19th century. From Palestine to Turkey to

Egypt, he collected Middle Eastern melodies and folk songs later used as inspirations

for his compositions. Notably, in 1844 he premiered the oratorio titled Le désert at the

Opéra Comique’s Salle Ventadour theatre in Paris. The work was inspired by his travels

to Ramallah, Palestine (Gradenwitz, 491). Within the oratorio a chant du muezzin or

“call to prayer” is incorporated as a tenor solo. (Fig. 2) In an era when Berlioz was the

king of French composers, Le désert made David a household name and influenced the

composition of exotic works by many other French composers. Berlioz himself attended

the performance and later wrote and spoke with praise of the new composers’ musical

innovations (Gradenwitz, 494). The chant du muezzin was regarded as a centrally

important part of the oratorio, opening a new chapter in the history of eastern-western
 5

relations in music. Historical documentation of the event shows that the audience was

musically captivated by the call to prayer, and surprised by the positive reaction of a

group of Arabic nationals attending the performance as guests of the French

government (Gradenwitz, 491).

Figure 2: Call to Prayer from Félicien David’s 1844 oratorio Le désert.

Several of the compositional characteristics previously mentioned are present in

David’s call to prayer section, including an extended melisma, triplet rhythms, and

descending chromaticism. In traditional Persian and Arabic music, vocal soloists and

instrumentalists often display an inherent flare for complex rhythms. David displays this

inclination in the tenor solo by including triplets and dotted eighth note rhythmic patterns

in the vocal melody. When listening to a traditional call to prayer, one can hear the vocal
 6

soloist weave together an intricate stream of rhythmic ascending and descending

intervallic patterns, often in the high tenor range. This is represented here in the second

syllable of the word Salam, which utilizes a melisma containing a dotted pattern and an

augmented 2nd interval pattern between A5 and F-sharp 5 on repeated 32nd notes.

Additionally, in Persian music, there is a vocal technique called tahîr which is a type of

ornamentation that involves a glottal “crackle” or “warble” of the voice, utilized to imitate

the singing of nightingales (Arbabi, 49). The chant du muezzin emulated this Middle

Eastern vocal technique through the use of grace notes and 16th note triplets. These

same grace note triplets, additionally, display the interval of an augmented second, a

Western representation of the intricate quarter and half tone chromaticism present in

much of Middle Eastern traditional vocal and instrumental repertoire.

It is important to emphasize the long lasting influence of David’s exotic oratorio

on French composers for the remainder of the 19th century and continuing in the early

20th century. These are exotic compositional devices used repeatedly by French

composers for the next fifty years when simulating Middle Eastern music in art song and

opera.







 7

CHAPTER 2: GEORGES BIZET

Near the middle of the 19th century, French composer Georges Bizet

(1835-1875), who was nine years old when Félicien David’s influential oratorio Le désert

premièred, elevated the use of exotic techniques in art song as a means to make music

more dramatic. By 1850, the art song form previously known as the banal romance had

evolved and transformed into the more expressive mélodie, which then became a

permanently established art song form in France (Randles, 27). Bizet utilized the

guidelines previously set by David to create depth and emotional impact on the listener

through the performance of the mélodie. While Bizet never visited the Middle East, his

exotic-influenced works were convincing. Even during his Prix de Rome years in Italy,

he wrote a one act comic operetta called La guzlaa de l’Émir (The Gala of the Emir) in

1857. The score was lost and likely absorbed into his opera The Pearl Fishers

(Randles, 28).

Of Bizet’s many art songs, the one praised as an “unquestioned masterpiece” is

Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe published in 1867. The principal character is a classic subject

of exoticism: the lone, languishing Arab woman who has fallen in love with a handsome

European traveler. Bizet’s melody was composed to a poem written by Victor Hugo,

who, in 1828, had compiled a book of exotic poetry that became a source of inspiration

for many French composers during the latter half of the 19th century. In Adieux de

l’hôtesse arabe, Bizet uses exotic techniques in the vocal melody not only to set the

scene in Victor Hugo’s poem, but also to portray the emotions of the central character of

the song (Randles, 30). The singer’s passionate pleas for the traveler to stay and the

exotic ambiance are depicted musically by a rhythmic accompaniment figure and

 8

chromatic harmonies.(Fig. 3)

Figure 3: Open fifth and augmented second intervals; Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe.

When examining the sheet music, many of the compositional characteristics

previously discussed are present within the first several measures of the song. Bizet

maintains an open fifth ostinato in the bass line underneath another ostinato containing

a minor third. Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe utilizes an abundance of intricate ascending

and descending chromaticism, especially in using the distinctive augmented second

interval. The first of many augmented second intervals written in the vocal line is

present in measure seven on the text cet heureux. The augmented second interval

approximates some of the larger intervals of the Arabic musical scale. Typically

forbidden in traditional Western counterpoint, augmented seconds may have held an

 9

overtone of unhappiness for Bizet as he later used this interval in the “Fate” motif in his

best known opera, Carmen (Randles, 32). Additionally, Bizet creates tension in the story

by interchanging major and minor tonalities quickly. The tonality of the first verse alone

moves between C minor, G minor, B flat major, C major, before finally returning to C

minor.

As Romantic era mélodie places strong emphasis on emotion, it is of no surprise

that the vocal line of Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe is covered from top to bottom with mood

changes and dynamics shifts that include very specific expressive and dynamic

markings. Every half step, every shift in tone color, is laced with a tinge of sadness. For

example, the protagonist exclaims loudly Adieu! (Farewell!) on a forte dynamic while

singing the interval of a minor sixth, which is then followed with an indication to sing

beau voyager (beautiful traveler) at a pianissimo dynamic. (Fig. 4) There are additional

directions to perform the phrase with the forte text douloureux (painfuly) and the

pianissimo text tristement (sadly) as indicated by the expressive markings in the score.

Figure 4: Dynamic and expressive markings in Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe.

The song concludes with a descending and ascending melisma that represents

“crying” as the central character bids her European traveler farewell for the last time.

During the final melisma, on Victor Hugo’s text Souvien-toi (Remember me), Bizet uses
 10

a setting for high (maximum) dramatic effect, ending with an evocative, closely-spaced

chromatic ornament that resolves into a trill, (Fig. 5) a Western rendering of the florid

Arab style of vocal music (Randles, 33). Chromaticism makes a final appearance during

the poco rallentando section as the voice moves gracefully back and forth on legato half

steps between A-flat 5 and F-sharp 5 depicting the heroine's sadness. The last

expressive direction in the vocal melody indicates to perform the final notes smorzando,

indicating to sing slower and softer, as if the voice is dying away.

Figure 5: Extended chromatic final melisma in Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe.

Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe is undoubtedly written for the female voice and the

vocal range, B3 to A5 in the original key of C minor, would place the mélodie firmly in

the category of soprano repertoire. It has also been performed with success by many

accomplished mezzo-sopranos. Pedagogically, the mélodie is vocally difficult and

contains many opportunities for growth and development as a singer. Some of the
 11

technical aspects of this piece that are challenging to perform include the chromaticism

in the vocal line, which in turn requires refined listening skills for tuning. The ability to

perform legato phrasing and maintain enough breath support throughout the song is an

additional requirement. For example, a singer must understand how to properly sustain

the breath during the many extended phrases, including the final melisma, which is ten

measures long. Additionally, singers should have a “backup plan” regarding where to

breathe if they are not able to sustain the entire length of the melisma with one breath.

The song also contains several descending chromatic passages, including in the middle

and final measures of the piece. These phrases require precise attention to tuning, as

the ability to smoothly transition between closely-spaced chromatic embellishments can

be difficult to hear and sing accurately. These same phrases also require attention to

breath support because during the final melismatic passage, the phrase continues to

ascend in pitch to climax at A5 on the text “Adieu!”

While the piece presents challenges to singers, study of the song provides many

opportunities to develop their vocal technique.







 12

CHAPTER 3: CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Born the same year as Bizet (1835), Camille Saint-Saëns outlived him by 46

years (until 1921). As a child prodigy, he seemed destined to become a promising

composer and his natural talents were similar to those of a young Mozart (who was also

his idol). By the time Saint-Saëns was a teenager, he was hailed as a musical master.

He held several prestigious music positions and was a frequent presence in affluent

social circles and the salons of Paris. His famous friends included Victor Hugo and

Pauline Viardot, who in turn introduced him to the most elevated social circles in

Parisian musical life, where he met the composers Gounod, Liszt, Berlioz, Bizet, and

Rossini.

In 1873, Saint-Saëns began making frequent trips to North Africa. During his

travels, he notated the Middle Eastern melodies and folk songs he heard on his trips

and later used them in his compositions. Throughout the rest of his life, Saint Saëns’

numerous trips to Algeria enabled him to possess an intimate knowledge of Arabic

music. He is well known for arguably his most important work and certainly his most

popular opera, Samson et Dalila, which took him almost ten years to complete and

finally premiered in 1877.

Even before going to Algeria, Saint-Saëns had already used, especially in his

Mélodies persanes, (Persian Melodies) Op.26 of 1870, the collection of post-Davidian

exotic compositional techniques (Bartoli, 23). This included rhythmic ostinati, pedal

points of fifths of the bass drone, enhanced by a very pronounced modal color in the

melodic part. The Mélodies persanes are set to texts of the Parnassian poet Armand

Renaud whose collection of poems is titled Nuits persanes (Persian Nights).

 13

Parnassianism was a French literary style of the mid-19th century, influenced by

Théophile Gautier and his doctrine of ‘art for art’s sake’ (or l'art pour l'art). The

Parnassian poets often selected exotic and neo-classical topics to use in their poetry

and strove for flawless craftsmanship and form. Prominent members of the movement

include Paul Verlaine and Leconte de Lisle.

Mélodies persanes is a set of six vocal pieces originally intended to be performed

by multiple singers of different voice types. A soloist typically selects three of the six

pieces to perform. Many of the songs were dedicated to his friends, including Pauline

Viardot and Henri Renault, who was killed in the Franco-Prussian War. Unlike Bizet,

Saint-Saëns was less interested in emotional displays and more interested in the

display of artistic technique. This clean style and emphasis on conservative

compositional technique is possibly a reason why some of his vocal works are relatively

obscure. While beautifully written from a technical standpoint, they tend not to be as

emotionally motivated (Randles, 37). In this study, four of the songs will be examined as

follows: La brise, Sabre en main, Au cimetière, and Tournoiement: songe d’opium.


Section 3.1: La brise

Written for mezzo-soprano, the first song of Mélodies persanes, La brise, is set

inside a harem in Zabolistan, a region roughly corresponding to two provinces in

modern day Afghanistan. In the song, the sultan decrees that no one shall see the

harem girls, but a breeze slips into the palace past the sultan’s guards and charms the

women under it’s natural cloak of invisibility. The breeze is easily able to accomplish

what the poet dreams of for himself (the ability to enter the palace unnoticed), but his
 14

physical form renders him powerless to do so.

The exotic compositional techniques used in this song include modality and

rhythmic ostinato figures on an open fifth in the accompaniment. The song is in Dorian

mode, which is a type of natural minor scale that includes a lowered third, raised sixth,

and lowered seventh scale degree. (Fig. 6) This is one of the modes commonly utilized

by Western composers when attempting to recreate Middle Eastern music.

Figure 6: Example of Dorian Mode in C.


Another common compositional characteristic used to emulate Middle Eastern

music includes a repeated open fifth interval drone ostinato in the piano bass line, very

similar to the open fifth ostinato in the Bizet piece. Omitting the third from the piano

accompaniment helps make the tonality sound ambiguous. The key elements in Middle

Eastern music tend to emphasize the importance of melody and rhythm, with harmony

being less of a factor (Randles, 39). The repeated ostinato pattern in the bass line is an

imitation of Middle Eastern rhythmic devices, patterns over which improvisations are

created. Additionally, the ostinato includes a dotted eight note pattern which adds a

distinctive and exotic ambiance to the song. Theses dotted eight note rhythmic patterns

are present in both the vocal melody and piano accompaniment throughout the piece.

Saint-Saëns tendency to repeat rhythmic patterns creates a sense of dance music and

contributes to the exotic atmosphere of the song. (Fig. 7)

 15

Figure 7: Open 5th ostinato and text in La brise.

The first half of La brise gives a militaristic and, at times, detached quality to the

music, containing shortened bursts of quasi-melismatic sixteenth note patterns woven

into the vocal line. The duple meter adds to the march like characteristic of the song.

The piano at times serves to support the voice as a simple drone accompaniment, then

at various points, mirrors and follows the melody line in minor thirds. The vocal melody

during the opening section includes sixteenth note rhythmic patterns on syllabic text.

From the perspective of a vocalist, it is problematic to maintain an open and

resonant vocal quality when required to sing through sixteenth notes containing a

different syllable or vowel for each note. It is generally easier for the singer to perform a

true melisma that includes several notes all sung on one vowel, instead of attempting to

smoothly transition through multiple individual syllables of text. This difficulty occurs on

phrases like piqués par un taon, (Fig. 7) especially since there are four separate words

on different pitches. A phrase like Zaboulistan is easier to perform since the phrase is

performed with one word sung initiated on an Ah vowel. The slightly longer melismas on

text like resone and ongles (Fig. 8) sung on a single vowel provides the listener with a
 16

greater sense of the melodic ornamentation performed by classical Persian vocalists.

Figure 8: Melismatic pattern on ongles in La brise.

In the second half of La brise, the whole mood of the song changes as the

tonality switches from Dorian to E major (4 sharps). The vocal melody is now legato and

flowing like the breeze being described. Additionally, the score displays grace notes and

melismas used to emulate the ornamentation present in the Middle Eastern style of

singing. The main shift in the poetry changes the mood of the piece from the militaristic

scene in the harem to the freedom of the breeze at Mais du fleuve (Fig. 9) and ends on

the text Ô rêveur sois fier which translates to “O dreamer, be proud”. This breeze

section contains a higher number of melismas and extended phrasing, representing the

legato flow of the breeze flying past the palace walls.

Figure 9: Grace note ornamentation in La brise.

 17

The “breeze” section of the song should display a vocal shift in timbre, adding

more warmth and depth to the voice and a roundness and fullness to the lower notes.

The overall tone color should be darker, smoother, and have more of a mixed voice

quality in the low range. La brise also presents difficulties in regard to producing clean

diction since the melismatic patterns, found in many exotic mélodie, are typically shorter

in length during this particular song and involve more transitions between syllables. At

times this seems less Middle Eastern and more like French declamation. The melodic

lines during the second half of the song requires the ability to sustain the breath since

the phrases in this section tend to be longer. The singer must also be able to display a

definitive shift in tone color and mood at the start of the key change to accurately

represent the legato entrance of the breeze.


Section 3.2: Sabre en main

In direct contrast to the opening piece, Sabre en main is perhaps the flashiest

song in the cycle containing the brightest vocal timbres. It uses descriptive imagery,

telling of a soldier who enjoys horse riding, night rampages, killing and burning villages.

In place of the all too frequent “sensual languor” of many exotic melodies, this piece is

full of anger and fury. Written for the tenor voice, the “hero” is a violent rebel who enjoys

his strength and the chaos he creates, always with his sabre in hand. The extended

piano postlude contains accents, staccati, and dissonances evoking the hero riding out

on a night tirade.

This piece is full of intricate chromaticism in the vocal line including half steps,

minor thirds, augmented fourths, and descending melismatic embellishments. Once

 18

again, Saint-Saëns uses Dorian mode and there is a melisma based on triplets used as

the dramatic entrance in the first vocal phrase. This opening melisma (which returns in

the middle of the piece) uses whole steps in Dorian mode: G minor with a lowered

seventh interval. (Fig. 10) The descending triplet pattern provides the song with the

striking rhythmic flare commonly performed by Persian vocal soloists.

Figure 10: Opening melisma in Sabre en main.

From a vocal technique standpoint, this opening melisma is a challenging phrase

to tune, due to the closely spaced chromatic ornamentation. It is also difficult to count

and to maintain a steady rhythm, due to the consecutive eighth note triplets and it is

easy to rush during the a cappella sections. The tone color should be intentionally

bright, like fire, but the singer should still maintain as round and warm a tone color as

possible so as to not sound strident or tight.

The opening of the main text has a militaristic quality, but at times requires

instantaneous shifts into connected legato sections. The dotted eighth over sixteenth

note pattern observed in previous exotic mélodies re-appears to provide the march like

quality in the music on J’ai le cour froid (My heart is cold). (Fig. 11) Saint-Saëns also

utilizes text painting in the form of articulation by using the voice to sound like the strike

of a sword. The singer performs a C5 then shoots up a major fifth to an accented G5 on

 19

Qu’il sort et qu’il frappe bien! (May it be drawn and may it strike true!)

Figure 11: Articulation and text painting in Sabre en main.

The exotic compositional characteristics implemented in the song, including

dotted rhythms, triplets, accents, articulation, and dissonance, sound the most Middle

Eastern during the ornate melismatic passages and more militaristic outside of these

patterns. Both songs, La brise and Sabre en main, include melismatic writing with grace

notes and descending triplets, a compositional development that emulates the Persian

style of singing within those particular sections. The final page of Sabre en main is

virtuosic, borderline pretentious piano solo mimicking the sound of riding horseback

through the desert as the piece comes to a triumphant conclusion.

Section 3.3 Au cimetière

This mélodie is a beautiful and elegant contrast to the previous fire-brand song.

Au cimetière is a poem about joy and sadness, depicting a couple sitting on a marble

tombstone talking openly about life, love, and death. The concept is derived from

Egyptian culture, emphasizing the mixed blessings of life and the brevity of happiness

(Randles, 43). This piece is different from the other songs in the cycle with regard to

mood, pacing and tone color, and should be treated as such by the singer. If the song
 20

cycle was a symphony, Au cimetière would be the second or third movement ballade

before the show stopping fourth movement. The initial expressive directions in the vocal

line indicate that the song should be performed dolcissimo which requires a sweeter

and more tender approach in performance. The tone color of the voice especially should

be much darker than the previous piece to mark the mood, setting and ambiance of the

song.

The key of the piece is A major and the legato vocal melody is supported by

calmly moving block chords. (Fig. 12) Harmonic tension and contrast is reflected in the

chromatic fluctuation of sixth scale degree, F-sharp and F-natural. While the key is A

major, there are several times when F-natural and C-natural are used, giving the song a

more chromatic and minor sound. The piano accompaniment begins with a standard A

major tonic chord, then shifts into an augmented VI chord with the addition of the F-

natural. (Fig. 12) This shifting harmony gives a sense of tension and release in both the

piano and vocal melody.

Figure 12: Chromaticism in Au cimetière.

The song is asymmetrical, not in rhythm, but in phrase length. The phrases of

eight beats are answered by phrases of six beats, providing a sense the phrase has
 21

shifted. The song moves gracefully through 12/8 meter answered by the occasional 6/8

phrase. (Fig. 13) By placing these measures of shorter duration adjacent to measures of

longer duration, the length of the phrases become audibly and visibly altered.

Asymmetrical rhythms and meters, while very common in Middle Eastern music, were

rarely written in Western classical music during this time period (Randles, 41).

Figure 13: Asymmetrical phrase length in Au cimetière.

The music in the first two sections is essentially the same regarding pitch and

rhythm, then the vocal melody in the middle of the song begins to soars upwards on the

text Toi, tu feras sonner ma belle (You, my pretty one shall jingle). The voice should be

open and jubilant as the melody line ascends in pitch. This soaring effect in the vocal

line could be interpreted as text painting since the same ascending pitch pattern is also

set to the text Pour que mon désir ouvre l’aire (So that desire takes wing).

Au cimetière was originally composed for the tenor voice (as indicated in the

score) but would be equally suitable for soprano. There are several sections of the

piece that train singers to perform refined, legato phrasing. For example, during the text

of the final phrase in the vocal line is Nous diron; aujourd'hui les roses! Demain les

cyprès! (We will say; today roses! Tomorrow the cypresses!), the vocal line soars up
 22

towards a beautiful pianissimo A5 climax on the word roses, then slowly and gently

descends as a melisma concludes the piece on the text demain les cyprès (tomorrow

the cypresses). The singer must be able to float up A5 in head voice at the gentle climax

of the piece, as if ascending into heaven, only to return on a slow decent back down to

earth represented by a legato melisma.

Figure 14: Final ascending and descending vocal phrase in Au cimetière.

Section 3.3 Tournoiement: songe d’opium

The final song of Mélodies persanes is Tournoiement: songe d’opium, a song

about an opium dream. The hallucinating poet believes he is whirling through space like

a dead leaf. As the everlasting spinning accelerates against his will, he floats above

rocks, caves and forests, and he sees wild beasts, soldiers, slaves and volcanoes. He

flies past the stars and constellations and finally floats forever into the endless night sky.

Tournoiement is composed in aeolian mode, containing the same intervallic

structure as the natural minor scale. The whole song sounds like tension and confusion,

each measure containing a mixture of tone colors that don’t necessarily fit together in

the traditional harmonic sense yet the combination is unmistakably unique and beautiful.

The piano accompaniment is an endless undulation of perpetually moving sixteenth

 23

notes (Fig. 15), emulating the swirling of opium smoke and the poet’s constant spinning

hallucination during the dream. If these sixteenth notes were played simultaneously as

block chords, they would essentially be tone clusters.

Figure 15: Swirling sixteenth notes in Tournoiement

The opening of the vocal melody begins in B minor on a pianissimo dynamic

containing staccato eighth notes rocking back and forth on a minor third interval

between D-natural and B-natural, as if the poet is attempting to be very careful. The

totality combined with the staccato articulation provide the melodic line with a sense of

uneasiness and instability. While the majority of the piece is in B minor Aeolian (with two

sharps in the key signature), there are accidentals throughout the piece. The more

intense the opium dream gets, the more the accidentals seem to increase. This

additional chromaticism is a pedagogical characteristic that vocalists should be mindful

of when rehearsing and performing the song. This is especially pertinent in

Tournoiement since the vocal melody is very independent from the swirling sixteenth

note piano accompaniment. Since there is minimal harmonic support from the piano

line, accurate vocal tuning becomes particularly challenging and require the singer to

posses strong audiation skills.

 24

The augmented second interval is employed each time the singer says Je tourne

(I spin). (Fig.16) This text re-appears several times. Augmented seconds and half step

intervals also appear at many other points in the vocal line. When performing

Tournoiement, a singer must possess a certain degree of acting ability. Even though a

vocalist should have the ability to portray a character that is metaphorically about to fall

off the edge, internally, the performer must maintain complete control over their pitch,

rhythm, timbre, and diction.

Figure 16: Augmented seconds in Tournoiement

The text painting present throughout the majority of the song becomes most

apparent during and after the “beast attack” as the poet begins to ascend through space

into the boundless night sky. The swirling piano accompaniment and vocal line rises in

pitch as the dreamer soars past various stars and planets. The final note of the vocal

line ends on an unresolved D-sharp to give the sense that the poet’s hallucination is

unfinished and unending. This note shifts the tonality to conclude the piece firmly in B

major, placing the D-sharp in the voice against the B natural in the piano bass line

creating an elaborate tonic cord. This seemingly unusual transition to the major key

after pages of aeolian chromaticism is confusing, causing a musician to think “what is

going on” or “where am I”, and perhaps this is precisely the point. The final D-sharp and
 25

impending transition to B major seems to be the harmonic equivalent of the protagonist

vocally and literally floating away into another world, (Fig.17) eternally spinning toward

their new normal within the distant unknown regions of space. The final passages of

the piano line sounds like the twinkling of stars.

Figure 17: Unresolved final note in vocal line of Tournoiement.

Of all the songs in this cycle, Tournoiement presents the singer with the most

technical challenges; complicated text, issues with text memorization, diction, and

context (i.e. conveying to the audience what the words mean). Performance of the

songs requires crisp clean diction with, at times, immediate transitions into floating head

voice. The sheer volume of text in the piece requires an advanced vocal agility best

suited for a lighter, higher voice type. With consistent study of the melody and French

text, Tournoiement would provide valuable training with regard to vocal flexibility. There

also are chromatic pitch challenges throughout the piece, especially in phrases that

seem almost identical, but are actually slightly different by a half step. With no chordal/

tonal support provided for the vocal melody in the piano accompaniment, the singer

must be absolutely certain of their pitches and rhythms.

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CHAPTER 4: GABRIEL FAURÉ

Saint-Saëns’ student and lifelong friend Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) is considered

one of the most important French composers of the late 19th century. When Fauré was

born in 1845, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique was already fifteen years old and the

premiere of Gounod’s Faust was only fourteen years away. By the time he retired as

head of the Paris Conservatory in 1920, Fauré had witnessed the ends and beginnings

of the careers of many of the great French composers of the 19th and 20th centuries

(Tietjen,1). Fauré studied at the Niedermeyer School in Paris where he met and worked

with Saint-Saëns, who had become a piano instructor at the school in 1861. The

school’s emphasis on traditional religious music combined with Saint-Saëns'

introduction of contemporary classical music had a profound impact on Fauré’s career

and style. Like Saint-Saëns, Fauré also held prestigious musical positions in Paris,

working as the organist and choirmaster at La Madeleine and later as the head of the

Paris Conservatory. Fauré’s compositional style synthesizes Romantic era conventions

with the changing harmonic language of his time.

A great number of Faure’s mélodies and songs are studied and performed by

vocalists, representing a significant part of the French art song repertoire. Among the

most frequently heard of Fauré’s mélodies and his sole exotic themed creation, Les

roses d’Ispahan (1884) from Quatre mélodies, Opus 39 is a mesmerizing synthesis of

classical era formality and Romantic era expression (Ober, 172). The author of the

poem, Charles Leconte de Lisle (1818-1894), invokes the mystery and allure of Iran’s

landscape, aromas, and flowers. Once the capital of Persia, the legendary city of

Isfahan is famous for its Islamic architecture such as mosques and minarets, as well as
 27

palaces and gardens. Isfahan’s historical beauty inspired visual artists, poets, and

musicians, many of whom had never visited the city. The type of rose highlighted in the

poem and song is the Pompon des Princes variety, a pink, half open Middle Eastern

garden rose introduced to Europe in the 13th century (a damask rose). French poets, as

well as poets throughout Europe, were influenced by the beauty of Persian poetry,

especially in poetic alliteration.

The author of the poem, who was primarily known by his surname Leconte de

Lisle, published Les roses d’Ispahan in 1884 as part of his larger collection Poèmes

tragiques. Fauré set the poem to music soon after, inspired like so many artists of the

era, by the palpable fantasy world Leconte de Lisle creates through envisioning the

romantic setting of the Persian city’s gardens and roses, permeated with a hint of long

lost-love. In this poem, the magical fragrances of the rose blossoms, jasmine flowers,

and orange trees have disappeared in the absence of his love, Leïlah. The poet dreams

of her return so that the gardens and city that surround him can return to its former

beauty.

Fauré evokes musical imagery of an enchanted garden in the legendary Persian

city by blending exotic compositional characteristics with classical symmetry and form,

indicative of a former student of Saint-Saëns. The combination of European and Middle

Eastern modal characteristics produces lush and voluptuous harmonic content shared

between the voice and piano accompaniment. The gently rocking piano line contains full

harmonies and cross rhythms (Fig. 18) with the rhythmic undulation reminiscent of a

slowly moving camel, colored with subtle harmonic changes (Kimball, 184). These

harmonic colors function as a musical portrayal of the fragrances the poet longs for now
 28

that Leïlah has disappeared.

Figure 18: Cross rhythms in Les roses d'Ispahan

The form is AABA (binary), using the same music for the first two verses. Similar

to the previous mélodies, the introductory piano material contains an open fifth ostinato

in the bass line, concluding on the upper octave before repeating the pattern. There is

also a dotted eighth note figure, another Middle Eastern characteristic previously

observed in exotic vocal repertoire. This dotted rhythmic figure is present in both the

vocal and piano line, rising in pitch towards points of climax.

While originally composed in the key of E major, the piece contains numerous

accidentals, including E-sharp, which alters the harmonic coloring of the song. This

provides a sense of chromaticism and minor tonality at specified points during the piece.

The swaying dotted eight note pattern rises in pitch as the music transitions into the

most heightened and climactic phrases of the A section. These musical transitions into

points of climax are where the majority of the accidentals (E-sharps) and chromaticism

begin to appear in the vocal melody. (Fig. 19) The first point of climax occurs on the text

Ô blanche Leïlah before returning to the traditional E major tonality at the opening of
 29

each A section.

Figure 19: Chromaticism and accidentals (E#s) in Les roses d'Ispahan

The first time the text Leïlah is sung, the D in the accompaniment has a natural

accidental, creating a raised fourth interval (or tritone) between the D natural and G

sharp in the piano. This dissonance created between the voice and piano line requires

heightened listening skills from the singer in order to maintain accurate tuning of the

vocal melody. It also could represent a certain level of unresolved discontent when the

poet thinks of Leïlah.

In the B section, there is a two-measure transition leading into the text Ô Leïlah!

blending chromatic harmonies and rich texture before returning to the A section for the

last verse. The first note of the B section is a C natural (instead of C-sharp), creating a

minor tonality when Ô Leïlah! is sung. Additionally, the B section overall contains an
 30

abundance of natural accidentals, giving the effect of a temporary transition into E minor

(or the aeolian mode). This transition in tonality is yet another musical depiction of the

poets sadness and longing.

Figure 20: B section and natural accidentals in Les roses d'Ispahan

Les roses d’Ispahan was initially composed for soprano and piano

accompaniment and is frequently performed today. It is also performed by tenor voices

and has since been arranged for full orchestra. While both versions of instrumental

accompaniment are beautiful, the string sections in the orchestral arrangement

highlights a heightened sense of lush exoticism, providing the sensation of being

transported to a distant and magical land, as is the goal in Romantic era compositions.

Because of it’s rhythmic complexities, the late 19th century mélodie assists in training

vocal students to internalize the pulse of the music and count accurately. Notably, the
 31

consistent presence of the swaying dotted eighth-note figures in the voice and piano

require the singer’s attention to timing since each of these eighth notes are longer than

they may initially appear. They also provide the song with a swaying effect that a singer

can utilize to capture the mood of the piece vocally.

The hemiolas Fauré uses in Les roses d’Ispahan also require attention to timing

since the musical figure gives the effect of a shift between triple and duple meter.

Additionally, the song teaches the singer to emphasize important text and highlight high

points of the music with their voice. Words like parfum (perfume), frais (fresh), and

odeur (scent), are of particular interest in the text and musical setting. The music

provides challenges in regards to phrasing, but is seemingly less difficult in regards to

pitches, making the piece appropriate for a young undergraduate or high school voice

student. However, the chromaticism present in the song requires attention to tuning.

Generally, every time the singer describes Leïlah, flowers, and happiness, the tonality is

primarily major. When there is reflection over lost love and sadness, more accidentals

and chromaticism appear in the vocal line.

The piece contains an exquisite sense for detail which provides the singer the

opportunity to perform with a sense of elegance and refinement. In his review of the

piece, Adrian Corleonis remarks that “The small variations within an unchanging pattern,

coupled with one of Fauré's most ingeniously seductive melodic lines, allow an

apparition of ideal beauty, couched in rich, languorous redolence, to become almost

palpable.” (Corleonis, 1)



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CHAPTER 5: LÉO DELIBES

The final composer discussed in this thesis is Léo Delibes. Born in 1836, Delibes

is most notable for creating music for ballets, operas, and other works intended for the

stage. In 1848 his mother took the young Delibes to Paris where he was accepted by

the Paris Conservatory to study composition. During this time, he was a choir boy at La

Madeleine, participated in solfège competitions, and won numerous composition

awards. Like many composers of his time, he wrote music that evoked Eastern

landscapes during the height of the exotic musical trend in Europe, between the 1870s

and 1880s. Like the previously discussed composers, he graduated from the Paris

Conservatory and held prestigious music positions, such as accompanist at the

Théâtre-Lyrique, and later as the second chorus master at the Opéra de Paris. In

addition to his stage works he also wrote exotic mélodies. In 1874, at the height of 19th

century France’s obsession with exotic sights and sounds, he composed Les filles de

Cadix, a song about the Spanish girls of Cadiz.

The importance of Delibes in the history of French music is not generally

recognized and more often ignored (Van Vechten, 606). Of all the composers whose

repertoire was selected for examination in this thesis, Delibes by far has the least

biographical and scholarly references dedicated to the life of the composer. Yet Delibes'

compositions contain some of the most famous and enduring pieces from the Romantic

era, forever embedded into Western culture via television commercials, movies, and a

variety of additional cultural reference points (British Airways commercial, multiples

seasons of The Voice).

Very early in his career, Delibes began to compose for the theatre. Of his twenty-
 33

one completed operas, his last and most important was Lakmé, which premièred in April

of 1883 (for context, approximately two months after the death of Wagner). The opera

contains some of the most well-known melodies in popular culture (including the Flower

Duet) and has considerable importance in French musical history (Van Vechten, 606).

Lakmé brings together many popular themes of opera in the 1880s: an exotic location,

mysterious religious rituals, chromaticism, and modal melodies. The story of the

Brahman girl Lakmé is based on a novel titled Le Marriage de Loti by French naval

officer and novelist Pierre Loti, who traveled in the Middle East, Far East and India,

bringing back stories filled with exoticism. An additional literary contribution by the same

author includes Madame Chrysanthème published in 1887, a novel of Japanese

manners that serves as partial narrative and travel diary, and the literary precursor to

the opera Madama Butterfly. This is one of many examples regarding artists (of all

kinds) being influenced and inspired to create works based on the written accounts of

those who traveled to the East during this time.

The famous Bell Aria, Où va la jeune indoue, emulates the sound, length, mood,

story-telling, extended ornamentation, and free form improvisatory nature of an East

Indian or Persian vocal soloist. The "Bell Song," is famous for its exotic musical colors,

extended melismas, and vocal pyrotechnics in the high coloratura. In the aria, the title

character of the opera, Lakmé, begins with an unaccompanied vocalise, then recounts

the tale of a young Indian girl's ethereal transformation by the divine Vishnu. This wash

of wordless coloratura virtuosity dazzles the crowd that has surrounded her in order to

listen to her story. (Fig. 21) The purity of her voice, unsupported by any orchestral
 34

instruments, commands instant attention.

Figure 21: Opening melisma in Où va la jeune indoue

In standard western opera, it is rare to hear a singer perform both

unaccompanied and without any text (Abbate, 4). This extended, opening, a cappella

melisma emulates the ornate embellishments and sense of improvisational qualities

present in Middle Eastern vocal music. The rest of the aria contains ornamentation of

operatic proportions including trills, descending chromatic passages, sixteenth note

triplets, and most notably, several elaborate melismas on ‘Ah!’. Pedagogically, Où va la

jeune indoue is written for advanced female singers with an upper coloratura extension

and is a demanding aria to sing in regards to pitch, rhythm, and breath support during

multiple extended high range melismas. The piece is commonly known as a “stretch”

aria because of the amount of time and study required to learn the music. It is also very
 35

long (eight minutes) which requires the singer to maintain stamina.

The Bell Aria is made up of three primary musical sections, with the first being

the unaccompanied and hypnotic opening melisma. This first section is written in E

minor (aeolian mode), however the aria overall moves through multiple shifts in tonality.

Within this initial melisma, one can observe almost all of the exotic characteristics

previously discussed in this thesis. The vocalise is woven together with triplets, dotted

rhythmic patterns, descending chromaticism, and melismatic sixteenth note runs. The

cascade of notes contains the first of three E6s in the aria. Prior to the opening of the

aria, Lakmé’s father, Nilakantha, urges his daughter to sing the legend of the Pariah’s

daughter in the town square to a passing crowd in order to lure out his enemy, Gerald.

Before Lakmé sings, Nilakantha tells her Affermis bien ta voix! Sois souriante, chante,

Lakmé! Chante! La vengeance est là! which translates to “Now steady your voice! Smile

as you sing! Sing, Lakmé! Sing! Vengeance is near!” (Abbate, 4).

The optional cadenza at the end of the opening melisma is a flash of cascading

notes in the form of a chromatic scale from E6 down to E5. (Fig. 22) The E5 ends with a

trill that fluctuates between E natural and sharp before dropping down the octave to E4.

A singer of exceptional technical abilities must use (perform) multiple vocal colors

(timbres) in this cadenza; light and high in the head voice, warm and full in the middle

trill, then digging darker and deeper on the octave drop as the scale traverses the entire

range of the voice, all before the actual aria even begins.

Figure 22: Optional cadenza in Où va la jeune indoue.

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The second section begins the main body of the aria. At this point the aria has

shifted tonality from E minor into B minor. This section is the first segment of the aria

that contains actual text, starting with the words Où va la jeune indoue (Where does the

young Hindu girl go) as she begins telling the story of a young Indian girl who has

wandered into the woods and saves the god Vishnu from a wolf attack. In the opera, the

crowd of Hindus slowly begin to gather around her to listen to the story as Lakmé

transforms herself into musical instrument of sorts.

The start of the andante aria section contains the expressive directions presque

en récitatif meaning “almost recitative” as she begins to tell the story. She sings her solo

steadily with the occasional grace note above arpeggiated chords, (Fig. 23) a calm and

stark contrast to the ornate, attention grabbing, rapid flourish of notes performed in the

prior section. The opening of this section of the aria is reminiscent of a concert staging

for a performance of Middle Eastern and/or Indian music. Much of Middle Eastern music

is vocal, generally performed in a concert setting that features a soloist supported by a

small ensemble of wind, string, and percussion instruments.

Figure 23: Initial text of Où va la jeune indoue

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The second section (or verse) itself could be broken into multiple sections;

recitative, mesuré, recit, mesuré molto rallentando, and plus lent. The recitative sections

interchange with the mesuré sections of staccato triplets, providing contrast to the verse

in mood and rhythmic quality. Additionally, the mesuré section contains accidentals that

momentarily make the B minor passage sound like B major with the addition of G-sharp

and A-sharp. While the accompaniment becomes more animated and independent of

the voice than previously performed, Lakmé performs a vocal bell-like imitation during

the text utilizing staccato triplets, grace notes and chromaticism before falling gracefully

back into B minor. (Fig. 24) These shorter bell-like figures anticipate the upcoming

larger bell sections.

Figure 24: Staccato bell figure and triplets in Où va la jeune indoue.

Towards the end of the Andante verse describing the girl’s forest wanderings, the

piece shifts tonalities again to B major. For two measures, the vocal line floats up on

sextuplets gently rising in head voice up to B5. This ascending melisma serves as text

painting for the girl’s daydreaming, (Fig. 25) as if her head is in the clouds, and serves

as a precursor/foreshadowing for what occurs later in the story (she gets sent to
 38

heaven).

Figure 25: “Daydream” sextuplets in B major; Où va la jeune indoue.

Beginning at the Allegro moderato section, there is another key change back to E

minor, the tonality during the opening melisma. Once again the familiar open fifth

interval makes an appearance in the bass line between E and B reflecting movement

(walking). (Fig. 26) The accompaniment has gradually become more complicated over

the duration of the aria (versus chordal and supportive) and is now follows the vocal line

more closely. This is the point in the aria, when, over the course of her wanderings, the

girl encounters a stranger in the forest being threatened by wild animals.

Figure 26: Open fifths in E minor; vocal line mirroring; Où va la jeune indoue.
 39

The tension filled wolf encounter is reflected in the vocal melody and

accompaniment. More accidentals appear right before the wolves are about to attack

their prey in the text Autour de lui des jeux brillent (All around him eyes sparkle in the

darkness), including E-flat and F-natural, and directions are given to speed up at en

animant en peu! (a little animated).

Then, everything stops, the accompaniment disappears, and the bell like triplet

figure re-appears in the vocal line as the girl jumps to save the stranger, braving the fury

of the wolves by enchanting the animals with a magic wand decorated with bells. This

leads into the third section of the aria, a passage of text free bell-like vocal acrobatics,

following the directions in the music to imitate la clochette (imitate the bell). The key has

now transitioned to E major, and the accompaniment is as equally animated as the

voice. Labeled plus animé (more animated), the vocal melody whizzes by on staccato

eighth and sixteenth notes, all in the upper tessitura between B4 and C6. Bouncy and

light in quality, vocal passages like this are a staple in standard coloratura soprano

repertoire. The switch to the major key obviously adds a sense of happiness and

jubilation.

Figure 27: Bell Section; Où va la jeune indoue.

 40

Following the approximately twenty measures of extended coloratura

ornamentation, the first clochette (bell) passage finishes with a flourish of ascending

and descending 64th notes on a melisma (Fig. 28) soaring up to the second of three

E6s in the piece, then triumphantly cascading like a downward roller coaster to finish on

E4.

Figure 28: 64th note melisma; Où va la jeune indoue.

After defeating the wolves, the tonality remains the same for the rest of the aria,

firmly planted in E major. Each verse of spoken text is followed by the section made of

bell-like vocal acrobatics. Following the first bell section, the second verse of text

reveals that the stranger the girl has saved is Vishnu, one of the principal deities of

Hinduism. He rewards her bravery by transporting her into the heavens to live with the

Gods forever. This reveal should be reflected in the voice through dynamics and

shimmering tone color (timbre). Once Vishnu sends the girl to heaven, the music

essentially repeats itself and concludes with a second and final bell section. While the
 41

music in this final section of vocal virtuosity is almost the same, there are additional

sixteenth note runs, slightly more chromaticism (B-sharp) and the final E6 as an epic

conclusion to the aria.

Regarding Où va la jeune indoue, Carolyn Abbate remarks that "Such moments

enact in pure form familiar Western tropes on the suspicious power of music and its

capacity to move us without rational speech" (Abbate, 4). While Eastern themes were

historically used in comedic operas during the 18th century, grand opera of 19th century

witnessed a a transformation that romanticized this mysterious and ancient world.

Opera, in the era of late 19th century romanticism, frequently made use of flexible vocal

melodies as ornamented operatic representations of the Arab world, Persia, and India

(Karpati, 25). Nearly fifty years after Félicien David’s oratorio created widespread artistic

influence on numerous French composers, Delibes maximized the potential of exotic

compositional characteristics by turning them into show stopping works of spectacular

vocal technique and mesmerizing virtuosity.












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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION

This thesis has described the methods by which 19th century French composers

created exotic characteristics in their vocal works to emulate Middle Eastern music and

vocal styles, including but not limited to melodic ornamentation, extended melismas,

chromaticism, and modality. Understanding these theoretical devices is an excellent

training tool for voice students when refining their vocal technique with regards to tuning

closely spaced intervals, accurately singing chromatic passages, and maintaining

breath support in extended melismas. Many exotic works are permanent fixtures in

concert and operatic repertoire and has been a recurring theme in the growth and

evolution of western art music. These skills are applicable not only to the songs

examined, but also to many of the more advanced art songs and arias in the standard

classical vocal repertoire.

For the past several decades, while music teachers have committed themselves

to cultural diversity and broadening of musical repertoire in schools and universities,

there appears to be a “hole in the curriculum” regarding the relative exclusion of musical

cultures from North Africa, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan (Campbell, 22).

This may simply be a matter of convenience, as the majority of standard teaching

materials probably do not contain an abundance of Middle Eastern musical repertoire

examples. However, the heightened presence of the Middle East in the media provides

all teachers, including vocal, choral, general music teachers, and voice professors, with

a social obligation to their students to use this opportunity to provide exposure to Middle

Eastern songs and performance practices (Campbell, 23). To provide an example, this

thesis will conclude with an examination of a traditional Persian song.

 43

Section 6.1 Morghe Sahar (Morning Bird)

Morghe Sahar (Morning Bird) is a tasnif (ballad) with text written by Moḥammad-

Taqi Bahār (1886-1951) and music by Morteza Ney-Davoud (1900-1990). Tasnif is the

Persian equivalent of a ballad, and the song is in the māhur mode, which is the one of

the seven primary Dastgahs in Persian classical music (Persian equivalent of scales).

The intervallic structure of the Māhur mode (Fig. 29) partly parallels that of the major

scale in western classical music. However, the range is unusually wide, containing ten

pitches and concluding with a minor tenth.

Figure 29: Māhur mode in Morghe Sahar

The song was first performed in 1921 by the celebrated female singer, Qamar

(1905-1959). She was the first woman of her time to sing in public in Iran without

wearing a veil and was known as the “Queen of Persian music”. The song has since

been sung by many other famous Iranian singers, and has come to be known as a kind

of Persian “National Anthem.” The poem of the song is about freedom and liberation for

humankind, with the (caged) bird serving as a metaphor for the people.

The song starts with a call for the bird to begin its lament on the interval of a

perfect fourth. The vocal melody of the song moves consistently through 6/8 time and

features a pattern of dotted quarter notes against eight notes. (Fig. 30) The melody
 44

gradually rises in pitch throughout the poem, climaxing at its highest pitch an octave

above the original tonic note on the text naḡma-ye āzādi-e nawʿ-e bašar sarā (sing the

song of freedom for human kind). The rise in pitch results in a natural inclination to

elevate the dynamics of the piece as the notes get higher. The melody then gently

descends back toward the original tonic pitch and the dynamics soften as well. By the

end of the song, the bird is asked to sing so the night of oppression can come to an

end, and the day of liberation can begin.

Figure 30: Morghe Sahar vocal melody

Section 6.2 Conclusion

The time period discussed, from 1840 to 1885, provide a glimpse into the musical

innovations of Romantic era France, a time when Europeans perceived the Middle East

as a mysterious and unfamiliar world, while simultaneously, intensely fascinating. The

artistic inclination for a distant, magical land full of exotic drama and foreign nostalgia is

an attribute originally rooted in the 18th century before reaching it’s peak intensity in the

mid-19th century. These composers were influenced significantly by the poets and

authors that wrote influential works containing Middle Eastern themes. Félicien David’s
 45

innovations in exotic compositional techniques influenced a generation of Romantic era

French composers. Bizet utilized David’s compositional style as a dramatic vehicle to

portray emotional nuances of characters within a story. Saint Saëns set new standards

of stylistic purity, combined with his knowledge of Middle Eastern folk music, leading to

unmistakeable creations of his own. Faure’s music contained a romantic and dream-like

Middle Eastern ambiance combined with subtle sensitivity, and Delibes capitalized on

the musical potential Middle Eastern vocal and compositional styles by molding them

into impressive works of vocal virtuosity. It was a period of musical development that

gradually expanded and further influenced exoticism in the works of late 19th and early

20th century French composers such as Debussy, Delage, and Ravel. For example,

while attending the Paris Exposition of 1888 (which Delibes helped to organize) Claude

Debussy was so inspired by the Indonesian Gamelan orchestras it encouraged him to

utilize tonality in new and groundbreaking ways not previously explored by European

composers, eventually evolving into a completely new style of composition later known

as Impressionism. Other composers who were influenced by the Exposition include

Maurice Ravel, who wrote Scheherazade in 1898, and Maurice Delage, who wrote

Quatre poèmes hindous while on a train ride through India in 1912. Gradually, the

continued use of relaxed tonality and chromaticism paved the way for 20th century

proponents of serialism like Oliver Messiaen. Thus, the contributions of 19th century

Romantic exoticism is linked to the evolution and development of western classical

music itself. The influence of this musical style has proven itself to be captivating and

resilient, deserving of in depth study by voice teachers and singers to expand repertoire

options, refine vocal technique, and develop broader ideas about music.
 46

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Abbate, Carolyn. Unsung Voices: Opera and Musical Narrative in the Nineteenth
Century. Princeton University Press, 1991.

Bartoli, Jean-Pierre. “Orientalism in Nineteenth Century French Music: Punctuation,
Augmented second, and the Appearance of Modality in Exotic Procedures." Belgian
Review of Musicology/Belgisch Tijdschrift voir Muziekwetenschap, Vol. 51. Belgian
Society of Musicology, 1997. pp. 137-170.

Bellman, Johnathan. The Exotic in Western Music. Northeastern University Press, 1998.

Campbell, Patricia. “Bruno Nettl on Music of Iran” Music Educators Journal, Vol. 81, No.
3, Sage Publications, 1994. pp.19-25.

Campbell, Patricia. “Middle Eastern Expansions on Cultural Diversity in Music
Education” Music Educators Journal, Vol. 90, No. 1, Sage Publications, 2003. p. 21-30.

Cooper, Martin. “The Nineteenth Century Musical Renaissance in France (1870-1895)”
Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 74, No. 4, Taylor & Francis, Ltd,
1948. pp.11-23.

Corleonis, Adrian. “Le Roses d’Ispahan for Voice & Piano (or orchestra) in D major, Op.
39/4.” All Music: Record Reviews, https://www.allmusic.com/composition/les-roses-
dispahan-for-voice-and-piano-or-orcestra-in-d-major-op-39-4-mc0002361071. Accessed
18 April 2018.

Gradenwitz, Peter “Félicien David (1810-1876) and French Romantic Orientalism” The
Musical Quarterly, Vol. 62, No. 4, Oxford University Press, 1976. pp. 471- 506.

Hodam, Helen “French Song Literature: Part II” American Music Teacher, Vol. 17, No. 6,
Music Teachers National Association, 1968. pp. 20-21, 35.

Karpati, Janos. “Non-European Influences on Occidental Music (A Historical Survey)”
The World of Music, Vol. 22, No. 2, VWB Publications, 1980. pp. 20-37.

 47

Kimball, Carol. Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard
Corporation, 2005.

Ladjili, Myriam. “Arabic music among French composers of the nineteenth century
seized with exoticism (1844-1914) ” International Review of the Aesthetics and
Sociology of Music, Vol. 26, No. 1, Croatian Musicological Society, 1995. pp. 3-33.

Landormy, Paul and Norton, M.D. Herter. “Gabriel Fauré: 1845-1924” The Musical
Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 3, Oxford University Press, 1931. pp. 293-301.

Locke, Ralph P. “Constructing the Oriental ‘Other’: Saint-Saën’s “Samson et Dalila”
Cambridge Opera Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 261-302

Locke, Ralph P. Musical Exoticism: Images and Reflections. Cambridge University
Press, 2009.

Locke, Ralph P. “On Exoticism, Western Art Music, and the Words We Use ” Archiv für
Musikwissenschaft, Vol. 69, No. 4, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2012. pp. 318-328.

Lockspeiser, Edward. “The French Song in the 19th Century” The Musical Quarterly,
Vol. 26, No. 2, Oxford University Press, 1940.

Macdonald, Hugh. “Lakmé.” Oxford Music Online.com. Oxford University Press, 1992.
Web. 30 March 2018.

Ober, Mary. Expressive Prosody in French Solo Song: Gabriel Fauré’s Mélodies, and
their Historical Antecedents. 2012. University of Pittsburgh, PhD dissertation.

Parker, D.C. “Exoticisim in Music in Retrospect ” The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1,
Oxford University Press, 1917. pp. 134-161

Prestwood, Elena. “Le Rose d’Ispahan” Program for Elena Prestwood, Senior Recital, at
Kennasaw State University. Kennesaw, Georgia. 2017, pp. 5-8.

Randles, Kathleen Martha. “Exoticism in The Mélodie: The Evolution of Exotic
Techniques as used in the Songs by David, Bizet, Saint Saëns, Debussy, Roussel,
Delage, Milhaud, and Messiaen” DMA Document. Ohio State University, 1992.

 48

Ringer, A.L. “On the Question of “Exoticism” in 19th Century Music.” Studia
Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, The Present Volume Contains the
Papers Read at the International Folk Music Council (IFMC) Conference Held in
Budapest in August 1964 (1965), pp. 115-123 Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó.

Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1978.

Saint-Saëns, Camille. Musical Memories. Boston: Small, Maynard, and Company, 1919.

Stair Sainty, Guy “Le Roses d’Ispahan.” Stair Sainty Gallery, London, 2019, http://
www.stairsainty.com/artwork/les-roses-dispahan/.

Tietjen, Steven Jude. “Les Roses d’Isphan, Après un rêve, Soir, La lune blanche luit
dans les bois, L’hiver a cessé.” Program for Karine Deshayes, Mezzo Soprano at the
Vocal Arts DC Terrace Theater. Washington DC, 2015. p.1-2.

Tsuge, Gen’ichi. “Rhythmic Aspects of the Âvâz in Persian Music.” Ethnomusicology,
Vol. 14, No. 2, University of Illinois Press, 1970. pp. 205-237.

Van Vechten, Carl. “Back to Delibes.” The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 4, Oxford
University Press, 1922. pp. 605-610.











 49

Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe Farewell of the Arabian Hostess


Puisque rien ne t’arrête en cet heureux pays,

Since nothing can keep you in this happy land,
Ni l’ombre du palmier, ni le jaune maïs, neither shade-giving palm, nor yellow corn,
Ni le repos, ni l’abondance, nor repose, nor abundance,
Ni de voir à ta voix battre le jeune sein nor the sight of our sisters’ young breasts trembling
De nos sœurs, dont, les soirs, le tournoyant essaim at your voice as, in a whirling swarm at evening,


Couronne un coteau de sa danse,

Adieu, beau voyageur! Hélas adieu.


they garland a hillside with their dance,

Farewell, fair traveller! Ah!

Oh! que n’es-tu de ceux Why are you not like those
Qui donnent pour limite à leurs pieds paresseux whose indolent feet venture no further
Leur toit de branches ou de toiles! than their roofs of branch or canvas!
Que, rêveurs, sans en faire, écoutent les récits, Who, musing, listen passively to tales
Et souhaitent, le soir, devant leur porte assis, and dream at evening, sitting before their door,
De s’en aller dans les étoiles! of wandering among the stars!


Hélas! Adieu! bel étranger!

Si tu l’avais voulu, peut-être une de nous,


Alas! Farewell, fair stranger!

Had you so wished, perhaps one of us,

O jeune homme, eût aimé te servir à genoux O young man, would fain have served you, kneeling,
Dans nos huttes toujours ouvertes; in our ever-open huts;
Elle eût fait, en berçant ton sommeil de ses chants, lulling you asleep with songs, she would have made,
Pour chasser de ton front les moucherons méchants, to chase the noisome midges from your brow,


Un éventail de feuilles vertes.

Si tu ne reviens pas, songe un peu quelquefois


a fan of green leaves.

If you do not return, dream at times

Aux filles du désert, sœurs à la douce voix, of the daughters of the desert, sweet-voiced sisters,
Qui dansent pieds nus sur la dune; who dance barefoot on the dunes;
O beau jeune homme blanc, bel oiseau passager, O handsome young white man, fair bird of passage,
Souviens-toi, car peut-être, ô rapide étranger, remember – for perhaps, O fleeting stranger,
Ton souvenir reste à plus d’une! more than one maiden will remember you!
Hélas! Adieu! bel étranger! Souviens-toi! Alas! Farewell, fair stranger! Remember!
Poet: Victor Hugo (1802-1885) English: Richard Stokes
 
 
 
La brise: Mélodies persanes The breeze: Persian Melodies

Comme des chevreaux piqués par un taon

When the beautiful girls of Zaboulistan dance,
Dansent les beautés du Zaboulistan. They dance like kid goats stung by a cleg.
D’un rose léger sont teintés leurs ongles; Their nails are coloured a delicate pink,
Nul ne peut les voir, hormis leur sultan. None but the Sultan may gaze on them.
Aux mains de chacune un sistre résonne; In each hand they hold a ringing sistrum;


Sabre au poing, se tient l’eunuque en turban.

Mais du fleuve pâle où le lys sommeille


And the turbaned eunuch clenches his sabre.

But from the river where the lilies slumber,

Sort le vent nocturne ainsi qu’un forban. The breeze starts up like a buccaneer.
Il s’en va charmer leurs cœurs et leurs lèvres, Off he goes to bewitch their hearts and their lips,
Sous l’œil du jaloux, malgré le firman. Under the jealous man’s eyes, despite the law.
Ô rêveur, sois fier! Elle a, cette brise, O dreamer, be proud! The breeze has mistaken
Pris tes vers d’amour pour son talisman Your love-song for its talisman!
Poet: Armand Renaud (1836-1895) English: Richard Stokes
 
 
 50

Sabre en main: Mélodies persanes Sabre in hand: Persian Melodies

 
I have bridled my horse
J’ai mis à mon cheval sa bride
And put on his saddle of gold.
Sa bride et sa selle d’or.
Through this arid world
Tous les deux, par le monde aride,


Nous allons prendre l’essor.

We’ll sally forth together.

My heart is cool, my gaze steady,

J’ai le cœur froid, l’œil sans vertige,
I love nothing and I fear nothing.
Je n’aime et je ne crains rien.
My sword languishes in its sheath:
Au fourreau mon sabre s’afflige,


Qu’il sorte et qu’il frappe bien!

May it be drawn and may it strike true!

With the turban wound about my head

Le turban autour de la tête,
And the white cloak on my back,
Sur mon dos le manteau blanc,
I wish to set out for the feast
Je veux m’en aller à la fête


Où la mort danse en hurlant.

Where Death dances its screaming dance,

Where towns are put to the torch at night

Où, la nuit, l’on brûle les villes
While the inhabitants still sleep,
Tandis que l’habitant dort.
And where the common rabble think
Où, pour les multitudes viles,


On est grand quand on est fort.

That you are glorious when you are strong.

I wish that kings, when they hear my name,

Je veux qu’à mon nom les monarques
Would hold their head in their hands,
Tiennent leur tête à deux mains,
And that my sabre might remove
Que mon sabre enlève les marques


Du joug au front des humains!

All traces of human servitude

I wish for the seething mass of my tents,

Je veux que l’essaim de mes tentes,
Of my horses with flowing manes,
De mes chevaux aux longs crins,
I wish for the mass of my dazzling banners
Que mes bannières éclatantes,


Mes piques, mes tambourins,

And pikes and tambourines

To be endless, like a swarm

Soient sans nombre, comme la horde
Of flies in warm weather—
Des mouches quand il fait chaud,
So that at my feet the world might writhe,
Qu’à mes pieds l’univers se torde,
Aware of how little it’s worth!
Comprenant le peu qu’il vaut!
English: Richard Stokes
Poet: Armand Renaud (1836-1895)
 

Au cimitière: Mélodies persanes At the Cemetery: Persian Melodies

Assis sur cette blanche tombe

Seated on this white tomb
Ouvrons notre cœur! Let us pour out our hearts!
Du marbre, sous la nuit qui tombe, As night falls,


Le charme est vainqueur.

Au murmure de nos paroles,


This marble’s spell conquers all.

As we whisper to each other,

Le mort vibrera; The deceased shall quiver;
Nous effeuillerons des corolles We shall pick the corollas


Sur son Sahara. From his Sahara.

 
 

 51

S’il eut, avant sa dernière heure, If, before his final hour,
L’amour de quelqu’un, He was loved by someone,
Il croira, du passé qu’il pleure, He’ll think he smells the fragrance


Sentir le parfum.

S’il vécut, sans avoir envie


Of the past he mourns.

If he lived without wishing

D’un cœur pour le sien, To share his heart with another,
Il dira: J’ai perdu ma vie, He will say: I have wasted my life,


N’ayant aimé rien.

Toi, tu feras sonner, ma belle,


Without having loved at all.

You, my pretty one, shall jingle

Tes ornements d’or, Your jewellery of gold,
Pour que mon désir ouvre l’aile So that desire takes wing


Quand l’oiseau s’endort.

Et sans nous tourmenter des choses


When birds fall asleep.

And without fretting—

Pour mourir après, Only to die in the end—
Nous dirons: Aujourd’hui les roses, We shall say: Roses today,
Demain les cyprès! And cypresses tomorrow!
Poet: Armand Renaud (1836-1895) English: Richard Stokes
 
 
Tournoiement: Songe d’opium Spinning: Opium Dream
 
Without so much as a pause,
Sans que nulle part je séjourne,
I pirouette on my toe,
Sur la pointe du gros orteil,
Spinning, spinning, spinning,
Je tourne, je tourne, je tourne,
Like a withered leaf.
À la feuille morte pareil.
As at the moment of death,
Comme à l’instant où l’on trépasse,
The earth, the ocean and space
La terre, l’océan, l’espace,
Pass before my clouded eyes,
Devant mes yeux troublés tout passe,
Radiating the same light.
Jetant une même lueur.
And as I rotate round and round,
Et ce mouvement circulaire,
I accelerate,
Toujours, toujours je l’accélère,
Devoid of pleasure as of anger,
Sans plaisir comme sans colère,


Frissonnant malgré ma sueur.

Shivering despite my sweat.

In caves aflood with foaming waves,

Dans les antres où l’eau s’enfourne,
Standing on inaccessible rocks,
Sur les inaccessibles rocs,
Spinning, spinning, spinning
Je tourne, je tourne, je tourne,
I’ve not the slightest fear of collision.
Sans le moindre souci des chocs.
In the forests and along the coasts,
Dans les forêts, sur les rivages;
Surrounded by savage beasts
À travers les bêtes sauvages
And their havoc-wreaking rivals,
Et leurs émules en ravages,
Soldiers brandishing their swords,
Les soldats qui vont sabre au poing,
In the centre of slave-markets,
Au milieu des marchés d’esclaves,
On volcano slopes awash with lava,
Au bord des volcans pleins de laves,
In the land of Slavs and Mogols,
Chez les Mogols et chez les Slaves,
I spin and spin unflaggingly.

De tourner je ne cesse point.


 
 
 
 
 52

Soumis aux lois que rien n’ajourne, Adhering to laws that none can defer,
Aux lois que suit l’astre en son vol, The laws that the sun obeys in its course,
Je tourne, je tourne, je tourne, Spinning, spinning, spinning,
Mes pieds ne touchent plus le sol. My feet no longer touch the ground.
Je monte au firmament nocturne, I soar aloft to the starry sky,
Devant la lune taciturne, I flit right past the silent moon,
Devant Jupiter et Saturne Past Jupiter and Saturn,
Je passe avec un sifflement, Whirring on my way.
Et je franchis le Capricorne, And I shoot past Capricorn,
Et je m’abîme au gouffre morne And plunge into the dismal abyss
De la nuit complète et sans borne Of absolute and boundless night,
Où je tourne éternellement. Where I spin and spin eternally.
Poet: Armand Renaud (1836-1895) English: Richard Stokes
 
 
Les roses d’Ispahan (No.4) Opus 39 The Roses of Isfahan (No.4) Opus 39
 
The roses of Isfahan in their mossy sheaths,
Les roses d’Ispahan dans leur gaine de mousse,
The jasmines of Mosul, the orange blossom
Les jasmins de Mossoul, les fleurs de l’oranger
Have a fragrance less fresh and a scent less
Ont un parfum moins frais, ont une odeur moins douce,
sweet,

Ô blanche Leïlah! que ton souffle léger.

Ta lèvre est de corail, et ton rire léger


O pale Leilah, than your soft breath!

Your lips are of coral and your light laughter

Sonne mieux que l’eau vive et d’une voix plus douce,
Rings brighter and sweeter than running water,
Mieux que le vent joyeux qui berce l’oranger,
Than the blithe wind rocking the orange-tree boughs,
Mieux que l’oiseau qui chante au bord d’un nid de


mousse …

Than the singing bird by its mossy nest …

Ô Leïlah! depuis que de leur vol léger

O Leilah, ever since on light wings
Tous les baisers ont fui de ta lèvre si douce,
All kisses have flown from your sweet lips,
Il n’est plus de parfum dans le pâle oranger,
The pale orange-tree fragrance is spent,

Ni de céleste arome aux roses dans leur mousse …

Oh! que ton jeune amour, ce papillon léger,


And the heavenly scent of moss-clad roses …

Oh! may your young love, that airy butterfly,

Revienne vers mon cœur d’une aile prompte et douce,
Wing swiftly and gently to my heart once more,
Et qu’il parfume encor les fleurs de l’oranger,
To scent again the orange blossom,
Les roses d’Ispahan dans leur gaine de mousse!
The roses of Isfahan in their mossy sheaths!
Poet: Leconte de Lisle (1818-1894)
English: Richard Stokes
 
 
 Ah! Where goes the Young Indian Girl
Ah! Oú va la jeune indoue (Bell Song)
Ah!
Ah!
Where does the young Hindu girl go,
Où va la jeune indoue,
daughter of the pariahs,
filles des parias,
when the moon plays about
quand la lune se joue
in the tall mimosas?
dans le grand mimosas?
She runs upon the moss
Elle court sur la mousse
and does not remember
et ne se souvient pas
that, everywhere, people spurn
que partout on repousse
the child of the pariahs.

l'enfant des parias.



 53

Elle court sur la mousse She runs upon the moss,

l'enfant des parias; the child of pariahs;
le long des lauriers roses, alongside the pink laurels,
rêvant de douce choses, dreaming of sweet things,
ah! elle passe sans bruit ah, she passes noiselessly


et riant à la nuit!

Là-bas dan la forêt plus sombre


laughing at the night!

Over there in the gloomier forest,

quel est ce voyageur perdu? Who is that traveller, astray?
Autour de lui All around him
des yeux brillent dan l’ombre; eyes sparkle in the darkness;
il marche encore au hasard, éperdu! he continues walking haphazardly, bewildered!
Les fauves rugissent de joie. The wild animals roar with joy.
Ils vont se jeter sur leur proie. The are about to fall upon their prey.
La jeune fille accourt The girl comes rushing up
et brave leur fureurs. and defies their fury.
Elle a dans sa main la baguette She has in her hand the wand
où tinte la clochette on which jingles the little bell
des charmeurs of magicians.


Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!

L'ètranger la regarde;

Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!

The stranger looks at her;

elle reste éblouie. She stops, dazed
Il est plus beau que les rajahs! He is more handsome that the rajahs!
Il rougira He will blush with shame
s’il sait qu’il doit la vie if he knows that he owes his life
à la fille des parias. to the daughter of the pariahs.
Mais lui, l’endormant dans un rêve, But he, lulling her to sleep in a dream,
jusque dan le ciel il enlève, raises her up into heaven,
en lui disant, ta place est là! telling her: your place is there!


C’était Vichnou, fils de Brahma!

Depuis ce jour au fond de bois,


It was Vishnu, son of Brahma!

Since that day, in the depths of the woods,

le voyageur entend parfois the traveller sometimes hears
le bruit léger de la baguette the faint sound of the wand
où tinte la clochette on which jingles the little bell
des charmeurs. of magicians.
Ah! Ah!
Libretto: Edmond Gondinet,Philippe Gille English: Robert L. Larsen, Martha Gerhart
 
 
Morghe Sahar Morning Bird
 
Morḡ-e saḥar, nāla sar kon! Morning bird, lament!
dāḡ-e marā tāzatar kon Make my brand burn even more.
z-āh-e šararbār in qafas-rā With the sparks from your sigh, break
baršekan o zir o zabar kon And turn this cage upside down.
bolbol-e par-basta ze konj-e qafas dar-ā Wing-tied nightingale come out of your cage, and
naḡma-ye āzādi-e nawʿ-e bašar sarā Sing the song of freedom for human kind.
v-az nafas-i ʿarṣa-ye in ḵāk-e tuda-rā With your fiery breath ignite,
por šarar kon, por šarar kon The breath of this peopled land.
Poet: Mohammad-Taqi Bahar English: Parvin Loloi