Middle Eastern Characteristics
Middle Eastern Characteristics
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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.
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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.
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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
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1
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
in Eastern nations was accompanied by a rise in the concert going public’s 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.
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
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
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,
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
characters which they portray while studying and performing this repertoire.
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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”),
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.
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
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-
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
“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
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
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
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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
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.
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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).
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
chromatic harmonies.(Fig. 3)
Figure 3: Open fifth and augmented second intervals; Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe.
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
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
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.
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.
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,
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
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
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
While the piece presents challenges to singers, study of the song provides many
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Born the same year as Bizet (1835), Camille Saint-Saëns outlived him by 46
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’
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
Even before going to Algeria, Saint-Saëns had already used, especially in his
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
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
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
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
Section 3.1: La brise
Written for mezzo-soprano, the first song of Mélodies persanes, La brise, is set
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
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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
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
The first half of La brise gives a militaristic and, at times, detached quality to the
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.
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
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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
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
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,
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
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
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
Qu’il sort et qu’il frappe bien! (May it be drawn and may it strike true!)
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
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
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).
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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,
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
going on” or “where am I”, and perhaps this is precisely the point. The final D-sharp and
25
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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.
city by blending exotic compositional characteristics with classical symmetry and form,
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
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
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.
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
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
Les roses d’Ispahan was initially composed for soprano and piano
and has since been arranged for full orchestra. While both versions of instrumental
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
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
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
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
palpable.” (Corleonis, 1)
32
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
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
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
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
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
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
The famous Bell Aria, Où va la jeune indoue, emulates the sound, length, mood,
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
unaccompanied and without any text (Abbate, 4). This extended, opening, a cappella
present in Middle Eastern vocal music. The rest of the aria contains ornamentation of
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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).
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
42
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,
training tool for voice students when refining their vocal technique with regards to tuning
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
For the past several decades, while music teachers have committed themselves
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).
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
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
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
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
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
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
utilize tonality in new and groundbreaking ways not previously explored by European
composers, eventually evolving into a completely new style of composition later known
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
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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Corporation, 2005.
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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.
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Oxford University Press, 1917. pp. 134-161
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Kennasaw State University. Kennesaw, Georgia. 2017, pp. 5-8.
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Ringer, A.L. “On the Question of “Exoticism” in 19th Century Music.” Studia
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Papers Read at the International Folk Music Council (IFMC) Conference Held in
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49
Couronne un coteau de sa danse,
Hélas! Adieu! bel étranger!
Un éventail de feuilles vertes.
Sabre au poing, se tient l’eunuque en turban.
Nous allons prendre l’essor.
We’ll sally forth together.
Qu’il sorte et qu’il frappe bien!
May it be drawn and may it strike true!
Où la mort danse en hurlant.
Where Death dances its screaming dance,
On est grand quand on est fort.
That you are glorious when you are strong.
Du joug au front des humains!
All traces of human servitude
Mes piques, mes tambourins,
And pikes and tambourines
Le charme est vainqueur.
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.
N’ayant aimé rien.
Quand l’oiseau s’endort.
Frissonnant malgré ma sueur.
Shivering despite my sweat.
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.
mousse …
Than the singing bird by its mossy nest …
et riant à la nuit!
Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!
L'ètranger la regarde;
Ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah! ah!
C’était Vichnou, fils de Brahma!