Duparc "Phidylé"

Theo Lebow, tenor & Anastasiya Popova, piano

Senior recital, Mannes College, NYC, January 2009

Phidylé (Leconte de Lisle)

The grass is soft for slumber beneath the fresh poplars,
on the slopes by the mossy springs,
which, in the meadows flowering with a thousand plants,
lose themselves under dark thickets.

Rest, o Phidylé! the midday sun shines on the foliage
and invites you to sleep!
Among clover and thyme, alone, in full sunlight
hum the fickle honeybees.

A warm fragrance circulates about the turning paths,
the red cornflower tilts,
and the birds, skimming the hill with their wings,
search for shade among the wild roses.

The coppices are mute; the deer in the clearing,
cornered by the pack
no longer leaps; Diana, seated in the depths of the woods,
polishes her fatal arrows.

Sleep in peace, beautiful child with the ingenuous smile,
so similar to the rustic nymphs!
From your honey-touched lips I will wave away the bee;
I will guard your bare feet.

On the divine form of your shoulder,
Like gold both liquid and light,
Let my loving breath run and flutter
the thickness of your fine hair!

Without disturbing your sleep, on your clear brow,
free of supple ribbons,
I will chain hyacinth with pale violets,
and the rose with scented myrtle.

As beautiful as Erycine in the gardens of Sicily,
and more dear to my jealous heart,
sleep! And I shall fill with my softest breath
a flute of my flexible lips.

I shall charm the woods, o white Phidylé,
with your intimate praise;
and the nymphs, at the threshold of their caves of ivy,
will blanch, hearts troubled.

But when the sun, turning in its resplendent orbit,
finds its heat abating,
let your loveliest smile and your most ardent kiss
recompense me for waiting!

(Translation: Emily Ezust)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• henri
• duparc
• phidyle
• songs
• melodies
• theo
• lebow
• tenor

[350zju]

Merveilleux.

[jordan1980]

as always, absolutely gorgeous, Theo.

[asx5252]

this is one of my all time favorites and you take it to another level!! Congrats!!

[lovellcau]

Bravo!!!