Debussy: Beau Soir (Joshua Bell)

Disclaimer: I do not own this!

"Beau Soir" (French for "Beautiful Evening") is a French art song written by Claude Debussy. It is a setting of a poem by Paul Bourget. Debussy was twenty or twenty one when he wrote this song (ca.1883), and his music was marked by the aesthetics of the period.

Lorsque au soleil couchant les rivières sont roses
Et qu'un tiède frisson court sur les champs de blé,
Un conseil d'être heureux semble sortir des choses
Et monter vers le coeur troublé.
Un conseil de goûter le charme d'être au monde
Cependant qu'on est jeune et que le soir est beau,
Car nous nous en allons, comme s'en va cette onde:
Elle à la mer, nous au tombeau.

When the rivulets are rosy in the setting sun,
And a mild tremor runs over the wheat fields,
An exhortation to be happy seems to emanate from things
And rises towards the troubled heart.
An exhortation to enjoy the charm of being alive
While one is young and the evening is beautiful,
For we are going on, as this stream goes on:
The stream to the sea, we to the grave.

Alternate translation, more literal and colloquial:
When the rivers are rosy in the setting sun,
And a warm shiver runs over the wheat fields,
Advice to be happy seems to rise up from things
And climb toward the troubled heart.
Advice to taste the charm of being in the world
While one is young and the evening is beautiful,
For we are going away, as this stream goes away:
The stream to the sea, we to the grave.
And a third translation option, which honors the intended meaning of the original language but translates the poetic content into the English language more seamlessly than the options above do:
When streams turn pink in the setting sun,
And a slight shudder rushes through the wheat fields,
A plea for happiness seems to rise out of all things
And it climbs up towards the troubled heart.
A plea to relish the charm of life
While there is youth and the evening is fair,
For we pass away, as the wave passes:
The wave to the sea, we to the grave.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• debussy
• beau
• soir
• beautiful
• evening
• joshua
• bell

[todoranamaria]

makes me cry. thank you for this!

[VideoGameCoupons]

Awesome Post!!

[1958832009]

Qualche immagine è fuori posto rispetto alla melodia, ma la musica è assai prossima ad un canto d'amore di Gaia. Grazie mille.

[iinvent]

Fantastic.

[ZeekWolfe1]

When I hear music by Claude Debussy it makes me want to run through the forest sprinkling fairy dust and glitter.

[mkennon10]

....more like his music marked the aesthetics of the period...

[tuberobotto]

Please, please check out Sophie-Anne Mutter's version on Deutsch Grammophon - it's equally lush and warm. To make a comparison between this one and her's, in my own words I'd say Bell's is like Icarus in the air while Mutter's is like tragic Elektra on Violin. Very human.

[laceytony1]

And the photographs are as magnificent as the music. I shared this with my daughter, and she absolutely loved the lighthouse. Again, thank you for such a combination of beauty and pictures to match.

[JaneRutterFan]

@laceytony I completely agree: its angelic and just as Debussy would have wanted it.I have listened to it twice! I have a beautiful recording of French-trained American flutist Linda Chesis playing this piece. She also plays it with this mood of reverie...

[laceytony1]

This is so incredibly beautifully done I have already listened to it 3 times. This is as Debussy would have it, rich, lush and incredibly haunting. The ending is perfect. Thank you for such a gift to my Sunday.