MER CALME
(Calm Sea)
Poet: Joseph Autran (1813-1877)
TITLE
VOICING/INSTRUMENT
Mer calme
TTBB / a cappella
TIME
PRICE (per copy)
AUDIO
4m30s
1.50$ CAD
TEXT
Il est nuit : la mer dans son lit repose,
Assoupie au loin si tranquillement
Que pas une brise à cette heure n'ose
Troubler d'un baiser son recueillement.
Sans murmure aucun, sans aucune ride,
Qu'elle est belle à voir cette mer qui dort,
Laissant admirer dans le flot limpide
A la claire nuit ses étoiles d'or !
Pour jouir ainsi de ce calme immense,
Quel est ton secret, ô mer ? Dis-le-moi !
Car je sais un cœur, un cœur en démence,
Qui voudrait enfin dormir comme toi !
-- Joseph Autran (1813-1877)
Courtesy Translation:
It is night: the sea in its bed rests,
So quietly asleep in the distance
That no breeze at this time dares Trouble its contemplation with a kiss.
No murmur, no ripples,
How beautiful it is to see, this sleeping sea, Which lets the clear night admire,
In the crystal stream, its golden stars!
To take pleasure of such an immense calm, What is your secret, oh sea? Tell me !
For I know a heart, a mad heart,
Who would yearn to finally sleep like you!
VIEW SCORE
PROGRAM NOTES
"Mer calme" is the cry of a desperate heart that yearns for the same peaceful rest of a calm sea under a starry night. While the composition is mostly serene and paints the portrait of the beautiful sea, the ending proclaims the deep grief felt by the sea's observer.
Winner of the C/4 Competition winner, hosted by Chor Leoni, and recipient of the Canadian Music Center’s Barbara Pentland Award for an Outstanding Composition