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