Requiem (Gabriel Fauré)

Gabriel Fauré wrote this, the best-known of his large-scale choral works, between 1887 and 1890. Although his parents died in 1885 and 1887, he disclaimed any connection and declared it was “composed for nothing … for fun, if I may be permitted to say so”.
The text is based on the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead, with some omissions and amendments. To this he added the motet Pie Jesu and two texts from the Order of Burial, Libera me and In Paradisum.

I. INTROITUS – KYRIE
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine	Rest eternal give them, Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.	and let light always shine on them.
Te decet hymnus, Deus in Sion	It is right to hymn you, God, in Sion
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.	and to you will be made a vow in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.	Hear my prayer, to you all flesh will come.
Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison.	Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, lord have mercy.
II. OFFERTORIUM
O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae	O lord, Jesus Christ, king of glory
libera animas defunctorum	free the souls of the dead
de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu.	from the punishment of hell and the deep pit.
O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae	O Lord Jesus Christ, king of glory,
libera animas defunctorum de ore leonis	deliver the dead souls from the mouth of the lion,
ne absorbeat eus Tartarus ne cadant in obscurum.	so they are not swallowed by hell and do not fall into darkness.
Hostias et preces tibi Domine, laudis offerimus	Sacrifices and prayers to you, lord, with praise we offer
tu suscipe pro animabus illis	receive them for those souls
quarum hodie memoriam facimus	whom today we remember.
Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam	Make them, lord, from death cross over to life
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eus.	as once to Abraham you promised and to his seed.
III. SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth	Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts
pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua	full are the heavens and earth with the glory of you
hosanna in excelsis.	hosanna in the highest.
IV. PIE JESU
Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem	Merciful Jesus, Lord, give them rest
dona eis requiem sempiternam requiem	give them rest, eternal rest.
V. AGNUS DEI
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi	Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
dona eis requiem.	give them rest.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine	Let light eternal shine on them, lord,
Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,	with your saints for eternity,
quia pius es	for you are merciful.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,	give them eternal rest, lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis	and let light always shine on them.
VI. LIBERA ME
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna	Free me, lord, from death eternal
in die illa tremenda	on that day of dread
quando coeli movendi sunt et terra	when the heavens will be shaken and the earth
dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem	while you come to judge the world with fire.
Tremens factus sum ego et timeo	I am made to shake, and am afraid
dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira	awaiting the trial and the coming anger.
Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae	That day, day of anger, of calamity and misery,
dies illa, dies magna et amara valde.	that day, the day of great and exceeding bitterness,
Requiem aeternam …	(reprise of the introit)
VII. IN PARADISUM
In Paradisum deducant Angeli	Into paradise may angels draw them,
in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres	on your arrival, may the martyrs receive you
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem	and lead you into the holy city Jerusalem.
Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat	May the chorus of angels receive you,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere	and with Lazarus, once a beggar,
aeternam habeas requiem	may you have eternal rest.

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison. A transliteration of the greek prayer Κύριε ἐλέησον, Χριστὲ ἐλέησον, Κύριε ἐλέησον.

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December 1999: the first half of the first concert by what would later become known as The Sacred Wing was a performance of Fauré’s Requiem. My friend Ian B, an intelligent and privately-educated man, came up to me during the interval and said “That was lovely. What was it about?”
We'd chosen the work because we thought it was well-known, and anyway everybody would know what a requiem was and think it appropriate for a concert so near World Aids Day. A reminder, if one were needed, of the dangers of making assumptions. Since then I've always included a translation of anything non-english when putting programme notes together (here's a pdf of the programme for Sacred Wing's 2004 performance), and I suppose that ultimately you've got Ian to thank for this blog.

Démons et Merveilles (Maurice Thiriet)

Jacques Prévert wrote these lyrics as part of his screenplay for the 1942 film Les Visiteurs du Soir, an allegory of the eternal struggle between good and evil.

Démons et merveilles,	Demons and wonders,
Vents et marées	Winds and tides
Au loin déjà la mer s'est retirée	In the distance already the sea has withdrawn
Et toi comme une algue	And you like a piece of seaweed
Doucement caressée par le vent	Gently caressed by the wind
Tu remues en revant.	You stir dreaming.
Démons et merveilles,	Demons and wonders,
Vents et marées	Winds and tides
Au loin déjà la mer s'est retirée	In the distance already the sea has withdrawn
Mais dans tes yeux entr'ouverts	But in your half-opened eyes
Deux petites vagues sont restées	Two little waves have remained
Démons et merveilles,	Demons and wonders,
Vents et marées	Winds and tides
Deux petites vagues pour me noyer.	Two little waves to drown me.

Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis (Maurice Ravel)

One of three songs which Ravel wrote to his own words in 1915, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Blue, white and red are the colours of the french flag (and the flags of many other countries).

Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis,	Three beautiful birds of paradise,
(Mon ami z'il est à la guerre)	(My friend has gone to war)
Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis	Trois beautiful birds of paradise,
Ont passé par ici.	Have passed through here.
Le premier était plus bleu que ciel,	The first was more blue than the sky,
Le second était couleur de neige,	The second was the colour of snow
Le troisième rouge vermeil.	The third red, bright red.
“Beaux oiselets du Paradis,	“Beautiful little birds of Paradise,
Qu'apportez par ici?”	What (do you) bring through here?”
“J'apporte un regard couleur d'azur.	“I am bringing a blue-eyed look.
“Et moi, sur beau front couleur de neige,	“And me, on a beautiful forehead the colour of snow
Un baiser dois mettre, encore plus pur”	A kiss should place, even more pure”
“Oiseau vermeil du Paradis,	“Vermillion bird of paradise,
Que portez-vous ainsi?”	What do you bring as well?”
“Un joli cœur tout cramoisi …	“A beautiful heart all crimson …
“Ah! je sens mon cœur qui froidit …	“Ah, I feel my heart is becoming cold …
Emportez-le aussi”.	Take it also.”

Z'il. The z doesn't really mean anything, it's just a way of keeping the two vowels apart. It's like the t introduced when elle a is inverted to a-t-elle.

Rouge vermeil. Tempting to use vermilion, but that's the english for vermillon. Vermeil is an adjective meaning bright red, and qualifying rouge (red).

Un regard couleur d'azur. Azur (azure) is a literary way of saying blue. There are more brown eyes than blue in France, and the tendency was even more marked before the days of easy travel. So someone with blue eyes was likely to be foreign.

CPDL

Les Fleurs et les Arbres (Camille Saint-Saëns)

The second of two unaccompanied chorales opus 68, published some time in the 1880s. The first is Calme des Nuits.

Les fleurs et les arbres,	The flowers and the trees,
Les bronzes, les marbres,	The bronzes, the marbles,
Les ors, les émaux,	The golds, the enamels,
La mer, les fontaines,	The sea, the springs,
Les monts et les plaines	The mountains and the plains
Consolent nos maux.	Console our pains.
Nature éternelle	Eternal nature,
Tu sembles plus belle	You seem more beautiful
Au sein des douleurs,	To a heart in sorrow,
Et l’art nous domine,	And art reigns over us,
Sa flame illumine	Its flame illuminates
Le rire et les pleurs.	The laughter and the tears.

CPDL

Calme des Nuits (Camille Saint-Saëns)

The first of two unaccompanied chorales opus 68, published some time in the 1880s. The second is Les fleurs et les Arbres.

Calmes des nuits, fraicheur des soirs,	Still periods of the nights, coolness of the evenings,
Vaste scintillement des mondes,	Vast shimmering of the worlds,
Grand silence des antres noirs	Great silence of black caverns
Vous charmez les âmes profondes.	You charm profound spirits.
L’éclat du soleil, la gaité,	The burst of sunlight, merriment,
Le bruit plaisent aux plus futiles;	Noise please the more frivolous;
Le poéte seul est hanté	The poet alone is haunted
Par l’amour des choses tranquiles.	By the love of quiet things.

CPDL