Gabriel Fauré’s “Après un rêve” & Benjamin Britten’s “Encinctured in a Twine of Leaves”

“Après un rêve” Gabriel Fauré was a French composer and music professor who lived 1845- 1924. He is known for his piano and symphonic works, and his “mélodie.” “Après un rêve” (“After a dream”) was first published in 1878. The poem, a loose French translation of an anonymous Italian poem, describes a dream in which the narrator and her beloved come together in an otherworldly meeting. After awakening, she longs to return to this dream state. Both the piano and voice parts conjure up vivid images of the passion and dreaminess the words describe.

“Après un rêve” https://youtu.be/lMKyTAe6yeM?t=10s In a slumber enchanted by your image I dreamed of happiness, passionate mirage, Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and resonant, You shone like a sky lit up by the dawn; You called me and I left the earth To run away with you towards the light, The skies opened their clouds for us, Unknown splendors, divine flashes glimpsed, Alas! Alas! sad awakening from dreams I call you, O night, give me back your lies, Return, return radiant, Return, O mysterious night!

“Encinctured in a Twine of Leaves” Benjamin Britten was an English composer who lived 1913-1976. He is known mostly for his operas, choral and symphonic works, but he also wrote four art song cycles. Art Song Cycle: A set of art songs that connect through a shared storyline. Sometimes they also share melodic themes. “Encinctured in a Twine of Leaves” is from the 1958 song cycle Nocturne, a collection of songs (from various poets) that talk about the night and sleeping.

“Encinctured in a Twine of Leaves” Unlike most art songs, Nocturne was written for a small orchestra and voice. However, the instruments vividly portray the story and setting, just like the piano normally would. The poem “Encinctured…” is the beginning fragment of an epic poem about Cain that Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772- 1834) never finished. It describes the innocent young son of Cain alone in a “wilderness” at night picking fruit. You will first hear the strings “breathing,” and then the harp describing the “vines” and the pizzicato “plucking” of fruit. The melody flows and loops to create the dream-like atmosphere.

“Encinctured in a Twine of Leaves” Encinctured with a twine of leaves, That leafy twine his only dress! A lovely Boy was plucking fruits, By moonlight, in a wilderness. The moon was bright, the air was free, And fruits and flowers together grew On many a shrub and many a tree: And all put on a gentle hue, Hanging in the shadowy air Like a picture rich and rare.

“Encinctured in a Twine of Leaves” It was a climate where, they say, The night is more belov'd than day. But who that beauteous Boy beguil'd, That beauteous Boy to linger here? Alone, by night, a little child, In place so silent and so wild— Has he no friend, no loving mother near? https://youtu.be/o0y8mEtxVYU?t=8m55s Write a quick definition of Art Song in your notes.