The video has subtitles available in English, Spanish, German, and French

Hello everyone! Zoe and I were discussing what languages we like for singing in, and I mentioned that I don't particularly enjoy the way French sounds. So of course, Zoe pushed to do a French song next. The one's she knew were too hard to do in a week though, so I went out on YouTube and searched "Fauré Soprano Song". I found this song and sent it to Zoe, and she immediately responded "I wanna do it!" So before discussing the song, or its composer, here are the lyrics, and the recording (like I said the video has subtitles available in several other languages):

Lyrics and Recording

Après un rêve	After a dream
Dans un sommeil que charmait ton image	In sleep made sweet by a vision of you
Je rêvais le bonheur, ardent mirage,	I dreamed of happiness, fervent illusion,
Tes yeux étaient plus doux, ta voix pure et sonore,	Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and ringing,
Tu rayonnais comme un ciel éclairé par l’aurore;	You shone like a sky that was lit by the dawn;
Tu m’appelais et je quittais la terre	You called me and I departed the earth
Pour m’enfuir avec toi vers la lumière,	To flee with you toward the light,
Les cieux pour nous entr’ouvraient leurs nues,	The heavens parted their clouds for us,
Splendeurs inconnues, lueurs divines entrevues.	We glimpsed unknown splendors, celestial fires.
Hélas! hélas, triste réveil des songes,	Alas, alas, sad awakening from dreams!
Je t’appelle, ô nuit, rends-moi tes mensonges;	I summon you, O night, give me back your delusions;
Reviens, reviens, radieuse,	Return, return in radiance,
Reviens, ô nuit mystérieuse!	Return, O mysterious night!

Background of this song and Fauré

Gabriel Fauré was (and is) a monumental figure in French music. I have heard him described by teachers as "the French Beethoven". He lived from 1845 to 1924. This song was written between 1870 and 1877, and published in 1878 with two other pieces that it would later be matched with under the title Trois mélodies. The song's lyrics originally come from an Italian poem whose author is unknown. The poem was freely translated into French by Romain Bussine. Overall, the song puts most emphasis on the melodic line whilst simultaneously developing a rich harmonic texture through the seemingly simple piano accompaniment in the background. This song is one of Fauré's most popular songs.

If you would like to learn more about Fauré, you can read about him here in an article I wrote about him several years ago. Interestingly enough, one of the pieces I selected by him was Après un rêve, but it makes sense that I didn't remember hearing it since the version I selected was for Cello and Piano.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this! Please remember that feedback is always appreciated! We are very grateful to everyone who has been listening to our recordings, and we hope to keep making them when we are on campus. The other day I invested in better recording equipment that will work for multiple people, so we will see what happens in the fall! Anyway, have an awesome day!