Gabriel Fauré - Le Papillon et la Fleur, Op. 1/1 (1868) [Score]

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), Le Papillon et la Fleur (poem by Victor Hugo), song for voice & piano Op. 1/1 (composed 1868, published1869, 1871) from the set 2 Songs Op.1.

Sung by Elly Ameling, piano Dalton Baldwin.

Le papillon et la fleur (The Butterfly and the Flower) dates from very early in the career of Gabriel Fauré and was, in fact, his first published composition (Op. 1/1, 1865). The song, or mélodie, as Fauré took to calling them, is clearly a skillful rendering of Victor Hugo's poignantly quaint poem, but follows largely after the Germanic style of mid-century and only hints at Fauré's later, more languorous style. The poem depicts the amorous entreaties of a flower to the butterfly that visits it, the former bemoaning how widely the latter roams free, untethered by roots in the soil, visiting countless other flowers. The poem unrolls in a singsong manner, with clear rhyme and meter, suggesting a similarly straightforward setting. Fauré is thus limited in the extent to which any particular sentiment or feature of the text can find resonance with the music, although his simple strophic structure is certainly not lacking in charm. Indeed, the sturdy bassline underscoring the melody and the cascading figure in the right hand that serves as an interlude between strophes aptly conveys the coy romantic humor of the poet's transparent metaphor. Fauré's later mélodie, of course, become more harmonically complex, structurally varied, and intellectually engaging, but not necessarily more endearing.

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I DO NOT own the AUDIO neither the SCORE. I don't earn anything by doing this video and it has been done only for didactical purposes. Copyrights go to all the artists.

[michaelp]

Elly Ameling's voice is freaky beautiful! With tastefully judged gradients of dynamics&tone color, she creates extraordinary moments in this song.

[joraffaelemusic]

The humble flower said to the heavenly butterfly:
Do not flee!
See how our destinies differ. Fixed to earth am I,
You fly away!
Yet we love each other, we live without men
And far from them,
And we are so alike, it is said that both of us
Are flowers!
But alas! The breeze bears you away, the earth holds me fast.
Cruel fate!
I would perfume your flight with my fragrant breath
In the sky!
But no, you flit too far! Among countless flowers
You fly away,
While I remain alone, and watch my shadow circle
Round my feet.
You fly away, then return; then take flight again
To shimmer elsewhere.
And so you always find me at each dawn
Bathed in tears!
Ah, that our love might flow through faithful days,
O my king,
Take root like me, or give me wings
Like yours!

[sadiew]

oh my this is amazing! the piano is great

[Delmonaco]

La pauvre fleur disait au papillon céleste:
Ne fuis pas!
Vois comme nos destins sont différents. Je reste,
Tu t’en vas!

Pourtant nous nous aimons, nous vivons sans les hommes
Et loin d’eux,
Et nous nous ressemblons, et l’on dit que nous sommes
Fleurs tous deux!

Mais, hélas! l’air t’emporte et la terre m’enchaîne.
Sort cruel!
Je voudrais embaumer ton vol de mon haleine
Dans le ciel!


Mais non, tu vas trop loin! – Parmi des fleurs sans nombre
Vous fuyez,
Et moi je reste seule à voir tourner mon ombre
À mes pieds.

Tu fuis, puis tu reviens; puis tu t’en vas encore
Luire ailleurs.
Aussi me trouves-tu toujours à chaque aurore
Toute en pleurs!

Oh! pour que notre amour coule des jours fidèles,
Ô mon roi,
Prends comme moi racine, ou donne-moi des ailes
Comme à toi!

[scottochantal-rose]

cette pièce est très belle, pas si facile à chanter....

[VeronicaBellSoprano]

her voice is truly gorgeous, the technique is flawless but why do a "merry-go-round"? The lyrics are so beautiful, touching and sad, and none of it is reflected in performance...

[collinziegler]

"not necessarily more endearing" 💞